My Hope America With Billy Graham Culminates In November, The Month Of Graham’s 95th Birthday
In 2002, My Hope began as a ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) to take the Gospel into areas of the world where Billy Graham could not physically travel. Ten years and 57 countries later, My Hope America with Billy Graham has now become a movement spreading across the United States, where Christians are being equipped to effectively share their faith with family and friends.
The effort comes at a critical time. According to a recent Pew Forum survey, one in five people in the U.S. report having no religious affiliation, an increase of more than five percent in the past five years.
Hundreds of My Hope America with Billy Graham information sessions are being held at locations from coast-to-coast. The sessions are presented by representatives of the project who share Billy Graham’s vision for My Hope, with training materials from time-tested resources used in Billy Graham Crusades for more than 60 years. For those not able to attend a meeting in person, the training is available online.
“My Hope has been used in many countries and hundreds of thousands of people have received Christ as Savior,” said Billy Graham. “I think it is going to be a tremendous time of evangelism. I think that the Lord is going to use it mightily. I’ve been praying that we might have a spiritual awakening. But I think that becomes possible as individuals surrender their lives fresh and anew to Christ. And that’s the hope that we have.”
“My father is as burdened today about the souls of men and women as he has been at any time in his life,” said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the BGEA.
My Hope America with Billy Graham encourages participants to reach out to people they already know and engage in meaningful conversations and connections as a catalyst for sharing the hope and love found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
While one-on-one conversations will be the root of this relationship evangelism outreach, there will be special evangelistic programs available in a wide range of formats including TV, DVD and internet that people can share to reinforce the message. The programs feature life-changing personal stories and messages from Billy Graham, which include a never-before-seen video Graham recorded for the project.
One evangelistic program was released in March entitled Defining Moments. It features the stories of three individuals—illusionist Jim Munroe, NFL player David Tyree and musical artist Lacey Sturm—who found success in their careers, yet were still searching for hope. The second film in the series—Lose to Gain—was released in June. It follows the stories of skateboarder Brian Sumner, comedian Michael Jr. and young professional Shannon Culpepper, each searching for something this world ultimately could not provide.
These programs, along with additional programs under development, will also be available for use during implementation of the project in November.