It was a week like no other in Italy. While residents were under a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, the Gospel was shared on secular TV for the first time, reaching millions of homes. With commercials starting on Good Friday—April 10—and running 23 times that week, Franklin Graham shared how to find peace and salvation through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The 60-second commercial was aired on La Setta—Italy’s third-largest secular TV station, with 40 million weekly viewers. Italy’s total population is just over 60 million people.
In preparation, more than 750 trained pastors and volunteers answered calls and chatted online with those who prayed to make a decision for Christ or wanted to know more. Afterward, the new and rededicated believers were sent a letter from Franklin Graham and a spiritual resource (both in Italian) from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
Be inspired by this powerful story of how the Holy Spirit worked in the heart of one woman who called Italy’s BGEA Prayer Line.
Sofia* had been reading the Bible for a few months and searching for answers. After she saw Franklin Graham’s message on TV, she sensed a loud, almost audible voice telling her to call the prayer line.
“I called, and the person on the other side of the phone spoke in a new way about Jesus,” she said. “[They] truly believed in this God like He was a real person, truly believed that every single word in the Bible is truth.”
The volunteer she spoke with explained how to have peace with God. Sofia prayed to invite Christ to forgive her sins and come into her heart and life.
“Immediately I felt fire burning in me, something that I never experienced in my life,” she remembered. Sofia told the volunteer, “I feel strange” and asked, “What’s happening to me? I can feel this peace that you have just mentioned.” The volunteer told her not to worry, that she was saved and her sins had been forgiven.
“I’m a new person,” Sofia exclaimed. “I can’t wait to talk to this person again to learn more about Jesus. I cannot stop praising God after this experience!”
*Name changed to protect privacy.
