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The evangelist was a key leader of the 20th century. Hundreds of thousands made a decision to follow Jesus after hearing him preaching the Gospel. Graham worked to unite evangelical Christians around mission movements.
Billy Graham, in 1966. / Library of Congress - Wikimedia Commons, CC)
Billy Graham died today. The preacher dedicated his life to share the message of the Gospel in thousands of public events.
It is estimated that about 100 million heard him speak live during his lifetime, and millions more have listened to him via television.
An invitation to a revival event with Billy Graham, in 1949. / CT, BGEABilly Graham was born in 1918 in Charlotte (North Carolina), and graduated from Florida Bible Institute and Wheaton College. He was the first full-time staff worker of Youth for Christ. He married Ruth Bell in 1943 (she died in 2007)
His evangelistic tent meetings in Los Angeles (1949) and later the four-months long events in the Madison Square Garden (New York) broght him to international attention.
Graham met with 13 Presidents of the United States, and “personally interacted with (and usually prayed with) all of the presidents following World War II—from Truman to Trump”, according to The Gospel Coalition.
Billy Graham and Jimmy Carter. / BGEA“Perhaps Graham's lasting legacy was his ability to present the gospel in the idiom of the culture. He did this brilliantly, making innovative use of emerging technologies—radio, television, magazines, books, a newspaper column, motion pictures, satellite broadcasts, Internet—to spread his message”, the magazine Christianity Today, which he founded, said in an obituary article.
His son Franklin Graham has continued his evangelistic task leading the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Billy Graham preaching in Trafalgar Square during the London Crusade. / BGEAHe helped launche the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, which later became the Lausanne Movement, the broadest inter-denominational evangelical mission movement.
Evangelical Focus will report more about the figure of Billy Graham in the next days.
In all walks of life, we run the risk of performing for those watching us.
Jesus, nailed to the cross, shed his crimson blood in order to give abundant life to all his children.
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Michael Ramsden: Communicating the Gospel in today’s societies
RZIM International Director Michael Ramsden responds to questions about the secularisation of Europe, the role of Christians in public leadership and the new ‘culture of victimism’.
Ruth Valerio: A lifestyle that cares about creation
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Photos of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance’s annual gathering “Idea 2019”, in Murcia. Politicians and church leaders discussed about the role of minorities in society.
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Christians rallied in Sofia on November 18 to defend their rights. It is the second Sunday of peaceful demonstrations against a new religion draft law that could severely restrict religious freedom and rights of minority faith confessions.
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Bulgarian evangelicals protested peacefully on November 11 against a draft law which could severely restrict religious freedom of faith minorities. Churches rallied in Sofia and other cities after the Sunday worship services.
Photos: #WalkForFreedom
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Photos: Reaching people with disabilities
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Romania: God’s Word among Roma people
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Latin American leaders unite to fight against imposition of gender ideology
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How do fake news spread?
Tony Watkins, Coordinator of the Lausanne Media Engagement Network.
Lindsay Brown: The encouraging advance of the gospel in Spain
Church planting, the amount of books authored by Spanish evangelicals and the growth of the Christian student movement in the last decades, are some of the marks underlined by Lindsay Brown.
Church planting in Strasbourg
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Opinions expressed are those of their respective contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of Evangelical Focus.
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