Hundreds and hundreds of people, including scores of youth, came forward to publicly commit to following Jesus Christ at the Co-Op Live arena in Manchester on Saturday night.
“When I walked forward and prayed, it felt really amazing—as if someone touched my soul—and I really felt God’s presence,” said Amy Reonnah, one of the many people who put her faith in Christ this weekend. The 19 year old who was born in India and lived in the UAE before coming to England continued saying, “[In] Manchester, it’s like many people are going out every weekend, and people are always drinking. You can see so many churches closed, and so many churches being turned to mosques … I feel like people of Manchester really need to be closer to God.”
More than than 10,000 people attended the free God Loves You Tour, which featured live music and a message of hope from Revd Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Before he began preaching on Saturday, Revd Graham shared several headlines with the crowd that had been published by national news outlets in the UK proclaiming that “AI could cause human extinction” and “AI is going to kill us all.”
Graham responded by saying, “All humans are not going to be killed by AI … the Bible does not speak about there being an end of humanity.” He went on to say, “But your world is going to end one day. Every one of us has a date with death. Are you ready to stand before God and give an account to Him?”
Graham then shared the Gospel message that God loves the people of the UK and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for their sins, and that everyone who puts their faith and trust in Him can be forgiven and have a relationship with God.
“Jesus came to save us. He didn’t come to condemn us,” Graham said. “If you remember anything tonight, remember this: God loves you.”
In preparation for the tour, Christians from nearly 600 evangelical churches throughout the North West invited people to hear the hope of the Gospel, and booked seats on a fleet of more than 200 buses to bring people to the arena.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association also trained thousands of local Christians to share their faith. They are now coming alongside people like Reonnah who came forward during the Gospel invitation.
She said, “I feel like he [Revd Graham] brought this … message to the right place, for the people of Manchester, especially us youth, because we’re the next generation.”
This event was 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 and is scheduled to visit the O2 Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 21-22 May 2027 and 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, on 28-29 May 2027.
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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 Santiago, Chile; Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Dublin, Ireland, in the coming months. Graham has a heart for Europe, where he has preached at 35 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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