In what he described as possibly his "last opportunity to preach the Gospel," the man known to many as America's pastor delivered a message of salvation to a crowd of 33,500 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
"Unfortunately, I'm getting too old to do this, and I thought this may be the last opportunity to preach to an audience like this," said the Rev. Billy Graham at the Metro Maryland Festival.
The 87-year-old pastor was accompanied by his son, the Rev. William Franklin Graham III, who was heading the three-day festival that concluded on Sunday with his father's message on the state of the world and the need for Christ.
"We're living in a world of great turmoil and confusion ... Maybe never before have we been threatened the way we're being threatened now," the elder Graham said.
Billy Graham, the legendary pastor who has counseled every president since Harry S. Truman, held his last crusade in June 2005 at New York City. The younger Graham has replaced him as executive head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and had been leading similar crusades around the world.
According to event organizers, the Metro Maryland Festival drew a total of more than 81,000 people over three days. Some 655 local churches helped organize the crusade, drawing in parishioners by the busloads each night.
