According to Fox news
Thousands of Christians gathered outdoors in Portland on Saturday to sing spiritual music amid the state’s coronavirus social distancing measures—just hours before a riot was declared across town and a separate crowd lit fire to the city police union headquarters.
Worshippers met in Waterfront Park on Saturday evening for an event dubbed “Riots to Revival.” Controversial Christian musician Sean Feucht, who has hosted similar gatherings on California beaches amid COVID-19 restrictions, led the crowd in song and some were even baptized. Most people flouted social distancing and did not wear masks or facial coverings, KGW reported.
“I’m excited to share with you some good news from Portland. Last night, we gathered thousands of people that came together,” Feucht told “Fox & Friends Weekend” Sunday morning.
“White, Black, Hispanic – we came and released our song of hope over this city. People gave their life to Jesus. Hundreds of people — We baptized people in the river behind us. There was so much joy that took over the streets of that city last night.”
Feucht estimated between 4,000 and 7,000 people attended the massive outdoor church service that happened just blocks away from the federal courthouse and acted as a counter-protest to bring worship, prayer, and acts of kindness to Portland. Only 600 people responded to a Facebook event to say they would attend.
Videos showed a large, close-knit crowd of people with their arms raised in praise. The city has seen more than two months of violence in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
“Our tagline last night was ‘Riots to Revival,’ which we’re carrying with us into Seattle tonight. We just believe that the church has the ability to change the narrative. All of America has just seen these buildings burning, and they’ve seen this destruction and this violence, and the mainstream media seems to be infatuated with this. But what I’m telling you is that there’s another story of what God is doing in these cities and the church is rising up,” Feucht told Fox News’ Pete Hegseth.
A worship leader and founder of “Hold the Line” ministries, Feucht has been hosting “Let Us Worship” protests across California to encourage Christians to become more involved in politics and fight against the “double standard” seen in coronavirus restrictions.
‘People are gonna get baptized tonight’ Massive outdoor church gathering hosted by Sean Feucht, dubbed ‘Riots To Revival’ and on tour going to various cities that have seen protests in recent months #Portland #PortlandProtests #RiotsToRevival pic.twitter.com/LbVFd0vYdH
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) August 9, 2020