On May 31, former President George H.W. Bush, a close friend of my father, will deliver the keynote address at a special dedication ceremony for the Billy Graham Library.
Once the building officially opens its doors in mid-June, we expect several hundred thousand guests a year to visit the Library, located at the BGEA headquarters on Billy Graham Parkway, in Charlotte, N.C.
When they do, they will enjoy a unique evangelistic experience as we tell the story of how God can use a person whose life is surrendered to Him.
Built in the shape of a barn to reflect my father’s childhood days on a dairy farm in the rural South, the Library will be an ongoing Crusade focusing on the transforming power of the Gospel.
Visitors will enter the Library through the base of a 40-foot-high glass cross, the building’s focal point because the cross symbolizes the heart of the Gospel–the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
As guests take a self-guided tour through the interactive venues in the Library, they can see how God worked through my father’s Crusades, broadcasts and evangelistic conferences to proclaim the Good News to hundreds of millions of people.
They will also have the opportunity to see displays of my mother’s adventures as a missionary’s daughter in China, her home life in the mountains of North Carolina and her lifetime of devotion to Christ and our family as my father took the Gospel to the world.
The old home place where my father grew up is located adjacent to the Library and will be open for tours. The building was taken down piece by piece and reassembled on the Library site, so visitors can walk through virtually the same house that sat on the Charlotte-area dairy farm.
The Library will also highlight the continuing work of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as this ministry proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ. My father was a pioneer in utilizing media and publishing for ministry, and we continue that innovation today through a number of powerful outreaches such as our My Hope World Television Project, which has seen more than 8 million people make commitments to Christ.
Throughout my father’s life, he has done the “work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5), faithfully calling people to repent from sin and to put their faith in Jesus Christ. His message has never changed, and God has honored the preaching of His Word.
I believe the Lord will use the Billy Graham Library and our ongoing work around the world to reach many more people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. The Gospel has been, and always will be, the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).
I am grateful for my father’s steadfast commitment to preach the cross of Christ for these many years, and I look forward to all the Lord will do in the coming days as we lift up His majestic Name through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.