The National Prayer Breakfast, organised by the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (FEREDE), was held on 3 May in Madrid, with 80 participants, including representatives of different political parties and the state administration.

It is the first to be held after the pandemic. The previous one had taken place in June 2019.

The executive secretary of FEREDE, Carolina Bueno, opened the event by thanking the political representatives, the Administration, the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation, and other civil society entities, as well as the representatives of churches, denominational leaders, and members of the regional Evangelical Councils, who came from different regions of Spain.

“Welcome to this friendly space to get to know each other and to pray to God for our country and for those who have the responsibility to lead us in their political work”, said Bueno.

Evangelical presence in Spain

A video explained that evangelicals are the second largest religious faith group in Spain in terms of places of worship, with over 4,500.

“We are a great diversity of churches that have our origin in the first century and adhere to the principles of the Protestant Reformation. Churches that serve society, making the right to religious freedom effective, giving assistance in hospitals, prisons, detention centres for foreigners, armed forces”, it added.

According to the latest report by Diaconia Spain, which coordinates the social action of evangelical churches, in 2022, 12,000 people were supported and 16 million euros were invested in different projects.

Biblical reflection

Miguel and Rosa, from the music group Sal150, added a musical note to the meeting, and shared their testimony of how they face their grief with faith and hope after the tragic and painful loss of two of their children.

Evangelical pastor Emmanuel Buch pointed out that “evangelicals do not have a political party, nor do we want one of our own”. Christians are interested in politics, he added, because “we are interested in the life of the citizens”.

Buch also called for “justice and modesty" from public servants. “We do not ask you to abandon your ideas, but we do ask you to abandon tension and to be an example of coexistence”.

Furthermore, evangelicals “do not want to impose our moral values, nor do we ask you for privileges”, they advocate for “a separation between Church and state, we only ask to be judged and known by our deeds”, he added.

“We offer you our institutional loyalty; our active collaboration in initiatives that build a fairer society; a constructive critical dialogue; and, above all, our prayers for your good management, your lives and your families, because the political responsibility passes, the political figure disappears, but the person remains”, concluded Buch.

Prayer time

After Pastor Buch's words, there was a short time of prayer in which some pastors prayed for different social, economic and human needs and challenges in Spain.

The institutional act concluded with some words of farewell and the presentation of gifts to the politicians and other representatives of the authorities.

Then, after a time of informal conversation, the event continued with a second, more intimate part of biblical reflection and prayer among the pastors and evangelical leaders, to which the special guests were free to stay or leave.