70th Anniversary of Billy Graham’s First London Crusade
“In the next five years I am convinced that Britain is going to have a spiritual awakening such as you have not had since Wesley.” – Billy Graham’s first address of the London Crusade, 1st March 1954.
On that first meeting a great crowd flocked forward in response to the call to give their lives to Christ – the first fruits of everything to come in the three months that followed.
Week after week until 22nd May 1954, crowds filled auditoriums and public places around London to sing hymns and listen to Billy Graham preach the Gospel. He spoke of repentance, judgement and salvation – a call to turn back to God.
The impact of Billy Graham’s ministry across those three months lit a fire in the heart of Britain that can be described as nothing short of revival: thousands made decisions for Christ, streets filled with people queuing up to hear the Gospel, religion became front page news for the first time in a generation, half a million people tuned in on landlines to hear the Word of God preached, and church congregations doubled in size.
Even today, many people’s lives have been shaped by what happened in that first London Billy Graham Crusade.