Walk through the streets of downtown Launceston, Tasmania, and you’ll see ornate Victorian buildings, cozy coffee shops and corner clothing stores. If you pay close enough attention, you’ll spot the iconic cross logo of City Mission—an organization that gives a safe place for those who don’t have a home or just need a place to stay.
That’s where Mitchell met his buddy, and together they came to the final night of Will Graham’s evangelistic outreach in Launceston. Little did they know, God had something special planned.
The last night of the Will Graham Tasmania Celebration brought hundreds to the Silverdome. Young people returned and filled the front of the stage with their energy, singing familiar lyrics to worship music led by CASS and The Afters. Even the youngest children in the audience danced their hearts out, spinning in circles on the gym floor.
“I believe there’s a lot of longing souls here tonight, hungry souls,” Will Graham told Sunday’s crowd. “I want you to know you can find everything you’re looking for in a personal relationship with God.
“There is a God and He does care about you. … God thinks you’re worth everything and He’s willing to die for you, to have a relationship with you. God can come into your life and change your life tonight. … But you’ve got to be willing to come to Him.”
Mitchell sat listening to his message, turning Will Graham’s words around in his head. Much of what the evangelist said caught his attention.
“I was hearing what he was saying and it made sense with where I was going,” Mitchell said. “I wasn’t necessarily going to end up in a good place.”
While the young man had grown up going to religious events put on by the Salvation Army or City Mission, he never understood what it meant to be a Christian.
But after Sunday’s Gospel presentation, something finally clicked. Mitchell found himself walking forward beside his friend, ready to give his heart to Jesus.
“I was just trying to change my life, change my direction,” he said. “These choices that you make have an effect and obviously have a positive influence. At the end of the day, it was a choice.”
The Launceston local had made a decision that would transform his life forever. He had chosen Jesus.
A ‘Precious’ Interaction
The three-day Celebration was two years in the making and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) needed 300 volunteers to pull off the events—and God brought them.
That’s how prayer volunteer Rebecca, who goes by Bec, found herself talking to a 10-year-old girl whose life was changed by the Good News.
The young girl came forward at Will Graham’s invitation, ready to make Jesus the King of her life. The 10-year-old shared she now wants her family members who don’t know Jesus to come into the family of God.
That is Bec’s desire, too.
The volunteer said she served “out of my heart of loving God and wanting to see other people come to know that love. I love working in His house, and to me, this is a part of that and growing His kingdom.
“It’s such a huge blessing to be able to be part of someone’s first connection with God and making that choice. It was precious,” she said.
