The Beginnings Of An Evangelist

The Beginnings Of An Evangelist

It was to be his biggest crusade to date.

BILLY GRAHAM was born into a Christian family in 1918 near Charlotte, North Carolina. He regularly attended church and held to the strong moral values his parents had instilled in him. When Billy was almost sixteen, a colorful evangelist named Mordecai Ham was conducting services in Charlotte. Billy grudgingly attended a meeting at the urging of his parents. The evangelist intrigued him with his keen sense of humor yet harsh condemnation of sin. Billy returned night after night.

Graham recalled: “I became deeply convicted about my sinfulness and rebellion. And confused. How could this evangelist be talking to me, of all people? I had been baptized as a baby, had learned the Shorter Catechism word perfect, and had been confirmed. . . . I was even the vice president of my youth group in our church. . . . What was slowly dawning on me during those weeks was the miserable realization that I did not know Jesus Christ for myself. I could not depend on my parents’ faith.”

One night when Dr. Ham gave the invitation to accept Jesus, Billy responded. He was guided through a simple prayer in which he committed himself to Christ. That night in his room he prayed for the first time without having been told to do so.

Graham felt called to be a preacher, and his evangelistic ministry expanded rapidly. He began holding citywide crusades by the late 1940s. He first attracted national attention at his 1949 Los Angeles Crusade in which several famous people were converted.

Five years later he was on his way to England for the Greater London Crusade. There had been many months of planning, and this was to be his largest and longest crusade yet. While on the boat, he was confronted by a radio news report that stated that a Labour member of Parliament would challenge in Commons the admission of Billy Graham to England on the grounds that he was interfering in British politics under the guise of religion.

Apparently material distributed in England about the upcoming crusade contained a statement condemning socialism. In Britain the term socialism was almost synonymous with the Labour Party. The English took this as a political insult. Graham issued apologies to Parliament and explained to the press that the publication condemned secularism in general, not a particular political view. Although the incident was stressful, it brought much more publicity to the crusade than ever could have been purchased!

March 1, 1954, the first day of the crusade, brought rain, sleet, and doubts. Graham wasn’t sure if people would come. The arena held 12,000, but an hour before the crusade only 2,000 people had arrived. He and his staff continued to pray, and when he arrived at the arena, it was filled past capacity. At the invitation 200 came forward.

For three months Graham held nightly meetings. Each night brought larger crowds with the police turning thousands away. The press was amazed at Graham’s ability to reach people from every facet of society.

May 22, 1954, the last day of the Greater London Crusade, Graham was exhausted. The final meeting was held in a stadium seating one hundred thousand. The weather was terrible, but every seat was filled, and an additional 22,000 were allowed to sit on the playing field. Graham preached on “Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve.” He did not know where he was going to find the strength to preach, but as he looked out over the crowd of 122,000 wet, cold people, God gave him the strength. Over 2,000 people came forward that night.

In all, more than 38,000 people made professions of faith during the Greater London Crusade. As their bus slowly made its way through the shouting, waving crowds leaving the stadium, Graham and his team sang together, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”

Reflection

What do you believe has been the secret to Billy Graham’s success? God called him to a role that is unique to him, but he has a role for each one of us. What can you learn from Billy Graham’s life?

Work at bringing others to Christ.

2 Timothy 4:5