The Bible says, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3, ESV). Eternity is at stake for so many people who rely on their own ideas about God instead of the truth He has revealed in His Word. They need to know the saving power of Jesus Christ before it’s too late. That’s why I feel so much urgency about proclaiming the Good News of salvation. “For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
I just finished taking the Gospel to seven cities across Texas on our Decision Texas Lone Star Tour, and my son Will has just led an evangelistic Crusade in Romania. Next year, we are praying about going to a number of cities on the West Coast of the United States. We are so thankful that at every Crusade event, God opens hearts and draws people to Himself—the Gospel truly is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
Your prayers and gifts are a vital investment in what God is doing in lives around the world. Thank you for all you do in service to our Lord.
May God richly bless you,
Franklin Graham
President
P.S. My father turned 99 on 7 November. He’s doing reasonably well, though he lives with many of the limitations anyone that age might expect. Back before his 95th birthday, while working on a sermon based on Galatians 6:14, he posted the verse all over the house so he could saturate his mind with it.
To this day the words are still up in very large letters on his bedroom wall: “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (NKJV). I know he appreciates your prayers.
PRAYING FOR AN ENCOUNTER IN NORWAY
On 11 and 12 November, one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities hosted a two-day Festival to bring the Gospel to a country that’s quickly becoming secularised. As the capital of Norway and the largest city in the country, Oslo is a lively shipping hub.
“The oil industry has made the country very, very affluent,” said Hans Mannegren, director of the Håpets Festival with Franklin Graham. “In a sense, people don’t lack for anything.”
In decades past, Norway has had multiple waves of revival, and now Christians there say it’s time for another. While there are many churches to choose from, only 5 percent of people in Norway go to church—higher than some other European countries but still very low. Just like in the United Kingdom, people are “buying into modern values,” Mannegren said, and giving their spiritual condition less thought.
Some in Oslo still remember Billy Graham preaching in their city back in 1955 and 1978, and his evangelistic legacy is still strong there. His grandson Will preached in Norway more recently during a five-city tour in June 2016. Following that trip, a local office was opened in Oslo in preparation for the Håpets Festival.
The Festival team has been hard at work mobilising churches and training Christians. About 750 people have now been trained on how to share their faith and care for new believers.
Oslo is an innovative, forward-thinking place—it’s where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded—but as far as a one-on-one relationship with God, so many are going backwards. “They don’t know what the Gospel is and don’t know what it means to be a Christian,” Mannegren said.
“They don’t know what the Gospel is and don’t know what it means to be a Christian,” Mannegren said. “A lot of people [in Norway] would say that they are Christians,” he continued, but added that it’s often based on tradition. Many were baptised in the church but haven’t actually had “an encounter with Christ.” That critical encounter is why church leaders invited the Festival team—and why they were eager for Franklin to preach a simple, direct message about salvation in Jesus Christ. Please pray for all those who encountered the Saviour at the Håpets Festival and made public decisions for Christ.
A GOSPEL LEGACY FOR ROMANIA
In 1985, during an 11-day, seven-city tour of Romania, hundreds of thousands packed churches and public squares to hear Billy Graham preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Three decades later, on 21 and 22 October, Will Graham proclaimed the same Gospel message in one of those seven cities, Cluj-Napoca.
“Romania holds a special place for my family,” Will Graham said. “My grandfather’s tour—including a visit to Cluj-Napoca—remains a major highlight of his decades-long ministry. … My father [Franklin Graham] returned to Timioara, Romania, in 2008, and now it’s my turn to share the hope of Christ in this beautiful city.”
“now it’s my turn to share the hope of Christ in this beautiful city.” – Will Graham
With Moldova to the east and Hungary and Serbia to the west, Cluj-Napoca is situated in northwestern Romania, surrounded by mountains and medieval towns. Some of its most popular landmarks date back to the 1300s, and today it’s home to over 60,000 students attending one of several universities.
Celebration Director Vasily Gherasimciuc said his hope for Romania is two-fold: to see Christians become more passionate about sharing Jesus, and for the younger generation to have hope beyond this life. Even before the meetings began, he saw the Celebration take people “by storm.” Christians across the region began praying for lost friends, pausing at 10 p.m. every night for prayer.
One night as Vasily was driving, he found himself behind a car with the Christian fish symbol on the back. At 10 p.m., the car stopped and Vasily stopped too. As he paused to pray, he noticed the people in the other car praying as well.
The answers to those fervent prayers streamed down the aisles of the arena 21 and 22 October, as nearly 600 people left their seats at the Celebration to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. Please join our local church partners in praying that these new Christians will “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NKJV) and that they will begin their own Gospel legacies in Romania.