"Billy Graham came to El Paso, Texas sometime in the mid sixties. I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at the altar call - although the exact date eludes me, the experience was the strongest of my life and is working changes in me to this day."
--bygeorgia
"In the early 70s a group of us kids went to a Billy Graham revival. I don't remember the date, just the experience. That experience changed my life. A 'chance' meeting with Billy Graham started me on a spiritual quest in my life that continues today. From that moment on I wanted to find God and to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I have that personal relationship now and I know that the Holy Spirit was there that day more than 30 years ago and found me. I remember going forward that day and not quite understanding all of it. But I didn't need to. God has been working in my life ever since. Billy Graham, in my opinion, is a true man of God." --angel-b
"In 1983, I was 22 years old, an unmarried new mom...Money was really tight. I remember cutting all my white towels in half to use as diapers. I would wash them out in the tub and dry them on the radiators at night. I was scared and confused and just trying to get by and do the best I could for my darling baby boy.
"Then one night I watched a Billy Graham crusade on an old round screen TV that had been given to me. My son was very fussy that night and as I paced the living room floor holding him, I hung on every word Mr. Graham said. I felt like he was speaking directly to me. That night while holding my baby close I said a special prayer along with Billy Graham on television. I cried tears of joy afterwards as I felt free from all the worries and sadness I had been feeling. I couldn't wait to get up the next morning and share my good news with everyone. Today I am married to a wonderful man. ...Our family never misses an opportunity to watch a Billy Graham special together. I will never forget him or that special night when he brought me to the Lord." --pixieblondemom
"I remember when he came to Sacramento, Calif. It was the late 60s, early 70s...My father insisted that we attend. I can't say that I was all that enthused to have to spend an entire week, each night, attending what I considered to be a church service. But I soon found out that this and the man speaking, were much more than that. There was a power emanating in that gathering that I had never experienced. As the week went on, I found myself brought to tears and my knees. It was there that I found my Savior Jesus Christ for the first time." --gtwaddell
"I don't share practically any of Billy Graham's beliefs, but I respect him as a good Christian and a good man. He tries to bring people to God by appealing to their love, not to their fears and hate like his son." --LibChristian
"In the late 80s Billy Graham brought his crusade to Syracuse. I was fortunate to have attended two of his meetings while he was here. What I remember is that a strong sense of peace pervaded the atmosphere. He had toned down his preaching and was more real and less theatrical than what I remember hearing over the radio in the 50s as a young girl. Someone shouted at him from a balcony while he was here: 'What are you doing for the poor?' He never angered or responded or became annoyed. Just pure peace...He went to lunch everyday at Red Lobster while he was here and spoke to everyone he could. The patrons and wait staff were so touched.
"One of the nights that I attended he talked about psychiatry and emotional problems. I think we all have some of that and I had unsuccessfully taken a stab at counseling. It was like he custom-tailored that sermon just for me. Pure peace. That is the Holy Spirit when things like that happen. When I became a Catholic, I was discouraged from attending services of other faiths as a commitment to my own. I was happy to see nuns and priests in Billy's congregation, an unbelievable unity. Again, the Holy Spirit. I was happy that I wasn't asked: 'Are you saved?' Instead, he asked people not only to commit their lives to Christ but to reaffirm their commitment and come forward at the end of the service. And he would always say, if you came with others and you are worried about getting to the car and bus, they'll wait on you (a Southernism). I put Billy Graham in the same category as John Paul II---a gift from God to the world. God bless Billy Graham." --Motherfunkydiva
"I was very fortunate to have known Billy Graham when he was a young preacher in the suburbs of Chicago. A group of the young people from our church would drive out to hear him, probably more impressed with his good looks than his message at that time. After all, we were (only) teenagers. However, he has always had the ability of holding one's attention. Then the Holy Spirit takes over and does the convicting. What a masterful job! We never left the same as we went.
"After marriage and a large family, plus a move to the Southwest, I sang in the choir under the artful direction of Cliff Barrows in the Crusade in Phoenix, Arizona and also was a counselor after a week of training by the Crusade Staff. Everything is so well-organized, it is a pleasure to serve. It is Billy's motto that everything be done "decently, and in order" (I Corinthians 14:40) ...Besides being friends to the rich and famous, Billy is a servant to the down-and-out of our world. There will never be another person like him." --Flutterbug
"He is the most prolific evangelist since the Apostle Paul. I have read that over 250 million people have answered God's calling to Christ in his Crusades. If you ever get the chance to experience one, do it. I did and my life was changed." --businesmn9
"As a child I was forced to listen to Billy Graham's Bible-thumping preaching, which our Pentecostal church had on film. It put me off evangelists for life! I don't think that sort of preaching does much good for anyone. These crusades usually end up in mass hysteria with folk flocking to the front not having too much idea of why they are there. A survey was conducted on how many people who made some commitment during one of these campaigns actually stayed with it after the euphoria had died down, very few is the answer!
"If I sound bitter it is towards all things Pentecostal of which BG is a part. I was brought up on hell-fire sermons and I now think that sort of preaching should have a public health warning as it can seriously screw kids up." --Tangnefedd
"I was a counselor at the 1959 Crusade in Sydney, Australia. I found it an uplifting experience. One outcome was the numbers of folk who made a commitment to Christ at that Crusade and who have continued on in their faith. One is the present Archbishop of the Anglican church in Sydney. There are many others with whom I am acquainted. Some have passed on but many base their beginning of their walk towards God from that Crusade. The follow-up in the churches ensured that many went on in their faith.
Billy Graham struck me as a man of simple faith who liked to categorize his faith into simple steps to follow Christ." --birwin
"Mr. Graham is a typical wishy-washy clergyman.... How can he say that Christ is the ONLY way to the Father, and yet ALSO say that there will be NON-Christians in heaven?" --Brainscramble
"During a crusade in Ottawa Canada (1999?) he gave an interview and said some very insightful things:
'I preached Americanism too much...I began to realize we are not the Kingdom of God.'
'When names are called for crowns in heaven, they will be the nameless hidden saints among us. They may not be called Christians. They just love God.'
--JRT
"I was about 10 years old when I went to a revival in Burlington, Vermont. The event was so big we had to watch him on a movie screen in another building. I was in awe and amazement as he was excellent speaker and even kept me as a 10-year-old listening throughout. A large number of people gave their lives to Christ that day. I will never forget the event." --annabell136
"Watching BG revivals on TV was automatic for my mom, so I did too.
I am sure there are some who could pick him apart but as I understand it, he hasn't ever cashed in." --greatestofsinners
"Billy Graham took the popular route with Mammon as his guide and ended up a millionaire many times over. By allying himself with politicians, rock stars, and other celebrities he cheapened the message of Christ. Billy is also famous for his racist remarks made at the Nixon White House. ...30-year-old tape recordings of his White House conversations with Richard Nixon were released last year and revealed blatant anti-Semitism. He complained that Jews had a 'stranglehold' on America and said that a second Nixon administration 'might be able to do something' about it. He soon apologized, saying that "racial prejudice, anti-Semitism or hatred of anyone with different beliefs" had no place in the human mind or heart. ...Billy is a Southern Baptist and not exempt from its inherent racism and bigotry. Now that Billy is a sickly old man he can admit that he made all those mistakes over the years." --Chokmah
"I can't say I've ever been to a Crusade, but Billy Graham is a man I have always greatly admired. What a powerful witness for Christ. ...he's lived a scandal-free life and has done so much good. He's someone who not only talks the talk but has the faith and courage to walk the walk."
--SeekerJen
"Over the years, Billy Graham expanded his ministries. This has angered some hardliners who felt he was compromising by doing things like meeting with the Pope. I however, found his to be sincere and grew with his faith. He follows his conscience and has led many people into relationship with God." --Free2know
"Back in 1992, I was at my wit's end. My family business of five generations was going down and my life was going with it. I had nothing. No husband or children. I lived alone with my dog. I had been through some real bad times growing up and decided to stay away from men as a result. I had heard the gospel but couldn't buy it. I was at a point where I said to the Lord - "If you are real - You need to prove it to me, because I cannot go on. If you are not real that means I can die and go to sleep and that will be that. But if you are real then there is a Heaven and a Hell and I'll be going straight to Hell.
"Well he did. Right after I prayed that prayer, the 'Billy Graham is coming to the Vet' signs started popping up all over the place! Then I had a little fender bender and got into a rental car with only an AM radio. And the reception was real bad. In fact it was so bad I could only tune in one station. Guess what station. It was a Christian station. And there it is. Billy Graham is coming to the Vet in Philadelphia - June 24th! I said - "OK God You are real and I am coming to the crusade!" Wow - I went with my Aunt's church that chartered a big bus to go down every night. I went on the first night and I was going to say the prayer from my seat and get saved. But Billy Graham said - "When you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord you are saved." He went on to say, "I don't know what it is but there is just something about making a PUBLIC confession. Come down here."
"...it was like there was a huge vacuum sucking me down there. So I went down. And I prayed with a wonderful lady who sent me a wonderful Study Bible in the mail. She discipled me through the mail. I went home that night and the next morning I threw out all my New Age books ...I cleaned out my house. And my life has not been the same. I am married now. I have four beautiful grown stepdaughters. Three wonderful sons-in-law and six grandchildren so far! God really does restore the years the locusts have stolen!" --laneylandis
"I have been fortunate enough to see Dr. Graham two different times. The first time was at the Kiel audatorium in St. Louis shortly after I was saved. ...I'll never forget the sermon it was on the leper Naaman and the faith he had to exercise by dipping in the Jordan river. Ethel Waters sang "His Eye is on the Sparrow" which is still one of my favorite gospel songs." --giladan
"I have always admired him. I can still remember going to a 'crusade' at the Angels stadium in Anaheim when I was a kid. I believe he is a true servant and messenger of God."
--MarkStephen
"I have not had the privilege if meeting Billy Graham but about 15 years ago I had an unusual experience.
"I was working with a former professional football player who has an evangelical prison ministry by the name of Bill Glass. We were in Birmingham, Alabama, preparing to go into the Alabama State Penitentiary. As chance would have it, I was billeted with a man by the name of Albert McMakin from the Carolinas. At the time he was an elderly gentleman in his mid-80s. He told me that he was the man who taught Billy to sell Fuller brushes and eventually took Billy to the Mordecai Ham revival where Billy was saved. He told me that he had been friends with Billy's parents. At first, I thought that he might be a little senile but later the leader of our group told all of us that Albert was indeed the man who took Billy to the revival where his life was changed forever." --nickeroo1
"His religious salesmanship differs little now from when he was a used car dealer. He started out hawking used cars. Later he moved on to mental conformity and intellectual sterility called 'fundamentalism.'" --Armey
"I have viewed his televised revivals, and when he came to Miami enjoyed the organization his team showed in getting the churches working together. I am blessed to see someone who is a Christian stand for the word of God." --kind6004
"I have been to a number of the crusades. The first one I attended was in the Los Angeles Coliseum when I was in high school. The last one was in San Diego. ...The message has not changed in all these years. He brings people to the Lord Jesus Christ."
--amber41
"I went to Wheaton College...My best memory of Billy was one of the many times he spoke to us at chapel. ...He had about five minutes before Chapel was supposed to end. He took a long look at the audience, then said, "The text for my sermon for this morning was to have been...'Time is Short!' He brought the house down. God bless you, Billy!"
--Zed
"What a glorious testimony of God's faithfulness would be to have this dear man of God continue to preach as long as God gives him life and breath."
--amber41
