Billy Graham Evangelistic Association/ BGEA/ Franklin Graham

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MinistryWatch.com?s Take
October 2004
By J. Andrew Preslar

Introduction

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is an evangelical Christian ministry which exists in order to promote and extend the evangelistic mission of Billy Graham. BGEA implements this mission by means of working with local churches and Christian organizations to organize evangelistic crusades throughout the world. BGEA?s mission and work also includes instructing believers in the principles of Christian living and training in evangelism. Finally, BGEA produces and distributes literature, films, radio programs, and television specials designed to proclaim the Gospel to the lost and to encourage and motivate Christians to godly living.

BGEA and the New Evangelicalism

BGEA is an outgrowth of the personal calling and vision of the organization?s founder, and modern evangelicalism?s leading spokesperson, Billy Graham. Graham?s heart-desire and life-ministry for more than 50 years has been to preach the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ to the lost. This he has done on a scale unprecedented by any other individual in the history of the Church. Graham?s first major evangelistic crusade took place under a canvas tent in the city of Los Angeles in 1949. Chroniclers of recent church history delight in telling of how newspaper publisher William Hearst, upon hearing of Graham?s tent revival, helped to jump start an unprecedented phenomena of mass evangelism by telling his editors to ?puff Graham.? Graham soon became a leading figure in the ?new evangelical? movement. In 1950 he founded BGEA to organize and promote his evangelistic ministry.

The new evangelicalism of which Graham was a formative figure and popular representative arose in response to the modernist-fundamentalist controversies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As modernism with its anti-supernaturalistic bias and increasing disregard for the teachings of Scripture began to gain a stranglehold on mainline Protestant denominations, theologically conservative Christians, mostly from a sincere desire to preserve their most cherished beliefs and to pass those beliefs down untainted to their posterity, began to break away from doctrinally compromised denominational bodies and from the larger secular culture. Conservative Christians thus ?circled the wagons,? a move which basically conceded victory in America?s cultural and intellectual war to the modernists. There were, however, many Christians who found this state of affairs unacceptable. These believers chose to meet modernism head on and to try and reclaim both the mainline denominations and the larger culture. Such were the new evangelicals. The new evangelicals maintained the conservative theology of the historic Church, but their willingness to dialogue and even cooperate with doctrinally compromised church bodies distinguished them from the isolationist movement. Theological conservatives/ anti-modernists were now divided into two camps: the fundamentalists ? marked by their withdrawal from the culture and refusal to associate or dialogue with ?apostate? churches, and the evangelicals ? increasingly the public voice of conservative Christianity and known for their willingness to tackle modernism head-on and to bring the Gospel into the public arena.

Such is the historical context in which BGEA was formed. Graham took the ministry in a decidedly ?new evangelical? direction in 1957 when he incensed fundamentalists in the New York City area by choosing to work with the Protestant Council of Churches, an ecclesiastical body influenced by liberalism. The justification given by Graham for this alignment, that BGEA was ?willing to work with all who were willing to work with us,? is indicative of the organization?s ecumenism. BGEA has since continued to enlist the help of a wide variety of Christians in the task of worldwide evangelism. The degree to which the effectiveness of Graham?s ministry is attributable to his evangelical openness can be debated. That Graham?s evangelistic crusades have been effective in winning souls, however, is a fact that cannot be debated. In the past half-century Billy Graham has preached the biblical Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ to over 210 million people in 185 countries and territories. As a result, millions upon millions have received Christ and become His disciples.

Evangelistic Outreach

BGEA is, of course, best known for its Billy Graham evangelistic crusades (which are now referred to as ?missions?). A BGEA mission is a huge event, normally staged in vast public arenas (such as football stadiums) and drawing tens of thousands of people per service. The purpose of a mission is two-fold: (1) to evangelize the community, and (2) to strengthen local churches. The former occurs as people respond to the preaching of Mr. Graham by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, the latter when these people are embraced by, and become a part of, a local body of believers.

A mission is a mutual effort between BGEA and cooperating Christian churches in a city. The process of conducting a mission begins with a committee of local Christians and church organizations who issue an invitation for Graham to come to their city. After consulting with his advisors and evangelistic team members, Graham decides whether or not to accept the invitation (he currently limits himself to two per year). Once the invitation is accepted (usually 12-18 months before the mission takes place), BGEA helps the local group to develop an Executive Committee to oversee the preparations for, operations during, and follow-up after the event (the mission itself lasts a maximum of four days). Each mission is incorporated as a temporary non-profit organization, with the Executive Committee overseeing the entire budget. A BGEA staff member serves as Committee Director, with the majority of the mission workers being local volunteers. Neither Graham nor BGEA staff receive any salary for their part in the mission. Forty percent of the funds required to conduct a mission are raised through offerings collected during the services. The balance comes from the contributions of individuals, churches, and organizations which agree to support the mission.

The preparation process includes enlisting and training volunteers to serve as counselors and getting local pastors to assist in post-mission follow-up work. Prospective counselors come from local churches and are invited to attend a five-session training program. The mission Committee makes the final selection of counselors from among the applicants based upon an interview, attendance at the training sessions, and testimony of faith in Christ. The counselor?s responsibility during the mission is to interact with people who come forward in response to Graham?s invitation to make a commitment to Christ (those who thus respond are referred to as ?inquirers?). The counseling is done on an individual basis. The counselor first discovers what the inquirer?s need is, and helps to confirm him or her in the decision they have just made. The inquirer?s name, address, and church affiliation are recorded on a card, which is passed on to the follow-up department.

The responsibility of the follow-up department is to help inquirers begin to grow in their new life. Those who fill out a card are linked with local pastors who contact each individual personally in order to encourage them in their Christian faith. In addition, each inquirer is presented with a Bible study booklet entitled ?Living with Christ.? This booklet is designed by BGEA to help inquirers understand the Bible?s promises to believers and to help them begin to follow the Lord in Christian obedience. BGEA has also developed a new believer?s Bible study curriculum which is designed to be used in the context of a small group Bible study. The final component of the follow-up process as designed by BGEA is a ?post-missions survey? which consists of a telephone call from a trained worker to the inquirer. The purpose of this call is to ensure that the inquirer is doing well, to provide further counseling if needed, to help the inquirer connect with a local church, and to help them enlist, if they so desire, in a Bible study program. BGEA has found that most inquirers are very appreciative of this phone call. BGEA?s follow-up program is local church-based and designed to ensure that each mission achieves lasting results.

The mission itself usually lasts a few days and features music (both traditional and contemporary Christian acts have performed at missions) and, of course, the preaching of Billy Graham. Graham?s Gospel message is simple and direct: People are separated from God by sin. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, making it possible for people everywhere to be at peace with God. To be at peace with God one must accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Graham concludes his evangelistic message with a traditional ?altar call.? People are invited to respond to the message by leaving their seats and approaching a designated area (usually in front of the speaker?s platform). On a typical night, thousands of people respond to this invitation. The Gospel message presented by Graham is elaborated upon in BGEA?s Christian Witness Handbook (available for free download at the ministry?s Web site):

• God?s Plan- Peace and Life (John 3:16).
• Our Problem- Separation (Romans 3:23)
• God?s Remedy- The Cross (1 Peter 2:24)
• Our Response- Receive Christ (John 1:12)
  

The Christian Witness Handbook explains that the invitation to ?receive Christ? involves doing the following:

• Admitting one?s spiritual need (?I am a sinner?)
• Repenting (be willing to turn from one?s sins)
• Believing (that Jesus died for you on the cross)
• Receiving (Jesus Christ, through prayer, into your heart and life)
  

BGEA conducts evangelistic outreaches on a smaller scale, though following much the same pattern as the missions, through the preaching ministries of Franklin Graham (Billy Graham?s son and CEO of BGEA), Ralph Bell, Robert Cunville (an associate evangelist ministering in 20 foreign countries), and Viktor Hamm (an associate evangelist ministering in the former USSR). BGEA?s international evangelistic outreaches include television broadcasts of missions (translated into the native language) which are coordinated with local church outreach programs to ensure maximum viewership and local follow-up activities.

Christian Living/ Leadership Training

BGEA?s discipleship and training ministry is centered at the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, N.C. This Center, referred to as ?the Cove,? is located on a beautiful 1,500 acre campus in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Activities at the Cove include seminars featuring leading evangelical teachers, including Kay Arthur, Howard Hendricks, Tony Evans, Bruce Wilkinson and others; evangelism-training events (New Ventures in Evangelism, Schools of Evangelism); a youth camp; and, other Christian conferences and retreats. BGEA training activities beyond the Cove include the International Institute of Evangelism, which consists of conferences held in cities around the world, and is designed to train and disciple evangelists.

Media Ministries

BGEA promotes Christian living and discipleship by means of a variety of media programs. The organization?s monthly magazine, Decision, features articles on evangelism and discipleship, and is designed to share BGEA?s worldwide mission with others. The published writings of Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, and others are available through Grason, BGEA?s online bookstore. Grason also features videos, music, and evangelistic and ministry-related training materials developed or sponsored by BGEA. The preaching ministries of Billy and Franklin Graham are featured on BGEA?s weekly radio program, ?Hour of Decision.? The ministry also produces a daily radio program, ?Decision Today,? featuring inspiring stories and testimonies. BGEA?s television ministry consists of several productions each year designed for network television broadcast. These productions feature a Billy Graham mission, complete with musical acts, Gospel preaching, and a toll-free telephone number which viewers can dial to receive spiritual counsel. Finally, BGEA has been producing quality Christian films for more than 50 years through World Wide Pictures (WWP). WWP productions include full-length dramas, BGEA crusades, Billy Graham Classic Messages, and Christian biographies.

Summary

BGEA features the evangelistic ministry of Billy Graham, and it is due to this remarkable ministry that the organization enjoys the prominence and growth that have characterized it for most of its history. Franklin Graham has shown that he possesses a heart for evangelism (as well as social work; he is the President of Samaritan?s Purse, the huge [with an annual budget of $150 million] relief and development ministry), but neither he nor anyone else can be another Billy Graham. Many onlookers believe that Franklin Graham will be a more conservative and less conciliatory leader than his father, which may mean that BGEA will suffer a decrease in overall popularity. The younger Graham is currently overseeing the relocation of BGEA headquarters from Minneapolis, Minn. to Charlotte, N.C. He has expressed confidence that the organization can continue to grow, even as his father becomes less and less able to continue his speaking ministry. One indication of what the future of the organization might hold is the proliferation of BGEA training conferences. These have been held in more than 180 countries in the past decade. While it is doubtful that any other evangelist will pack stadiums the way that Billy Graham has managed to do for nearly 50 years, BGEA, through the evangelism of Franklin Graham and associate evangelists, its media ministries, and the mass training of other Christian evangelists, seems poised to continue the work of its great founder.