As 1,455 make decisions for Christ, Franklin Graham wants you to know that bold gospel preaching still works

Jesus’ parable of the lost coin in Luke 15 informs us that when just one sinner repents, the angels of heaven rejoice.

With that in mind, it’s reasonable to assume that at 8:10pm on Saturday night, heaven held the party of all parties. Because at London’s ExCeL arena, a reported 1,455 people came forward to make a commitment to Christ after Franklin Graham’s gospel presentation.

The night began with music by gospel singer CeCe Winans and later Michael W Smith. By the time Franklin Graham emerged to deliver his message, there were no seats left, with attendees having to line the aisles and sides of the venue. I was later told by organisers that the venue was at its 15,000 people capacity, with as many as 2,000 people unable to get in. 

Pursuit to promise

What had led to such significant numbers? According to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), who organised the God Loves You tour, two campaigns were vital in gathering such a large crowd.  

The first was The Andrew Initiative, which involved partnering with local churches from across the nation to charter coaches to London’s docklands. Christians were encouraged to invite a non-believing friend to come on the coach with them.

The second was Pursuit, which was focused on youth groups. At Pursuit events (held in the months prior to the event at ExCeL) young people were equipped with tools for evangelism and emboldened to stand firm in their Christian faith. Again, the emphasis was on encouraging young people to invite their friends to the God Loves You tour. 

Rebecca and Patrick Pretorius from Freedom Church, Colchester were among those who took their youth group to a Pursuit event. Patrick recalls how that night an altar call resulted in every one of the 14 young people they had brought giving their life to Jesus. Sharing his experience with a voice trembling through tears, Patrick continued, “I’ve never in my entire Christian life seen or experienced this. We were sitting down, and our eyes were closed… and then she made this altar call — ‘Who wants to step up for Jesus?’ And I could hear kids rustling past us. I was just praying, ‘Thank you, Lord, for the ones stepping forward.’”

One of the speakers that night had also challenged the Christian young people to be all in for Jesus. “Can you go back to your school?” she asked. “Can you go back to your college and tell your friends about Jesus?”

And that, they did, meaning that group of 14 who had attended the Pursuit event became a much large group of 40 who attended the ExCeL event. 

Franklin Graham’s plainspoken Gospel

When Franklin Graham stepped onto the stage, in his typical fashion, he got straight to the point — offering his understanding of biblical truth as plainly and bluntly as one can. 

The message was direct: God loves you. He will forgive you. But you must come to him.

He told the crowd: “The Bible says that God loves you, and he sent his Son Jesus Christ from heaven to earth to take your sins. He was buried in a grave for your sins, and on the third day, God raised his Son to life. He’s not dead — he’s alive.”

From there, he listed the sins Jesus came to free people from. “God’s laws,” he said, “are the same yesterday, today, tomorrow — and a million years from now.”

“God created sex,” he told the crowd. “He wants us to use sex, enjoy sex — but it’s to be used in a marriage relationship only. And a marriage relationship is one man and one woman. That’s the way God intended it. Not two men, not two women. A man and a woman.”

Adultery, abortion — citing it’s recent decriminalisation in the UK, and gender identity were among the other areas Graham named — each listed plainly as sin, and each presented as something that only Jesus could offer freedom from. But alongside his clarity on sin came an equally firm assurance of forgiveness. 

“Now, there may be some of you here who have had an abortion,” he said. “I’m here to tell you tonight that God will forgive you. It’s haunted you. It’s been a burden to you. You’ve worn the shame. I’m here to tell you — God loves you, and he will forgive you tonight.”

“You may be a murderer. He will forgive you. You may be a liar. He will forgive you. You may be an adulterer. He will forgive you. But — the only way is to come to Jesus Christ. Because when Jesus Christ hung on the cross, He took your sin on the cross.”

Franklin Graham is widely known — both within Christian circles and in the broader public — for his outspoken approach to these topics. He was even banned from several UK venues in 2020, but later challenged the decisions in the courts and won. 

Fruits that can’t be ignored

To the 1,455 people that had stepped forward to make a commitment to Jesus Christ, his departing message was simple: “God loves you, he has forgiven you…I don’t know if I am ever going to see you again. But we will be in heaven for eternity. We will have plenty of time to catch up then.” 

This is a man who says what he believes, plainly and without apology. That directness may be a problem for some, but most evangelicals would find it hard to argue with the fruit that it bears. You may not agree with the man…or even the method. But given nearly 1,500 people made a commitment to Jesus, surely we can join the angels of heaven in rejoicing.