You can question his style, but Franklin Graham’s exhortation to boldly preach the gospel is timeless

Reporting from Berlin, where 1,000 Christian leaders have gathered for an invitation-only congress on evangelism, Emma Fowle addresses Franklin Graham’s latest outspoken remarks and explores the place of proclamation evangelism amid a claimed quiet revival

Much of the talk around what God is currently doing – whether at universities in the US or the UK’s so-called ‘quiet revival’ - has focussed on something new. Students leading spontaneous worship without platform or prominent leader; young people queuing to get into all night prayer meetings and churches reporting young men arriving unbidden, having watched Jordan Peterson alone in their bedroom.

Against this backdrop, one might wonder if proclamation evangelism has become old fashioned. The days of Billy Graham preaching to packed stadiums and reaching an estimated 215 million people in over 85 countries are long gone. It seems unimaginable that anyone alive today could draw such a crowd.

With religion trending on TikTok and many younger people coming to faith without the traditional altar calls that Graham was famed for, we’re living in a different era.

Is there still a place for proclomational preaching at enormous evangelistic events? 

It was with this question in mind that I headed to Berlin for the Billy Graham Evangelical Association (BGEA) European Congress on Evangelism. It gathered together 1,000 leaders and evangelists from 55 countries and territories around Europe for a free, invitation-only…