Billy Graham was an American evangelical Christian evangelist and a prominent evangelical Christian figure in the United States and the world, whose life and ministry left indelible marks on the sands of time.
Born (William Franklin “Billy” Graham, Jr.) on November 7, 1918, in Charlotte, North Carolina, four days before the Armistice ended World War I, Graham was reared on a dairy farm in Charlotte, N.C. He was the eldest of four children born to Morrow (née Coffey) (1892–1981) and William Franklin Graham, Sr. (1888–1962). He grew up on a family dairy farm, near Charlotte, North Carolina, with his two younger sisters and younger brother.
Growing up during the Depression, he learned the value of hard work on the family farm, but he also found time to spend many hours in the hayloft reading books on a wide variety of subjects. He made a personal commitment to Christ in the fall of 1934, at age 15, through the ministry of Mordecai Ham, a traveling evangelist, who visited Charlotte for a series of revival meetings.
Five years after making a commitment to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour (1939), Billy was ordained by Peniel Baptist Church in Palatka, Fla. (a church in the Southern Baptist Convention), and received a solid foundation in the Scriptures at Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity College of Florida). In 1943 he graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois and married fellow student Ruth McCue Bell, daughter of a missionary surgeon, who spent the first 17 years of her life in China.
Graham and his wife, Ruth, had five children together: Virginia Leftwich (Gigi) Graham (born 1945; an inspirational speaker and author); Anne Graham Lotz (born 1948; runs AnGeL ministries); Ruth Graham (born 1950; founder and president of Ruth Graham & Friends, leads conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada); Franklin Graham (born 1952), who serves as president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and as president and CEO of international relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse; and Nelson Edman Graham (born 1958; a pastor who runs East Gates Ministries International, which distributes Christian literature in China).
After graduating from college, Mr. Graham pastored The Village Church of Western Springs (now Western Springs Baptist Church) in Western Springs, Ill., before joining Youth for Christ, an organization founded for ministry to youth and servicemen during World War II. He preached throughout the United States and in Europe in the immediate post war era, emerging as a rising young evangelist.
The 1949 Los Angeles Crusade launched Mr. Graham into international prominence. Scheduled for three weeks, the meetings were extended to more than eight weeks, with overflow crowds filling a tent erected downtown each night.
He held large indoor and outdoor rallies; sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today. In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades, which he began in 1947, until he concluded in 2005, at the time of his retirement. He also hosted the popular radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954. He repudiated segregation and, in addition to his religious aims, helped shape the worldview of fundamentalists and evangelicals, leading them to appreciate the relationship between the Bible and contemporary secular viewpoints.
Graham was a spiritual adviser to American presidents; he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson (one of Graham’s closest friends) and Richard Nixon. He insisted on integration for his revivals and crusades in 1953 and invited Martin Luther King, Jr. to preach jointly at a revival in New York City in 1957. Graham bailed King out of jail in the 1960s when King was arrested in demonstrations. He was also lifelong friends with another televangelist, Robert H. Schuller, whom Graham talked into doing his own television ministry.
Recommended: A Timeline Of Billy Graham’s Life
Mr. Graham was listed by the Gallup organization as one of the “Ten Most Admired Men in the World” whom it described as the dominant figure in that poll since 1948—making an unparalleled 61st appearance and 55th consecutive appearance in 2017. He also appeared on the covers of Time, Newsweek, Life, U.S. News and World Report, Parade and numerous other magazines and was the subject of many newspaper and magazine feature articles and books.
In 2013, Mr. Graham had the vision for proclaiming the Gospel across the United States and Canada, prompting the implementation of My Hope with Billy Graham, a grassroots evangelism outreach combining personal relationships with the power of modern media. Based upon a pioneering outreach that had already resulted in millions of decisions for Christ around the world since 2002, churches and individual Christians across the two countries were encouraged and equipped to pray and reach out to friends, family and neighbors using a powerful new film from BGEA. Approaching 95 years of age, Mr. Graham recorded a new video message, called “The Cross,” for the project, which was made available for use in homes and churches as a tool for sharing the Gospel.
Evangelist Billy Graham founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in 1950, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., until relocating to Charlotte, N.C., in 2003. Through BGEA’s ministry, Mr. Graham started:
- the weekly “Hour of Decision” radio program, which was heard around the world for more than 60 years;
- television programs that are still broadcast today on national Christian networks.
- a syndicated newspaper column, “My Answer,” which is carried by newspapers both nationally and internationally; and
- “Decision” magazine, the official publication of the Association, which has a circulation of more than 425,000, making it one of the most widely circulated religious periodicals in the world;
Crusades
Since his ministry began in 1947, Graham conducted more than 400 crusades in 185 countries and territories on six continents. The first Billy Graham Crusade, held September 13–21, 1947, in the Civic Auditorium in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was attended by 6,000 people. Graham was 28 years old. He called them crusades, after the medieval Christian forces who conquered Jerusalem. He would rent a large venue, such as a stadium, park, or street. As the sessions became larger, he arranged a group of up to 5,000 people to sing in a choir. He would preach the gospel and invite people to come forward (a practice begun by Dwight L. Moody). Such people were called inquirers and were given the chance to speak one-on-one with a counselor, to clarify questions and pray together. The inquirers were often given a copy of the Gospel of John or a Bible study booklet. In Moscow, in 1992, one-quarter of the 155,000 people in Graham’s audience went forward at his call. During his crusades, he has frequently used the altar call song, “Just As I Am”.
Graham was offered a five-year, $1 million contract from NBC to appear on television opposite Arthur Godfrey, but he turned it down in favor of continuing his touring revivals because of his prearranged commitments. Graham had missions in London, which lasted 12 weeks, and a New York City mission in Madison Square Garden in 1957, which ran nightly for 16 weeks.
Books
Evangelist Graham wrote 33 books, many which became top sellers. His autobiography “Just As I Am,” published in 1997, achieved a “triple crown,” appearing simultaneously on the three top best-seller lists in one week. In it, Mr. Graham reflected on his life, and decades of ministry around the world. From humble beginnings as the son of a dairy farmer in North Carolina, he shared how his unwavering faith in Christ formed and shaped his career.
Recommended: List of Books By Billy Graham
Death
Evangelist Billy Graham lost his wife of nearly 64 years, Ruth Bell Graham, in June of 2007. Together they had three daughters, two sons, 19 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren and 9 great-great-grandchildren. Mr. Graham lived in their home in the mountains of North Carolina until his death on on Wednesday February 21, 2018, at the age of 99.
Awards and Honors
The following is a partial list of the numerous awards received by Mr. Graham:
- Ten Most Admired Men in the World from the Gallup Poll since 1948—a total of 61 times, including 55 consecutive as of 2017—more than any other individual in the world, placing him at the head of the overall list of those most admired by Americans for the past six decades
- Clergyman of the Year from the National Pilgrim Society
- Distinguished Service Medal of the Salvation Army
- Who’s Who in America annually since 1954
- Freedoms Foundation Distinguished Persons Award (numerous years)
- Gold Medal Award, National Institute of Social Science, New York, 1957
- Annual Gutenberg Award of the Chicago Bible Society, 1962
- Gold Award of the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute, 1964, for contribution to race relations, presented by Senator Javits (NY)
- Speaker of the Year Award, 1964
- Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement, 1965
- Horatio Alger Award, 1965
- National Citizenship Award by the Military Chaplains Association of the U.S.A., 1965
- Wisdom Award of Honor, 1965
- Big Brother of the Year Award, at the White House, Washington, D.C.,1966, for contribution to the welfare of children
- The Torch of Liberty Plaque by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, 1969
- George Washington Honor Medal from Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, for his sermon The Violent Society, 1969
- Honored by Morality in Media for “fostering the principles of truth, taste, inspiration and love in media,” 1969
- International Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1971
- Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Broadcasters, 1972
- Franciscan International Award, 1972
- Sylvanus Thayer Award from United States Military Academy Association of Graduates at West Point (The most prestigious award the United States Military Academy gives to a U.S. citizen), 1972
- George Washington Medal Award for Patriotism from Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, 1974
- Direct Selling Association’s Salesman of the Decade award, 1975
- Philip Award from the Association of United Methodist Evangelists, 1976
- First National Interreligious Award, American Jewish Committee, 1977
- Distinguished Communications Medal, Southern Baptist Radio and Television Commission, 1977
- Jabotinsky Centennial Medal presented by The Jabotinsky Foundation, 1980
- Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame award, 1981
- Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion award, 1982
- Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award,1983
- National Religious Broadcasters Award of Merit, 1986
- North Carolina Award in Public Service, 1986
- Good Housekeeping Most Admired Men Poll, 1997, #1 for five years in a row and 16th time in top 10
- Congressional Gold Medal, highest honor Congress can bestow on a private citizen, 1996
- Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame by the Gospel Music Association –the first non-musician to be inducted, 1999
- Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Freedom Award, for monumental and lasting contributions to the cause of freedom, 2000
- Honorary Knight Commander of the order of the British Empire (KBE) for his international contribution to civic and religious life over 60 years, 2001
- Charlotte Broadcast Hall of Fame, inaugural class, 2015
- Many honorary degrees
