With just one month until Revd Franklin Graham shares a message of hope at Manchester’s Co-op Live, Christians from nearly 600 evangelical churches throughout the North West are preparing to bring friends, family members and neighbours to the God Loves You Tour on 3 October.
“The greatest need in Manchester is hope—and the sense that we don’t have to face life alone,” said Debra Green OBE, founding director of Redeeming Our Communities, a UK-wide charity based in Manchester. “And that’s why the God Loves You Tour feels timely. At a moment when people are asking big questions about purpose, belonging, identity, and hope, it creates an opportunity to say something simple: you are loved, you are not forgotten, and there is hope in Jesus Christ.”
Church leaders say they are witnessing this search for hope firsthand, especially among young people in the region.
“We’re seeing what many other churches across Manchester are also seeing—a growing number of young people searching for meaning, hope and belonging,” said Anthony Delaney, senior pastor of Ivy Church Manchester. “They’ve found that the promises of media, materialism, and ‘me first’ culture leave their deepest questions unanswered. But where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is shared clearly, courageously, and confidently, young people are all ears—and we see lives transformed.”
Thousands of Christians across the North West who want people to hear this message of hope and God’s love have already booked seats for more than 8,000 people on hundreds of free coaches—with one bus coming from as far as Swansea, Wales. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) has also trained thousands of local Christians to come alongside people who will respond to the Gospel message that Revd Franklin Graham will share on 3 October.
“I couldn’t be more excited to preach in Manchester. This is an incredible city, and it is a privilege to return to the place where my father preached 65 years ago,” said Revd Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “Manchester has changed a lot since my father was here in 1961, but God’s Word doesn’t change. In this day and age of AI and global misinformation, many are wondering what truth is and what is real. I want people to know that there is truth and it is found in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6). I’m looking forward to sharing this message of Good News with the people of Manchester.”
This event will be the ninth stop of Franklin Graham’s God Loves You Tour in the UK since 2022, following events in Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sheffield, and South Wales. The tour has also stopped in London three times. At ExCeL London last summer, the crowd was so large, security at the venue had to turn thousands of people away from the overflowing arena. But instead of becoming frustrated, many of them started clapping their hands and breaking into spontaneous worship songs outside.
The God Loves You Tour at Co-op Live in Manchester on 3 October is free and open to everyone. Tickets are not required. There will be live music from three-time Grammy-winning artist Michael W. Smith, as well as award-winning worship leader Charity Gayle, and Christian rapper Faith Child.
For more information, visit GodLovesYouTour.org.uk.
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Notes to Editors
Download photos and videos: Media.BillyGraham.org/GLY-Tour-Press-Room.
Media Contact
For media enquiries or to request an interview, please contact Claisse Opulencia at [email protected].
About the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Founded by Billy Graham in 1950, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) shares the Good News of Jesus Christ around the world. Billy Graham had a profound love and appreciation for the United Kingdom, and he established BGEA’s UK office in 1954. Mr. Graham went on to preach in the UK more than any other place outside of the United States.
About Franklin Graham
Franklin Graham is continuing the lifelong work of his father. Revd Graham held his first evangelistic event in 1989, and since then, he has preached at more than 350 outreaches in 55 countries.
Most recently, Revd Graham has proclaimed the hope of Jesus Christ in Madrid, Spain; Minsk, Belarus; Lima, Peru; Ushuaia, Argentina; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Brussels, Belgium; London, England; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Revd Graham is looking forward to sharing the Gospel in Manchester, England; Santiago, Chile; Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Dublin, Ireland, in the coming months. Graham has a heart for Europe, where he has preached at 34 events in 19 countries over the past 25 years. Last year, Graham also convened the European Congress on Evangelism, which brought more than 1,000 Christian leaders from 55 countries in Europe to Berlin, Germany. In addition to serving as president and CEO of BGEA, Franklin Graham also leads Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian disaster relief organization which works in more than 100 countries, including Nepal, Venezuela, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ukraine.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Claisse Opulencia
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