Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, emphasized the importance of encouraging young evangelists to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He made these remarks ahead of the four-day European Congress on Evangelism, during a press conference on May 27 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Berlin, Germany. At the conference, Graham was joined by his son Will Graham, who is the executive vice president of the BGEA, and Viktor Hamm, vice president of Crusade Ministries for BGEA.
Franklin Graham stated, “There's a younger generation that I believe is taking hold of the gospel and is taking the challenge of preaching the gospel to the ends of this Earth,” and added, “And I think many of these young people need to be encouraged. And so I think this Congress is important to encourage another generation to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to this continent.”
Graham also noted that there had been discussions about including other nations in the goals of this particular congress, but “I didn’t want to do that,” he stated. “I want to focus on Europe.”
Franklin Graham stated “We can do conferences in other parts of the world but right now, we’re focusing on Europe. And so many missionaries and great church leaders came out of Europe. They came to the United States and evangelized the United States, and then not just the United States, but throughout so much of the world.”
He expressed concern that many churches have seen generations pass without engaging in evangelism. Graham stated his desire for fellowships to recognize the ongoing need to evangelize, saying, “it’s not just for today but for every day.”
Will Graham echoed his father’s sentiment, saying the conference’s goal is to “help encourage another generation.” “Like my father said, to preach with authority, to preach the blood and the cross of Jesus Christ to fan the flame for another generation to get excited about evangelism,” he recalled, highlighting how his grandfather Billy Graham envisioned not only preaching the gospel but also inspiring others—men and women alike—to become evangelists.
Will added, “We used to ask my grandad, who’s gonna take your place?” and he would always look to the crowd and say, ‘They are,’ and point to all these evangelists. And so he poured his heart into evangelists—and that’s what we are going to do.”
Responding to questions about how younger generations dislike organized religion, Franklin Graham said the answers “are found in the gospel.” He quoted Romans 1:16—“‘I’m not ashamed of the gospel,’” and claimed that “older generations have tried to soften the gospel in not wanting to cause offense to others, such as not talking about the cross of Jesus.” However, he noted, “But younger people were bolder.”
He emphasized that “it's not politically correct, but there's Holy Spirit-filled power in it,” adding that “young people today are challenged by a challenge. How do we reach our generation? How can we convince them? How can we talk to them? How can we get their attention? Young people want a challenge.”
Franklin Graham also emphasized the importance of boldness in the face of growing pressure on freedom of speech from secularism, stating, “You don't give up. You don't quit. And you don't become less bold. You become more bold.”
He concluded, “If Christians begin to be quiet, we'll lose our freedom to share the gospel,” and warned, “And so I don't encourage Christians to go out and throw rocks through windows and stuff like that. I believe we just stand firm on what the Bible teaches. If there's ever been a time where we need to be more bold, it's today and being bold in the Word of God and not compromising.”
