More than 50,000 people heard the Gospel during evangelist Franklin Graham’s six-city “God Loves You” Tour, which concluded on Sunday in Rochester, Minnesota.
The tour, which is an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), started in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in late September and continued across 1,000 miles, including stops in York, PA; Youngstown, Ohio; Flint, Michigan; and Waukesha, Wisconsin. More than 970 churches across all six cities partnered with BGEA because they wanted to hear the Word of God preached in their communities.
“I believe this is where our nation’s backbone of hard work, grit, and determination lies, but so many people in our country are struggling. They’re looking for hope, peace, and purpose in their lives,” Graham, the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said. “We’re coming to remind everyone there is Good News! God loves us, and He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to save us from our sins.”
According to CBN News, over 8,000 people attended the final stop on the tour on Sunday. The event included musical performances by the Christian band Newsboys and Christian artists Marcos Witt and Dennis Agajanian.
“The world around us is changing so drastically, but there is something that doesn’t change –God and His Holy Word. He created us, He loves us, and He wants to have a personal relationship with us,” he wrote on Facebook Sunday. “There aren’t many paths to God – only one – and that is through repentance and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. What a blessing to witness so many respond to the invitation to put their trust in Him.”
While some pro-LGBT Rochester residents protested outside of the event, attendees argued that Graham’s message stressed that God loves everyone, the Post Bulletin reports.
“In these days of uncertainty, fear, brokenness, and despair, it is clear that we cannot save ourselves personally or as a society,” Nathan Brand, senior pastor of Berean Community Church in Rochester, explained.
“The only thing that can overcome and transcend these challenges is the love of God in the transforming, life-giving work of Jesus Christ. That is what the God Loves You Tour is about and why we want to invite all in the Rochester area to be a part of it!”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Justin Sullivan/Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.