Throughout his 70-plus years of ministry, Billy Graham preached thousands of times, from a makeshift stage atop a flatbed trailer to the pulpits of great cathedrals, reaching people in remote villages and world leaders. Regardless of the place or the audience, his message was the same:
“During all my years as an evangelist, my message has always been the Gospel of Christ. It is not a Western religion, nor is it a message of one culture or political system. … It is a message of life and hope for all the world.” —Billy Graham
February marks five years since his passing, and the Good News Billy Graham spent his life proclaiming still needs to be heard. Today, Franklin Graham and Will Graham are following the same calling, wanting everyone to experience the kind of peace in their hearts that only comes from trusting in Jesus Christ.
“As we begin 2023, the world we live in seems to be imploding,” Franklin Graham shared on Facebook. “A brutal war is bringing suffering and death in Ukraine with every day that passes. Senseless violence is rampant across the United States. Anti-God agendas that once hid in the darkness are now proudly out in the open, demanding acceptance. …
“As followers of Jesus Christ, what do we do? We tell a dying world that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life—no one comes to the Father except through Him (see John 14:6). We urge lost souls to repent of their sins and believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, before it’s too late.”
Here’s a glimpse at evangelistic Crusades planned throughout the year and how you can pray as the Good News is shared in each location:
Feb. 11–12: Franklin Graham will hold a Festival of Hope (Esperanza CDMX) in Mexico City where churches are already tilling the ground. The event, originally scheduled for 2019, was postponed due to COVID. Believers there have been praying fervently for this two-day Festival at Arena CDMX and for their non-Christian family and friends to come to know Jesus personally.
March: Franklin Graham is planning to return to Vietnam following an event in the capital of Hanoi in late 2017. This time, he would be in Ho Chi Minh City to the south, the country’s largest city with the Saigon River running through the center. Buddhism is the most common religion there.
April 29–May 7: Franklin Graham will make six stops on the Tidewater Tour, visiting Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for one-night outreach events.
July 15–16: Will Graham heads to Chișinău, Moldova for a Celebration of Hope. Situated between Ukraine and Romania, this capital city is a major hub for industry and culture in Moldova. The official state language is Romanian.
August 26: Franklin Graham’s UK God Loves You Tour returns to London, England, following a stop there last July that reached 7,600 people in this city, and more than 18,700 during the entire four-city tour.
Sept. 16: Will Graham will be in Curitiba, Brazil, the capital and largest city in Brazil’s southern state of Paraná. The event comes just over a year since Franklin Graham preached in Rio de Janeiro to the north.
Sept. 23–24: Moving into the fall, Will Graham’s Look Up Tour will stop in Idaho Falls. This eastern Idaho city sits along the Snake River, just 90 minutes from Yellowstone National Park, and not far from Lewis and Clark’s expeditions of the 1800s. Beautiful waterfalls can be seen in the heart of this city.
Oct. 7: Nearly a year to the day of the Evangelism Summit in Düsseldorf last fall, Franklin Graham will hold a Festival of Hope in nearby Essen, Germany. Billy Graham preached in Essen in 1993, an event that many Evangelism Summit participants fondly remember. The city in western Germany, an hour from the Netherlands border, has a rich history of coal mining and steel production.
Nov. 4–5: Franklin Graham will wrap up this year’s Crusade schedule in the historic metropolis of Rome, Italy, just a year after his Noi Festival in Milan brought 13,000 people to the largest evangelistic event of its kind in northern Italy.
As Franklin Graham and Will Graham tell others about Jesus Christ on three continents, will you pray for all who hear?
How You Can Pray
- Pray for all the local churches participating in these events, that their congregations will be unified and ready to disciple new believers.
- Pray that Christians will invite those who don’t know Christ to the events.
- Pray for logistics, that plans will move forward smoothly with God’s guidance.
- Pray for non-Christians to be drawn to these free, family-friendly outreaches and hear the Good News in a fresh, personal way.
