SIXTY years after his London Crusade, during which he shared the
gospel with more than 1.5 million people (
News, 23 May), Dr Billy Graham has produced a new "message of
hope" for the UK as part of a new campaign of evangelisation.
My Hope UK is described by the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association (BGEA) as "a nationwide effort to reach people across
the United Kingdom with the gospel of Jesus Christ". The
organisation has produced a new free film - The Cross -
which churches can use as part of their evangelising efforts. It
will be launched on 7 November, Dr Graham's 96th birthday. It will
include a message from him, filmed at his home in Charlotte, North
Carolina. BGEA is encouraging churches to start planning a
screening.
On Tuesday, Steve Rhoads, the vice-president of My Hope UK, said
that, while the UK had changed a great deal in 60 years, "we are
certainly not in a worse world than we were in the first century in
Rome, when the church grew and flourished amidst persecution. You
have every reason to be pessimistic unless you are full of faith,
and then you have to quote that when sin abounds, grace abounds.
There is a greater opportunity to speak about Jesus than there ever
has been before."
The Church in the UK had done a "very good job with the social
aspects of the gospel," he said. "There are more churches out in
communities than in anybody's recent memory, trying to be loving,
trying to be relevant in the world we are living in, and in so far
as we can demonstrate the love of Jesus by our actions, we should
do this. But faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God, so at some point we have to open our mouths. . . That is
intimidating because of the culture we live in, but God will help
us."
It was not necessary to be a "great theologian" to evangelise,
he said. "All you have to do is give a testimony about what God has
done in your life."
DVDs are available to pre-order at http://myhopewithbillygraham.org.uk/