Q: Where did Billy Graham first preach on the front lines?
A: Seoul, South Korea
In 1952, Billy Graham spent two weeks around Christmastime preaching to thousands of American soldiers deployed to Seoul, South Korea, during the Korean War.
Given the field rank of major general during his visit, Billy Graham traveled around the devastated war zone encouraging GIs and sharing the Good News of Christ. “It seemed that everywhere we went there was despair and fear and danger,” he said, “yet every meeting … was packed with eager, enthusiastic audiences.”
In his first sermon on the front lines, Billy Graham recalled feeling the Spirit of God. “I did not use humor or stories to break the ice that night,” he explained. “I dove right into the Gospel.”
Men of every rank responded to the invitation. Hundreds of tough, rugged men—many in tears—came forward to pray and receive Christ as their personal Savior.
Gracing the platform was a large picture depicting Christ watching over an exhausted soldier. Painted by a soldier who was 40 miles away, the troops had carried the picture overnight to have at the gathering.
Billy Graham returned to Seoul two decades later, in 1973, to preach before what would become the largest Crusade crowd in the history of the ministry. More than one million people heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the final day of the outreach.
—Paraphrased from Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham
