A full-gospel evangelist whose work has
earned him the nickname, "The Latin American Billy Graham,"
says he sees himself as "just a voice."
A native of Argentina, Alberto Mottesi has preached to some 20
million people in 26 years of itinerant evangelistic work, with more
than 2 million receiving Christ mostly in crusades held in large
stadiums and arenas.
Regarded as a mentor by many church leaders, Mottesi, 61, also
consults with national, state and local political officials, many of
whom have accepted Christ through his ministry.
With his wife, Noemi, he has also launched Save the Family, which is
credited with helping to heal and restore shattered families throughout
Latin America.
Additionally, Mottesi has a prophetic and apostolic ministry, in
which he seeks to transfer the anointing of an evangelist to young
people and women in Latin America, a region that is in the midst of an
unprecedented "avivamiento espiritual" -- or "spiritual
revival."
"The Lord is moving in Latin America through Alberto,"
Jamie Ramirez, 44, pastor of Nueva Vida Foursquare Church in Santa
Barbara, Calif., told "Charisma" magazine for a report on
Mottesi's ministry. "He is a father figure to many Latin American
Christian leaders."
Carlos Quiroa, who pastors a 1,000-member charismatic congregation in
Mexico City, says Mottesi is considered the spiritual father of
Christians in Latin America.
"He is the most recognized minister in Latin America,"
Quiroa, 42, says. "He's raising up young people to be
ministers."
Daniel de León, pastor of 6,000-member Templo Calvario Assembly of
God in Santa Ana, Calif., the largest Hispanic church in the United
States, agrees. "Being a Latino himself, he relates to them, but
more importantly they relate to him," says de León, 62, a friend
of Mottesi's for 25 years. "His passion for souls and his integrity
in ministry has impacted my life."
Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, who died in July,
adds: "Personally, I have seen what God has done through this
remarkable yet humble man. And I would not be exaggerating when I agree
with many who consider him to be the Billy Graham of Latin
America."
Marcos Witt, a popular Christian musician and conference speaker
throughout Latin America who has known Mottesi for 16 years, says
Mottesi has "an amazing ability to connect with people."
"He understands the felt needs of Latin America," says
Witt, 41, pastor of the Hispanic congregation of 30,000-member Lakewood
Church in Houston.
Mottesi, however, gives all of the credit for his ministry's results
to God. "I'm an evangelist who prophesies, but I'm not a
prophet," says Mottesi, whose ministry is based in Santa Ana,
Calif. "I believe the Lord has given me words to say to His church,
His people, and the city and nations I go to."
Growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mottesi remembers seeing only
small Protestant congregations.
"Now churches are in the front page of Latin American
newspapers," says Mottesi, who was raised Catholic. "When I
was a child, I would read about revivals and dreamed for a Latin
American revival. I didn't think that I would see that day."
