This was Rock the River in Baton Rouge, where 11,000 young people gathered in the sweltering summer heat along the banks of the Mississippi River, in the shadow of LSU’s Tiger Stadium, for eight incredible hours.
Rock the River was exactly what we prayed it would be–an exciting evangelistic event that would attract unchurched young people to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
They loved the music from bands like Flyleaf and Mary Mary, and when I gave the invitation to receive Christ, hundreds raised their hands and surrendered their lives to the Savior.
One young man met with one of our counselors and prayed that Jesus Christ would forgive his sins and become his Savior and Lord. Soon afterward a local newspaper reporter approached him to inquire why he had responded to the invitation. “I want to get my life on a straight path,” he replied.
Another young man walked into an open tent where some of our team workers were stationed. “I came here with a church youth group,” he said. “I’m not in their church, or any church–somebody just invited me along. Since I got here, I prayed to ask Jesus to save me and change my life, but I don’t even have a Bible. You got one?” He got one.
Bands like Flyleaf, whose lead singer is Lacey Mosley, have a huge heart to reach the lost. Lacey told the audience of her own past struggle with drugs and suicidal thoughts before God saved her.
For eight hours, we sang and preached about the Savior, and when the net was cast, hundreds of young people were transformed by the power of the risen Christ whose blood “cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
At the end of the day, I gathered on stage with all the musicians to sing praises to the Lord for the great things He had done.
More Cities to come
In the battle for the souls of young people, God gave us victory in Baton Rouge. And that was just the start. As we head up the Mississippi River to St. Louis on August 2, the Quad Cities on August 8, and Minneapolis/St. Paul on August 16, we will be going against the currents of secularism, postmodernism, and the godless culture in which we live.
We learned a lot in Baton Rouge that will help us. In each upcoming city, for example, we’ve invited students from top Christian universities to mingle with the crowd throughout the day and share Christ in one-on-one evangelism.
Please pray for us. Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw thousands of lost young people to each of these Rock the River Tour events. The devil wants our young people in bondage to sin, but we’re not going to give up. We’re going to keep pursuing the lost. We do that by proclaiming the Gospel, which is “the power of God to salvation” (Romans 1:16).
God has provided only one way of eternal salvation, and that is through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. We must do whatever is necessary to make sure our young people–as well as older–hear this truth.
Rock the River Tour is an expensive project for us, and your financial gift this month will help us reach people in America’s heartland and around the world with the life-changing proclamation of the Gospel. Thank you for your partnership with BGEA. I deeply appreciate your support.
May God bless you and your family,
Franklin Graham
President
Pray Now!
The Rock the River Tour is already under way, bringing the Gospel to young people all along the Mississippi River. In each city, follow-up begins immediately for those who make decisions for Christ.
Join us in prayer »
Bogotá, Colombia
From August 27 to 29, I’ll be leading a Crusade in Bogotá, Colombia. This is the first time in 25 years that this city has had an all-out, citywide evangelistic crusade.
Five years ago, we took the World Evangelism Through Television project, My Hope, there. More than 6,000 churches worked with us to train several hundred thousand Christian families, and those families invited unsaved friends into their homes to watch our My Hope broadcasts.
After the program, hosts shared their own testimony of the lasting hope found in Jesus Christ. As a result, Colombian churches reported at least 700,000 decisions for Christ. Now the churches have invited us to proclaim the Gospel in a public stadium in the capital city.
Pray for the many thousands of Colombian Christians who right now are inviting unsaved loved ones and friends to attend. Ask God to bring a great harvest in Bogotá and great rejoicing in Heaven.
Our Gift to You
Because many books on biblical prophecy focus on cataclysmic events of the last days, even Christians can become fearful of Christ’s return. In his book The Merciful God of Prophecy, Tim LaHaye celebrates the awesome wonder of God’s loving plan for a future filled with hope, optimism, blessing– and Jesus. When you give a gift to BGEA this month, we’ll send a complimentary copy as our thanks.
