Billy Graham, widely celebrated as “American’s Pastor” for spreading the gospel to millions, died in his North Carolina home Wednesday morning. He was 99.
Born in 1918 in Charlotte, N.C., William Franklin (Billy) Graham Jr. grew up on a dairy farm the oldest of four siblings. He was inspired to commit his life to sharing the gospel at the tender age of 16, after attending a series of revival meetings run by outspoken Evangelist Mordecai Ham.
Ordained as a Baptist minister, the famed preacher amassed a colossal following in spreading the message of Christianity. He first took to radio to preach the gospel in the 1940s and followed up with on-going television appearances. He connected with additional disciples through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association — a media and film conglomerate.
Despite having little formal theological training, he reached more than 200 million through the association and his pioneering use of television and radio.
Graham’s message, popular for being well thought out and straight forward, did not center on hot-button topics, like gay marriage or abortion. He once told reporters he did not identify with “the so-called religious right.”
He’d cultivated a personal library of more the 13,000 books, which included works on Judaism, Hinduism and African religion.
“The GREAT Billy Graham is dead. There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man.” ~Donald Trump
RIP, sometimes mi feel like i want to preach.. but think i’m too corrupted.