The internet is a tool for both good and bad—and we thank God that He is using it to take His Gospel faster and farther than ever before. The Bible tells us of a time when people in every nation will hear about Jesus Christ. We see how this can happen with people using the internet in virtually every place on earth. We praise God that millions have explored the message of the Gospel online through PeaceWithGod.org.uk and related websites.

This site is part of our Search for Jesus ministry, which God is using to reach people from more than 220 countries and territories—many more than the United Nations has members. Often they live in places where the Gospel cannot be shared openly. Nearly a thousand people a day invite us to follow up with them individually to answer questions, to pray with them in making a decision for Christ, or to provide one-on-one discipleship. Our team of disciplers strongly encourages new believers to become active in a local church, wherever possible.

Every hour of every day, 365 days a year, people from across the country and around the world let us know they have just prayed to receive Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. We thank God for this harvest of souls.

A 21-year-old man from a predominantly Muslim nation recently found our Search for Jesus site and asked to be connected with one of our team of 600 trained, online discipleship counsellors. “I want to know more about Christianity. Will you help me?” he typed, apologising for his limited knowledge of English.

“I studied about all religions a little bit,” he went on to explain. “No one [else] has sacrificed life for their people. That’s why I love Jesus.”

He said that there are churches in his country, but the government prohibits Muslims from openly visiting one. Determined to find out more about the Saviour who died for his sins, he had turned to the internet, and God led him to our website. The counsellor welcomed him and explained that God loves him, that He sent His Son to die on the cross in his place, and that He rose again from the grave. When he heard that Jesus would come and live in his heart today if he asked Him, the man gladly surrendered his life to Christ. He was thrilled when the volunteer showed him how to find and read the Bible on the internet in his own language.

Each person who makes a commitment to Jesus Christ on our website is invited to sign up for our free, online discipleship course and is personally guided through the study by one of our online mentors. The most recent 1,700 people who signed up for this course live in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Poland, Namibia, India, Tonga, and 34 other countries, including the USA and the UK.

Right now our Search for Jesus ministry operates websites in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, three of the internet’s top five languages. We have been asking God to enable us to share the Gospel in all five of the most used languages, and we thank Him that recently a friend of our ministry provided generous funding to develop websites in Arabic and Chinese.

If she were still with us, my mother would be thrilled at this news. This summer marks the 10th anniversary of her death. She grew up in China as the daughter of medical missionaries, knew the Chinese language in her youth, and maintained a very special place in her heart her entire life for Chinese-speaking people anywhere in the world. Like my father, she had a burning passion for lost people to find Christ.

Pray for the people God is daily drawing to Himself through this ministry. To God be the glory for the many lives He is transforming all across the globe. We rely on your prayers and gifts as we minister. Thank you for all you do in his service.

May God richly bless you.

Franklin Graham
President

To see how you and your church can join in this ministry, please visit our site www.searchforjesus.org.uk

Thank you for your support

 
 

An update on Billy Graham

From Franklin Graham

My father is approaching his 99th birthday in November, and while he is doing well, he does have the physical challenges that come with his age. He enjoys visits from family members, including his sister who is his only remaining sibling. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren also come by more frequently in these summer months. His pastor, Dr. Don Wilton, continues to visit weekly, which means so much. These visits for prayer and encouragement have been a tradition for more than 20 years— we are so grateful to Pastor Wilton.
Billy Graham with Pastor Don Wilton in 2010

‘Usually I’m the party girl’

A ‘party girl’ from Northern Ireland helped to lead a friend to Christ soon after finding faith herself.

Naomi had been enjoying a wild, heavy-drinking lifestyle, but a frightening experience pulled her up short. She started asking questions and came across our website PeaceWithGod.org.uk

As she worked through the Steps to Peace with God she found what her heart had been seeking. She prayed the prayer for salvation at the end, and left an email address so that someone could be in touch.

Our E-Responder Melissa quickly made contact, celebrated Naomi’s decision to follow Christ and encouraged her to register for our online Bible Course, Know Jesus, which Naomi did.

“Ah, Melissa, I’m so glad to be linked to you,” wrote Naomi. “I’m looking forward to seeing what I can learn and how I can live as a faithful Christian.”

With Melissa’s encouragement, Naomi worked through the online course to give her foundations in her faith. In just a few weeks she had finished.

“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be,” she wrote.

By now Melissa had become a true friend, and Naomi was updating her regularly on her life.

“I’m heading out tomorrow night with a few of my best friends,” she wrote one day. “Usually I’m the party girl – two bottles of wine and up on the table singing. So I’m a bit worried how the girls will view the change.”

“Don’t worry what your friends will think of you,” wrote Melissa. “Now you are filled with the Holy Spirit you will be different. Enjoy your night out.”

Enjoy she did.

“Most of my friends were happy for me when I explained I was trying to live a better way for God,” reported Naomi the following day. “But one of the girls, Samantha was cross. She said things like – ‘I hope you’re not going to be one of those holier-than-thou Christians.’ She questioned my faith in a God who saves murderers and other wicked people…and she actually laughed at me.

“I just told her I didn’t want to discuss it with drink involved. Later in the night she pulled me aside and put her arms around me and told me she was sorry for being rude to me, and that she was just worried that I wouldn’t need her in my life anymore.

“She actually said she wanted me to pray for her.”

“The way you responded was awesome,” replied Melissa. “I am so proud of you, Naomi. God has a plan and a purpose for us all, so keep sharing the way you are.”

Our team always encourages new Christians to find a local church. Naomi described her first experience of a Christian community as ‘awesome’.

“I could feel the Holy Spirit in the room and I felt uplifted,” she wrote. “I thanked God for loving me and asked for His help and guidance. It’s amazing how happy I felt when I left.”

There was much more to come. The following Sunday she wrote:

“What a service this morning! One of my friends, Alice, came with me. She cried and broke down and asked Jesus to save her. I was deffo not expecting that. Praise you, Lord!

“I told her to sign up to Going Farther, as she wants to know how to understand the Bible and to pray. I tried my best to answer her questions. I had prayed my heart out He would touch her, and He listened.”

Forty thousand people have told us that they made a decision for Christ through our internet evangelism in the UK.

Thank you to all who have prayed for us and supported us as we seek to extend this ministry, which is bearing so much fruit.

If you wish to donate to our Internet Evangelism ministry, you can do so here.

Names have been changed