With the Charles County Fairgrounds soaked from Friday’s heavy rain, 4,400 people braved the mud to attend the first stop of the God Loves You Tidewater Tour in La Plata, Maryland, Saturday night.
“You know something about storms here. I’m going to talk to you tonight about an anchor that will hold you through these storms,” said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
He pointed out how the southern Maryland town had faced severe weather in the past, referring to a fatal tornado that hit La Plata 21 years ago. “All of us face storms in life, but I want to tell you about God’s Son, Jesus Christ,” said Graham, who’s traveling to Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina over the next week to share the Good News.
Sitting in a lawn chair toward the back of the fairgrounds, Blake King knew what it was like to cling to Jesus during a personal storm.
At the age of 19, he was misdiagnosed with depression instead of a bipolar disorder and the medical staff gave him the wrong medication that nearly led him to take his life. If not for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to lead him through a dark part of his life, Blake’s not sure if he would still be here.
“If I didn’t know God loves me, I’d be dead,” he said boldly.
The 23-year-old is now part of a traveling young adult group that teaches an evangelism class to churches. The group volunteered at the Tidewater Tour to share God’s life-changing love with others.
King said he was “pumped” to see how God would use big-event evangelism to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“I would say this is going to open people’s eyes,” King anticipated.
And that’s exactly what God did.
Using the Biblical example of how Jesus healed a blind man’s sight, Franklin Graham told the crowd that Jesus could also heal their spiritual blindness.
“Jesus is real and He came from Heaven to this earth to save us from our sins, and anyone who turns to Him in repentance and faith will be saved,” Graham said. He encouraged people to stand if they wanted to surrender their heart to God.
All over the field, people rose to their feet and repeated Graham’s prayer to follow Christ.
“There was a tangible feeling of the Holy Spirit. How do you even explain it?” asked prayer volunteer Lara Conner. She described the moment like “seeing people waking up for the first time.”
Conner watched a man wearing a yellow hat stand up a few seats away from her. Tears streamed down his face, revealing what she called “a deep conviction.” Another prayer volunteer talked with him and gave him Scripture-based materials to help him grow in his faith.
Nearby, Jerry also stood to make the biggest decision of his life. His wife of 30 years, Shari, jumped up to throw her arms around his neck.
“I felt that I needed the Lord. It’s the first time I’ve had that deep feeling,” Jerry said, after going to church with his wife for years. “It gives me a lot of peace.”
“I wasn’t sure where he really stood with God,” Shari said. “So this is a big deal.
“This big guy, this power lifter, this guy that’s always so tough and has a big wall up, for him to stand up in front of all these people is God. It’s definitely of God,” Shari smiled.
“I’m always scared to stand for anything,” Jerry admitted, “but I just had to stand.”
Shari marveled at how God worked in her husband’s life.
“I’m so glad he came today. I wasn’t sure that he would. There was a reason. God had it all set up,” Shari said. “This is everything.”
>>Find out more about the God Loves You Tidewater Tour.
