Contact: Gene Strickland, 757-409-0348

CHESAPEAKE, VA, Jan. 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- It doesn't always have to cost thousands of dollars to reach the lost for Christ. Not according to international evangelist the Rev. Gene Strickland who recently stated, "all that God requires is availability and obedience." Evangelism International is a fairly new crusade ministry, headed by Rev. Strickland, but already seeing worldwide ministry opportunities.

While the traditional crusade can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and thousands of man hours to plan and implement, Evangelism International looks for new and innovative ways to proclaim the Gospel message. Saturday morning, January 10, found Gene preaching via telephone to approximately 4,000 gathered in the town of Andhra Pradesh, India. Only 2.7% of India's 1.1 Billion population are Christian; 87% are Hindu. Of those gathered, nearly 2,000 were Hindu who had been invited by friends to come to a Friday evening service.

Dr. K. Syam Kumar, a trained surgeon, translated for Strickland into the Telugu language as those gathered listened over strategically placed loudspeakers. One hour later, when the invitation was given to accept Jesus as their Savior, 357 prayed and committed their lives to following Christ.

Evangelism International is currently planning for a 7-day crusade in Mumias, Kenya to take place in July. In the last 30 days, invitations have come in to hold crusades in India, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt. "When God opens a door for us to proclaim His message of rescue," Strickland commented, "we'd better obey. God loves people and He has commanded us to reach everyone we can while there is still time to do so."