International evangelist Luis Palau has passed away at the age of 86 after a three-year battle with lung cancer.

He died at his home in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by his family, his son Kevin Palau said in an announcement on Facebook. 

He is survived by wife Patricia and their three other sons Keith, Andrew, and Stephen.

"We are heartbroken, yet full of hope and faith. We serve a good God who loves us tremendously. And Dad gave his life to share that Good News with the world," said Kevin. 

In a joint statement, the four sons said he had died "suddenly and very peacefully, just as he had hoped."

The family is planning a small, private service in Portland to be streamed online in honour of his life, with details coming soon.

"This is hard news, but Luis is experiencing the beauty of the Lord face to face," they added. 

Palau was born in Ingeniero Maschwitz, a small town near the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, on November 27, 1934. 

He became a Christian aged 12, not long after the passing of his father, and started preaching on the streets while still only a teenager.

He was already hosting his own Christian radio programme at the age of 19 before moving to the US in 1960 under the mentorship of Californian pastor Ray Stedman. 

He met his wife while studying at Multnomah School of the Bible (now Multnomah University) in Portland, Oregon, but his ministry would extend far beyond the US, taking him to over 80 nations around the world. 

His more than six decades in ministry included time as an intern with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and occasionally acting as translator for the late evangelist Billy Graham's Spanish-language outreaches.

He and Graham remained close friends and his involvement with the latter's ministry laid the foundation for the launch of his own global evangelistic organization in 1978.

Luis Palau visited the UK on several occasions, hosting a London outreach over several weeks at the Queen's Park Rangers Stadium in 1984 and an open-air event in Inverness, Scotland, in 2009. 

Paying tribute, British evangelist J John said he had "the profoundest respect and affection" for Palau. 

"One reason that Luis was so good as an evangelist was that he was so openly and wonderfully enthusiastic about the gospel. As anyone who heard Luis will testify, there was joy in what he said," he said. 

People are being invited to share their memories of Luis at https://LuisPalau.org