In one of the most unchurched cities in America, a bold light is breaking through the darkness. Pastor Brett Meador of Athey Creek Church has been quietly faithful to God’s call for nearly 30 years in Portland, Oregon—teaching the Bible verse by verse, trusting the power of God’s Word to transform hearts.
Now, that faithful seed is bearing extraordinary fruit.
(Listen to the entire conversation with Crystal Thornton and Pastor Brett Meador in the Podcast below)
This August, more than 45,000 people are expected to gather at Portland’s Moda Center for the PDX Crusade, the city’s first major evangelistic event in over 25 years. The worship lineup features names like Chris Tomlin, Kari Jobe, Zach Williams, CAIN, TAYA and more. But the focus isn't the music, it’s the message of Jesus Christ.
“We’re in a city that’s been post-Christian for a long time,” Pastor Brett shared. “But we believe the harvest is ready. Just last Sunday we had over 100 people accept Christ. The Saturday before, we baptized 55 people in the Willamette River.”
Pastor Brett moved to Portland in 1996 after feeling stirred to leave the comfort of his small hometown church in southern Oregon.
“I asked God, ‘Where is the need?’ and I found Portland," he said. "My heart was to just teach the Bible faithfully—and if anyone came, I’d be blessed.”
And they came. First a handful, then hundreds and now thousands across multiple campuses. But even after three decades of fruitful ministry, the Lord stirred something new.
“I started thinking about those old Billy Graham Crusades. How people came forward. How lives were changed,” he recalled. “I felt the Lord say, 'Let’s go big. Let’s go bold. Let’s preach the Gospel in a stadium in downtown Portland.’”
The Athey Creek team prayed, and the very next day, a donation for $1 million arrived in the mail. “It was confirmation,” he said. “God was in it.”
Tickets to the crusade—offered for free—were gone within minutes. So the team added a third event, and churches across Portland rallied. More than 3,000 volunteers signed up to help, many from other churches across the city.
“We don’t want this to be about one church,” Pastor Brett said. “We want every new believer to be discipled and plugged into a local body. Portland has some great churches—some that are still recovering from the pandemic—and we want to fill those seats.”
The heart behind the crusade is simple: bring the Light of Jesus to a city hungry for hope.
“There’s spiritual darkness here,” Brett said. “But Jesus said, ‘I am the Light of the world.’ And the darkness cannot overcome Him.”
Reflecting on his personal faith journey, Pastor Brett summed it up in one powerful sentence:
“My mother led me to Christ when I was 5 years old. I was called to be a pastor at 12. I’ve never looked back. And God has been faithful to use a very imperfect person like me.”
For more information about the PDX Crusade, visit https://pdxcrusade.com./