It was the mid-1960s, and the Civil Rights Movement was gaining traction. Billy Graham canceled a European tour to preach a series of Crusades in one of America’s most racially troubled states—Alabama.
Billy Graham said in regard to his Crusade meetings in Birmingham: “If we can’t meet at the cross as brothers, we can’t make it in other areas.”
So he insisted that these meetings be integrated. Perhaps an unpopular choice at the time, it was a God-led one.
And now, more than 50 years later, his son Franklin Graham led the 16th prayer rally of the Decision America Tour in that very state.
This time, to a drastically different Alabama. But a state still in need.
“I think we’re all here today because we see that our nation is in trouble,” said Franklin Graham to around 6,800 Alabamans who swarmed the State Capitol grounds.
“We’re in trouble spiritually, racially, economically and politically. … The only hope for this country is Almighty God.
“The most important thing we can do here today is to pray.”
Charles Lewis, pastor of Dothan Community Church—a multiracial church he started in 1987—is glad to be part of such a historic day in the life of his home state.
As an African-American who has lived in Alabama for most of his life, he appreciates the progress he has seen—and the significance of Thursday’s event on the lawn of the State Capitol.
“I think that it goes along with what the Bible says. We have one Father, one faith, one baptism, one Lord, and we are supposed to preserve the bond of unity we have in Jesus Christ,” said Lewis.
“And I believe [the prayer rally] is a reflection of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
But it’s also not lost on him that the spirit of unity present at Alabama’s Decision America rally is more than a reflection of the church—it’s the result of unseen labor in many prayer closets.
“I think there were people even back at that time [during the Civil Rights Movement] who were behind the scenes. They were praying. They were the unsung heroes—the people nobody really knew about,” he said.
“But I believe they were praying and had a vision for this day.”
And just as Billy Graham and many others prayed several decades ago that the Gospel would tear down the walls of division between the races, Lewis believes today will fan the flames for prayer over work that still needs to be done.
“I think just the emphasis on prayer will spread throughout our state and that the churches will come together in prayer. Not just have their own prayer meeting, but gather as the church of Jesus Christ.”
