“Easter from the Ashes” to air nationwide on Easter Sunday, featuring first-time collaboration between Michael W. Smith and Charity Gayle
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 14, 2025 — Franklin Graham will preach a message, titled “Easter from the Ashes,” on networks across the country on Easter Sunday. The program was filmed in California, among the charred remains of thousands of homes destroyed by catastrophic and unprecedented wildfires that raged through the Palisades and Altadena areas.
“This Easter, I’m in Los Angeles in what looks like a wasteland. In the middle of this pain, many are asking, ‘Can there be hope in the place of ashes?’” said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). “And as we come to this Easter, we celebrate new life. We celebrate a new chance. There are many people wondering in all these ashes out here, ‘Is there any hope?’ And that hope can be found in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.”
On April 20 at 12 p.m. ET, Fox News will air the new 30-minute program, which features an encouraging message of God’s love from Graham as well as powerful music from multi-platinum selling, three-time Grammy winning artist Michael W. Smith, and Dove Award winner Charity Gayle. The special will debut their new collaborations on several songs, including one of the top Christian songs of 2024, “I Speak Jesus.”
“Sometimes life hits us incredibly hard,” said Gayle during the program, “but Easter points us to the hope that Jesus brings, even in the darkest times.”
“Franklin Graham: Easter from the Ashes,” will not only air on Fox News, but also on TBN, Daystar, CBN, Newsmax, and over 100 local stations in various markets across the U.S. For viewers who miss the television broadcast, the special will also be available online at billygraham.org/ashes/.
Franklin Graham has previously shared nationally televised Easter messages from New York City during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as war-torn Ukraine, the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, and from Jerusalem amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Additional information about this year’s program, including broadcast times and stations, can be found at billygraham.org/ashes/.
About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and Samaritan’s Purse in California
More than 180 crisis-trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) have been ministering to those affected by the Palisades and Eaton wildfires since January. To date, they have prayed with more than 9,000 residents and first responders from the community. The BG-RRT deploys to natural disasters in coordination with Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian disaster relief organization also headed by Franklin Graham. Together the two ministries address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of impacted communities. Samaritan’s Purse has helped more than 2,000 homeowners sift through the ashes left in the wake of these fires to find precious, irreplaceable personal items including wedding rings and family heirlooms.
About the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA)
Founded by Billy Graham in 1950, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association shares the Good News of Jesus Christ around the world. From its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association directs a wide range of domestic and international ministries, including: large-scale outreaches led by evangelists Franklin Graham and Will Graham; the Billy Graham Library; The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, located outside of Asheville, North Carolina; SearchforJesus.net, an internet evangelism project reaching thousands of people for Christ online; and many others through print, television, telephone, radio and the internet. For more information, please visit billygraham.org. Get news updates on X at x.com/BGEAnews.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Lisa Moseley
lmoseley@bgea.org