God took J.L. Pearson halfway around the world so that he could meet Jesus.
His heart was broken when the relationship with his first love didn’t work out. So in 1955, he joined the military and spent some time in Taiwan.
“I just wanted to get away,” Pearson said.
Not far from his base, there was a Canadian couple—missionaries—who opened their home to servicemen. They would have them over for meals, donate needed personal supplies and teach Bible studies.
It was there, in the home of those missionaries from Vancouver, that Pearson grew to love Jesus—and Billy Graham.
“Jesus saved me in the missionaries’ home; it was there I surrendered my life to the Lord. The husband (who happened to be the grandson of famed missionary to China, Hudson Taylor), taught us from the book of John,” Pearson remembered.
“We also heard recordings of Billy Graham’s preaching and George Beverly Shea’s singing. And we would listen to them almost every time we were at the house. It was there that the ministry of Billy Graham was laid on my heart.”
When Pearson returned to his home in Tennessee in 1957, he began helping his father on the family farm, got married and began watching Billy Graham preach on TV whenever he had the opportunity.
But he was compelled to do more than just watch sermons. He wanted to play a part in bringing the Gospel to people around the world, the way it had been brought to him.
“I didn’t feel led to preach or anything. But one thing I could do is support Billy Graham,” he said.
Over the decades since he turned his life over to Christ, Pearson is the last person to say life has been easy. He’s had hard times—tough years on the farm and a failed marriage.
After his first wife left him, he experienced a glimpse of God’s grace when his first love came back into his life, as a widow. He would say that this woman, along with his three children, are symbols of God’s faithfulness in his life.
“The Lord has blessed me through the years. He has been so good to me. I have my faults; I don’t claim to be perfect. But through God’s grace I have been saved through faith,” Pearson said.
And just like God has been faithful to him, he wants to return whatever he can. So, to this day, he supports the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association one donation at a time.
“So all those years, we’ve supported Billy Graham. God nudged me to do it,” he said. “1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us who we are, and we’re not our own. We were bought at a price. Jesus Christ died on the cross for us.”
Now, at 81 years old, Pearson has slowed his pace of life considerably. His first love, his second wife, passed away two-and-a-half years ago. He credits God for sustaining him throughout his life—the good times and bad.
He admits that at his age, he can’t remember Scripture the way he used to or physically serve his community. But one thing he can still do, he says, is support Kingdom work.
And in his opinion, there has never been a more important time than now.
“As I see the world, the way it’s getting now … it’s just getting bad. But I praise Him for being able to suffer.
“And I want to be a blessing, just like Billy Graham has been a blessing to me all these years.”
