Rev. Billy Graham will be celebrating his 95th birthday on Nov. 7th. Besides welcoming hundreds to celebrate his birthday together, the aged evangelists has prepared a special television program called The Cross as part of the My Hope America with Billy Graham nationwide outreach. The program will be televised nationally on FOX News Channel, TBN and other Christian networks, and on numerous local TV stations throughout the 50 states of America starting from his birthday to 10 Nov.
Franklin Graham, CEO of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association & Samaritan's Purse, wrote a letter explaining that the most important part of this outreach is Christians praying for their non-believing neighbors.Here is the letter:
Dear Friend,
Sometime after my mother died, when I visited my father, I began to notice Scripture verses appearing all over the house-on an index card taped to the kitchen telephone, on a marker board in his study, even on a hand-lettered poster in his bedroom.
It became clear that all of the verses were about the cross. One said, "God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14, NKJV). The Lord had put it in his heart that if he ever was physically able to share a message again, he would speak about the cross, and he was determined to saturate his mind with the Scripture.
Now God has given my father the opportunity-not in a stadium Crusade, but through a special television program called The Cross.
Over the past several months, he has been working with a video crew in his home to film a brand-new telecast that will air beginning November 7-his 95th birthday-on FOX News Channel, TBN and other Christian networks, and also on local TV stations in a number of cities. It's a tremendously powerful program that has his message interwoven with captivating testimonies of lives changed by the living Christ.
Tens of thousands of people across the country are inviting their unsaved family and friends to their homes to watch the program, which appeals to and touches people of all ages. A part of the My Hope America with Billy Graham nationwide outreach, it will also be available on DVD and the Internet. Some are gathering a group in a neighborhood community center or at their church, and some are planning to meet a friend at a coffee shop and watch it on a laptop.
The most important part of My Hope America is prayer. Make a list of those you hope to invite and start praying for them right now. This is the key.
The fact that each of us may have friends and family who will one day die and spend eternity separated from God in Hell ought to keep us up at night. It ought to break our hearts. This November brings a fantastic opportunity for you to make a difference in their lives.
You can find all the details at MyHopeWithBillyGraham.org.
More than 22,000 churches from every state in the nation have already signed up to participate this November. More are added every day.
Is your church one of them?
America has turned its back on God. We see people everywhere who claim to know God but do not live for Him. The only thing that will turn this nation around will be a spiritual awakening, sparked and fanned into flame by the Holy Spirit of God.
God says, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). This promise was originally given to the Hebrew nation, but when God says, "My people," He extends the promise to all of us who call upon His Name and trust in His Son.
Our nation needs healing now more than ever.
My father has also worked for the last year on a new book, which has just come out, called The Reason for My Hope: Salvation. I think this is one of the best books he has ever written. He still has a great urgency to share the truth of the Gospel. That same urgency should fill all of us, knowing that eternity is at stake for individuals around us.
Will you pray with us for My Hope America with Billy Graham?
Ask God to save souls and bring revival. Ask Him to draw people to Himself through the power of the Gospel, the only thing that can bring lasting hope both in this life and for eternity.
An outreach like this, which includes television as well as providing the training and resource materials to all of the churches and participants, is costly, and we are only able to do it with your help.
A gift for My Hope America will bring the life-changing power of the Gospel into homes, families, and communities-and into individual hearts-all over our nation.
Thank you for your prayers and all you do as you faithfully serve our Lord.
May God Bless You,
Franklin Graham, President
