Tucked in the tree-covered mountains of West Virginia sits the city of Fairmont, where Will Graham held a three-day evangelistic outreach July 23-25.
Months of prayer, preparation and collaboration go into every Will Graham Celebration. On the first morning of the event, Will Graham spent time with Aaron Shust and other team members dedicating the weekend’s events to the Lord.
Just hours later, people filed into Fairmont State University’s football stadium for night one of the Mountain State Celebration. In addition to more than 800 in the crowd, over 4,000 watched online.
Many families enjoyed the beautiful summer evening by attending the outdoor event together.
While Will Graham preaches all around the world, Fairmont is within driving distance of his home in North Carolina. He said of his motorcycle drive to the weekend’s events, “I’ve been praying the whole way up here, going around bends in the road just praying.”
To open the evening, The Afters bounced around stage with their upbeat music while many sang and danced along to their well-known tunes.
Locals of all ages made a joyful noise to the Lord.
The tone of the evening shifted as Aaron Shust led several worshipful songs, including “Ever Be” and “My Hope Is in You.”
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” —Psalm 100:4
For Will Graham’s first message in Fairmont, he talked about the Biblical character of Jacob and how we, too, try to take our lives into our own hands.
“Today, so many people try to do the right things to get into Heaven,” the evangelist said. But that’s not what God requires. “What matters is if you put your faith in His Son Jesus Christ.”
West Virginia is famously called “Almost Heaven,” but this Gospel-centered event reminded residents there’s no “almost” when it comes to the kingdom of God. You can either accept or reject Christ—and your eternity hinges on that decision.
When it came time to make that choice, people trickled forward to publicly accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Trained volunteers stood ready to talk and pray with them about what Will Graham called “the most important decision you can ever make in life.”
“We saw a group the size of my church get saved tonight,” said Paul Boyles, pastor of a nearby congregation. “This was a miracle,” he added with certainty.
Will you take a moment to pray for each person who made a decision for Christ—and ask God to draw even more people to Himself?
