On Wednesday, 21 February, one of the most influential preachers of the 20th Century, Billy Graham, has died aged 99. He preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, providing also spiritual counsel to presidents, championing desegregation, being a voice of hope and guidance in times of trial.
Graham preached to live audiences of nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings. He also reached hundreds of millions more worshippers through television, video, film, and webcasts. Graham’s sermons were broadcast on radio and television. He hosted annual Billy Graham Crusades, which ran from 1947 until his retirement in 2005.
Preaching in Johannesburg in 1973, Graham said, “Christ belongs to all people. He belongs to the whole world… I reject any creed based on hate… Christianity is not a white man’s religion, and don’t let anybody ever tell you that it’s white or black.”
Graham was preaching to all people, right and left: “Graham spoke to people of all ethnicities, creeds and backgrounds,” reads a statement issued by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, founded by Billy Graham in 1950. “Early in his career, he denounced racism when desegregation was not popular. Before the U.S. Supreme Court banned discrimination on a racial basis, Graham held desegregated Crusades, even in the Deep South. He declined invitations to speak in South Africa for 20 years, choosing instead to wait until the meetings could be integrated. Integration occurred in 1973, and only then did Graham make the trip to South Africa.”
Tributes to Mr Graham poured in from major leaders, including President Donald Trump: “The GREAT Billy Graham is dead,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday. “There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man.”
Former President Barack Obama said he was a guide to millions of Americans: “Billy Graham was a humble servant who prayed for so many – and who, with wisdom and grace, gave hope and guidance to generations of Americans.”
UK pop singer Sir Cliff Richard, said he had become Christian at a Billy Graham event in London in 1966, he said ”Monarchs, Presidents and Prime Minsters admired him. We have lost someone special and we will greatly miss a unique human being,” adding that “his rallies were always moving and enlightening and he presented a ‘hope’ to many who didn’t know that one existed.”
‘Preacher of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ’ – will read the inscription on his grave marker, says Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in their statement.
