I have to say, I have met many wonderful Christian men and women over the years, but the godliest man I have ever met is Billy Graham—not just because of the fact that he is the greatest evangelist in human history. It’s because Billy was the same privately as he was publicly.
He often has said, “I’m just a country preacher,” and though it may sound like a feigned humility, he was simply telling you the truth about himself. Raised up by God in a singular way to be a pastor to presidents and other world leaders, as well as an evangelist to the world at large, when it’s all said and done, Billy was one of the most down-to-earth people I have ever known.
When I first met him, years ago, I addressed him as Dr. Graham. He quickly laid that to rest, saying I should just call him Billy. That is the Billy Graham many never saw. One of the great qualities of Billy Graham was how he would always ask about you and your family, and be genuinely interested in what you have to say, as opposed to merely talking about himself.
He has shown so much kindness to me and my family over the years, and no other person has influenced me in evangelistic preaching more than Billy has.
So how can we honor the life of Billy Graham? His departure to Heaven is a passing of the torch that he so faithfully carried to all of us.
I am simply one of many voices bringing the Gospel to our country today.
I believe, and I think he would agree, that we must do all we can to raise the banner of the gospel and carry out our evangelistic mission.
We all have such a deep affection and respect for Billy, and I think the greatest tribute we could pay to him is to proclaim the same Gospel he so faithfully preached to as many people as possible.
Several years ago, we initiated Harvest America as a way of rallying our nation around the gospel. In a sense, Harvest America was our way of continuing what Billy Graham began.
On June 10, we will be holding an evangelistic campaign in the Dallas–Ft. Worth Metroplex at AT&T Stadium.
It will be an event very much like those that Billy and his organization held—only with one twist. We will live stream it to any church that wants to join in as we proclaim the gospel. We were at this same venue in 2016 and 82,000 people filled the stadium; when the day was over, some 25,000 people made professions of faith in Jesus Christ at thousands of locations all over the country.
Would you join Harvest America as a host location as we celebrate the gospel in a Billy-Graham-style gospel crusade across America? All the information you need to become a host site for your community can be found at harvestamerica.com. I hope and pray thousands of churches will respond and that we will see the greatest gospel outreach in our nation’s history.
In Christ,
Greg Laurie
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