Franklin Graham: 2012 to Be One of the Most Significant in US History
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association President Franklin Graham believes 2012 will be one of the most significant years in U.S. history for Americans.
Graham, who is also the president of the Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, stated in a year-end letter posted on BGEA’s website last week that the nation is in bad shape in a few key areas.
“We are beginning a new year, and I believe we are facing what could be one of the most significant years in our nation’s history,” wrote Graham, 59, who is the fourth of five children of evangelist Billy Graham and wife Ruth Bell Graham.
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“While we prepare to choose our political leaders in the upcoming elections, our country is in a mess –morally, economically, and spiritually. People are anxious about the future, and many have lost any hope in the political process,” he states.
“During election season we hear a lot about effecting change, but the only change that will help our nation is a true change of the human heart. The Bible says that ‘the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick’ (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV) and there is no cure except for men and women to repent of their sin, ask God’s forgiveness, and accept His salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ,” he wrote.
Graham said that he hears of people praying for revival and that the U.S. will recover.
“We need God’s help. That is the only answer for our country and for our sin-sick world,” he said.
The evangelist outlined the plans BGEA has for this year. They include a major evangelistic crusade in Sendai, Japan, on the first anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that wreaked devastation on the country.
He then plans to visit Tuscaloosa, Ala., on the anniversary of the EF5 tornado that ripped through the northwest part of the state. The tornado killed hundreds of people and destroyed entire communities last April.
“The mayor of Tuscaloosa has asked me to participate in a prayer service, and I believe it will be a powerful testimony of God’s sustaining grace in the midst of great suffering,” wrote Graham.
In April, Graham and BGEA will also head to the West African nation of Ghana.
“A few weeks after Ghana we will turn our sights to Eastern Europe, where we will hold an evangelistic Crusade in the historic city of Budapest, Hungary, and a special Rock the Baltics Festival in Riga, Latvia,” he said.
“From there, we will head back across the Atlantic to the Great Lakes region of our own nation for a series of region-wide evangelistic events in cities like Rochester, Buffalo, and Green Bay. We’re calling this Rock the Lakes, and as we preach the Gospel, we’re trusting God to save thousands of souls.”
His eldest son, Will Graham, is also hoping to bring more people to Christ this new year. He told The Christian Post that evangelistic events are planned in the Dallas area on back-to-back weekends. The Red River Celebration will be held in Gainesville, Texas, March 16-18, and the Trinity Valley Celebration will be held in Terrell, Texas, March 23-25.
“Internationally, I will be speaking in seven countries (in addition to the U.S.) across five different continents,” Will Graham said. “I will be sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in Canada, India, Australia, Mexico, Kenya, Thailand, and in the United Kingdom. I also plan to travel extensively in support of the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove.”
While asking for prayers and support, the elder Graham vowed to spread the Good News around the world.
“Throughout 2012, I’m sure you will hear plenty of promises from politicians that they either can’t keep or have no intention of keeping,” he wrote. “But let me make this promise to you: I will use every opportunity we are given to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world in desperate need of hope. We will boldly proclaim the Savior in the face of the secularists, the atheists, and every other person, thing, or creed that opposes the Name of Jesus Christ.”
