7,600 individuals from all across London and the U.K. poured into ExCeL London on July 16 for the last city on Franklin Graham’s 2022 God Loves You Tour.
London, the largest city in the U.K., is home to 9 million people. Sadly, over the past few years Christianity has been on the decline—with just around 44% of Londoners claiming to be Christian.
“Is your soul secure in the hands of God?” Franklin Graham asked the attentive Saturday night crowd. “And if your life came to an end tonight, time stopped for you tonight, would God welcome you into His presence, would God receive you?”
This young lady got the perfect vantage point to see the evening's proceedings.
The crowd immediately started clapping the moment Dennis Agajanian played his first chord. The musician has traveled all across the world with Franklin Graham—and always gets feet tapping with his quick-picking.
Gospel artist, author and 12-time Grammy award winner CeCe Winans reminded those watching that God is bigger than their problems. “How many of you know we serve a God who has a perfect record?” she said. “How many of you know that God has never lost, and how many know He never will?”
The Holy Spirit was felt in the arena as many in the crowd worshiped God in their own unique way. Some jumped, some danced, some fell on their knees, and some raised their hands high.
Author, singer and actor Michael W. Smith has traveled to the furthest reaches of the world with Franklin Graham. The well-known lyrics to his most popular songs like “Open the Eyes of My Heart” rang throughout the auditorium as attendees sang praise to God.
The crowd got a glimpse of heaven as people all across the stadium raised their hands and sang, “Are You Lord God, Almighty? Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb. You are holy, holy”— an echo of the words in Revelation 5:12.
Franklin Graham’s message centered around Daniel 5 and challenged those to consider the time they have left on this earth—and what will happen when they stand before God. “God remembers everything you do. He remembers your thoughts. ... He remembers your sins. But when you receive Christ, your sins will be blotted out,” the evangelist said.
The evangelist's message touched hearts all around the room—and there hardly was room in front of the stage for the over 700 who decided to surrender their lives to Christ. And it wasn't just those in-person. There were over 34,000 views on the livestream—and of those who watched across the world, over 200 indicated they made a decision for Jesus.
Those who went forward connected with counselors, who joyfully gave up their Saturday evenings to see God work. The counselors helped those who made decisions fill out a form to connect them with a local church and gave them faith-based resources.
Several children also came forward to surrender their lives to Jesus. They received special books that walked them through what it means to be a Christian and explains just how much God loves them.
A counselor (not pictured) originally from India, found himself chatting with a group of “youngsters”—also from India. While they didn’t know each other originally, the counselor was inspired to see people from his own country decide to follow Jesus. “Surely God is going to do great things through them,” the counselor said. His son also decided to give his life to Jesus.
Translators behind stage interpreted Franklin Graham’s message into multiple languages, so those attending from different countries could hear the Gospel. London is the most ethnically diverse region in England and Wales, with people moving there from all over the world.
Buses, billboards, and digital signs by bus stops pointed people to the event and Franklin Graham's message of hope.
London was the final of four cities on the God Loves You Tour, which included Liverpool, Newport and Sheffield earlier this summer. Around 18,700 people heard the Gospel along the tour and over 1,400 made a decision about Jesus.
Will you pray for all those who came to the event—and that God would continue to bring revival to the city of London?
