Pastor to Presidents

William Franklin Graham Jr. was born on November 7, 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the eldest of four children. His parents, William and Morrow Graham were dairy farmers. Although his parents were strong Calvinists, it was not until the age of sixteen, that William Franklin Graham Jr.or as he is more commonly known now, that Reverend Billy Graham's head was turned towards religion. At that time he attended a revival meeting held by traveling evangelist Mordecai Ham. His initial visit was out of curiosity. Ham's sermons on sin served to almost mesmerize Graham, who ended up attending a series of these revival meetings. These meetings set Graham's spiritual focus in place.

After graduating from high school, Graham enrolled at Bob Jones University, which was then located in Tennessee. He attended there for a year, then transferred to the Florida Bible Institute where he graduated earning a bachelor's degree in theology. He was ordained as a minister in 1939 after joining a Southern Baptist Convention church. Graham then moved to Illinois to attend Wheaton University where he earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology. Having met his future wife Ruth McCue Bell while in attendance at Wheaton University, they were married in August 13, 1943. They would go on to have five children; Virginia (born in 1945), Anne (born in 1948), Ruth (born in 1950), William Ill (born in 1952), and Nelson (born in 1958). Virginia, Anne, William Ill, and Nelson are all evangelists while Ruth is a Christian writer.

Billy Graham Emerges

In 1949 Billy Graham was invited to speak at his first revival meeting in Los Angeles, California. The meeting was held by a group called "Christ for Greater Los Angeles." By the third week attendance began to drop off, however at this time the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and his mistress began to attend these revival meetings. Hearst was deeply moved and impressed by the religious and anti-communist theme of Graham's message. So much so, that he ordered his newspaper to give Graham's revival meetings front page coverage on a national basis, which boosted attendance. Indeed, the crowds were so large that the revivals were extended an additional five weeks. In addition, this was Graham's first introduction to a national audience.

Thus the beginning of Reverend Billy Graham's national prominence. Throughout the 50's he held religious crusades in the United States as well as overseas.

In 1953 while preparing for a crusade in Arkansas, local civic leaders advised Graham to segregate the whites from the blacks in the audience. Graham refused at a time when this was the accepted norm in this country.

Graham has prayed with and given spiritual advice to every president from Eisenhower to Obama, Democrat and Republican alike.

He has held crusades in nearly every major city in the United States. Graham has held crusades and preached in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, South America and Russia. He has reached millions of people through the use of radio, television, and the printed word.

In order to grow his ministry and to oversee its many facets, Graham founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association or BGEA. This organization began printing books, periodicals, films, tapes, and records as well as setting up religious crusades all over the world.

 As with any person of prominence, Graham has had his detractors over the years. Harry Truman called him a "counterfeit." Evangelist Bob Jones said that Graham "has done more to harm the cause of Jesus Christ than any other living man."

The largest impact on Graham's credibility was his friendship and support of Richard Nixon in the aftermath of the Watergate fiasco as well as a taped conversation between Graham and Nixon in which some anti-Semitic remarks were made.

In June of 2005, Graham held his last crusade at Flushing Meadows Park, in New York City, after which he retired to his home in North Carolina with his wife Ruth. Ruth Graham passed away in 2007 after coming down with pneumonia and degenerative osteoarthritis. Together the Grahams had five children and nineteen grandchildren.

Final Word

Of late when we hear the word "televangelist" many unsavory acts come to mind. Everything from adultery to bilking believers out of millions of dollars has occurred in the name of religion. No doubt that Billy Graham has had the opportunity to commit some of these same sins. To his credit William Franklin Graham Jr. appears to have lived and is still living the word that he has preached to the world.