CITY OF ANGELS (Photo above)
Hungry to Hear: More than 910,000 people packed the Los Angeles Coliseum during Mr. Graham’s 25-day 1963 Crusade. The crowd of 134, 254 on Sept. 8 still stands as the all-time attendance record for the stadium.
Answers: In 1960, Mr. Graham begins writing the newspaper column My Answer, which is syndicated by the Chicago Tribune and printed in newspapers across the United States.
Africa/Middle East: More than 570,000 hear Mr. Graham preach the Gospel during a tour of 11 African countries, as well as Jordan and Israel, in early 1960. Mr. Graham also takes time to talk with people away from the large meetings, as he does here in an African village.
Printed Word: The first issue of Decision magazine is published in November 1960. Mr. Graham’s vision for the magazine is “to provide spiritual food for Christians, and to publish evangelistic messages and articles aimed at reaching the secular mind and winning the nonbeliever to Christ,” in a world moving rapidly toward secularization.
Last Chance: In 1960 Christians in West Berlin, believing it may be their last chance to reach East Berlin, invite Billy Graham to hold a Crusade 300 yards from the border. Hundreds of East Berliners attend—although they are spied upon, frisked, pulled off subways, harassed and ridiculed. Some 100,000 people attend the final meeting. Those barred from crossing the border stand on their own side and strain to hear the Gospel.
Windy City: After 18 days of overflow crowds in Chicago’s McCormick Place exposition center, Billy Graham proclaims the Gospel at Soldier Field during the Chicago Crusade’s closing rally June 17, 1962. The temperature tops 100 degrees, but more than 116,000 people attend, bringing the Crusade’s total attendance to almost 705,000. More than 16,500 people register decisions for Christ during the 19-day Crusade.
Canada: Coinciding with the nation’s centennial celebrations in 1967, BGEA held several Crusades in Canada, including this one in Winnipeg.
World Evangelism: Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie brings a greeting at the start of the World Congress on Evangelism in Berlin, West Germany, in 1966. Some 1,200 delegates from 100 countries attend. Financed and organized by BGEA, the Congress serves as a catalyst for new efforts in evangelism.
Eastern Europe: Some 10,000 people brave a steady rain to listen to Billy Graham in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Many travel all night by train to be there; others endure a three-day bus ride. The meetings are the first open-air evangelistic meetings in Eastern Europe since World War II.
Wartime Visit: Mr. Graham preaches to troops in Vietnam in December 1966.
Rock ’n’ Roll: Young people listen politely as Mr. Graham proclaims the Gospel at the Miami Rock Music Festival Dec. 28, 1969. Some 350 make commitments to Jesus Christ.