At 7:46 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2018, Billy Graham passed from this life into eternity. 

“One day you’re going to hear that Billy Graham has died,” he said before his homegoing. “But don’t believe it! For on that day I will be more alive than ever before. I will have just changed addresses.”

Throughout his ministry, Mr. Graham proclaimed the Gospel to some 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. He often asked God, “Why did you choose a farmer’s son from North Carolina to reach so many people for Christ?”

Yet even today, four years after his death, the Lord is allowing Mr. Graham’s legacy to spread far and wide. 

Elna,* a young woman in South Africa, recently saw a short video of Mr. Graham preaching on TikTok. Wanting to hear the full message, she switched over to YouTube to watch the sermon in its entirety. 

Elna was intrigued, but she still had questions.  

“I need help, and I believe you will get back to me,” she wrote in an Instagram message to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).

A BGEA team member responded to Elna’s message and encouraged her to visit PeaceWithGod.net so she could learn more about the Gospel.

After communicating with a trained volunteer, Elna felt prompted to enroll in two of BGEA’s online discipleship courses. Through the courses and the study of Scripture, she learned about God’s grace and the path to salvation. 

“The only gift that will take us to Heaven is accepting Jesus,” Elna shared. “… I should come with empty hands because Jesus has paid it all. It really makes me very happy and I’m unable to give a proper explanation how much it means to me to be loved by God.”

The message of the cross and the hope of Heaven were resounding themes in Mr. Graham’s life, and now in his death. 

In a Facebook post, Franklin Graham celebrated his father’s memory:

“On this day four years ago, my father Billy Graham went home to Heaven, into the presence of the Savior He loved and served for more than 80 years,” he wrote. “He was 99 years and three months old (plus nine months in his mother’s womb = 100 years)! We all miss him greatly, but I know that I will see him again one day in Heaven. That assurance is possible because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross—and that message of hope is what my father proclaimed to multiple millions of people during his ministry.”

Photo: Greg Schneider/©2004 BGEA