Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
The Graham family has always had a knack for drawing a crowd, and the Rev. Franklin Graham’s tour of England is proving a continuation of the tradition. However, for all the pomp and circumstance, Graham’s trip is also producing results.
According to reports, God has reached at least 700 people through what Graham has termed the God Loves You Tour-UK.
“There is a real sense that we’re here for this time, and what Franklin was talking about we feel very similarly that God has stepped in and this is a key time for the proclamation of the Gospel, especially emerging out of the pandemic and the results of the pandemic,” Billy Graham Evangelical Association UK Director Robert Chilvers told Global News Alliance. “Emerging from that, we feel very much not only that we have the opportunity, but we can encourage other churches to take the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel boldly and clearly.”
Graham, accompanied by famed Christian rock group Newsboys, has witnessed to thousands in the English cities of Liverpool, Newport, and Sheffield, services that CBN News reported drew together congregants from some 2,000 churches, as well as members of each community.
In true Graham family form, Franklin’s England services have been free and open for anyone to attend.
Drawing a crowd of any meaningful size for a Christian gathering in England is, today, something of an accomplishment. According to The Guardian, in a country that was once almost exclusively Christian, only about 36% of Brits claim to be Christian while north of 50% are either secular or atheist.
But with a man as prominent as Graham in town, thousands have emerged for evenings of Bible teaching and song. More important, they’ve been granted access to chaplains able to minister to attendees one-on-one.
Nigel Fawcett-Jones, chaplain manager for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team in the United Kingdom, said chaplains – who normally are sent out to the sites of mass crises – had been deployed to tour stops as a means of reaching those who might be faced with more personal challenges.
“Many people are in crisis, and they come to hear a message of hope,” Fawcett-Jones said in a BGEA-UK press release. “That’s exactly what Franklin brings here—the hope that God loves you, and He is faithful.”
The God Loves You Tour UK is not done. According to the tour’s website, Graham will be joined by legendary Christian music artists CeCe Winans and Michael W. Smith for a July 16 service in London.
Graham also has a six-city, Unites States-based God Loves You ’22 tour. Similar to England, all services will be free and feature Graham as well as top musical talent.
The first American tour stop will be in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Sept. 24. The other stops will be in York, Pennsylvania (Sept. 25), Youngstown, Ohio (Sept. 27), Flint, Michigan (Sept. 29), Waukesha, Wisconsin (Oct. 1), and Rochester, Minnesota (Oct. 2).