Crusade History

From the time Raul Ries received the Lord in 1972, during the Jesus People Movement, he became a regular at the Friday night concerts at the tent with Pastor Chuck Smith.  He saw how effective the concerts were in bringing people of all cultures and faiths to Jesus Christ.

Soon after he was converted, Ries began organizing evangelistic concerts at high schools and parks, to reach the lost youth.  He wanted to reach the world for Jesus Christ and as the Lord brought more and more people to hear His Word, many souls were saved and the small concert outreaches grew into stadium festivals.

Eventually, the Exit Festivals, evolved, from his desire to tell the world about the love of Christ.  The festivals continued with cutting-edge Christian music and a simplistic Gospel message delivered by Pastor Raul Ries.  In South America, they were called the Escape Festivals, which saw thousands of lives changed as they packed out stadiums on the continent.

As the festivals grew in popularity, they gave birth to what is now known as, the Somebody Loves You Crusades but no matter what the outreach is called, the message of hope, through Jesus Christ, remains the same.

The Somebody Loves You Crusades are driven by contemporary, upbeat, innovative music.  It is not unusual to find Christian Latin artists, like Salvador and Fernando Ortega, sharing the stage with rock artists such as Jeremy Camp and Tree63.

Besides crossing the denominational lines, the Crusades are reaching beyond racial schisms and attracting an ethnically diverse audience; holding crusades in cities from Bucharest, Romania to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The event’s purpose is straightforward -- to reach all walks of life with the message of Jesus Christ and see souls saved; so that people, communities and the nation can experience a revival and a return to Christian values.

“The world is no longer coming to the church for answers, so we are taking the church to them through Crusades in the local community,” states Raul Ries.  “Somebody Loves You is bringing the message of hope, love and salvation to the world, one community at a time.”

The Crusades are just as concerned with individual physical needs as well as their spiritual needs.  In many of the cities the crusades have gone into, we have collected canned foods to provide meals to needy families in the communities that have hosted the Crusade.

“God’s Word is powerful and is the same yesterday, today and forever,” states Ries.  “God loves man and proved it through His Son, Jesus Christ -- and at the same time, we want to extend our love towards these communities by taking care of their needs and letting them know about God’s love.”

The Somebody Loves You Crusades are public evangelistic events, supported by area churches, businesses and organizations.  The events are non-profit and do not seek monetary gain.  No admission is charged at the events, because Jesus Christ has already paid the price.