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Many were invited to the events through a simple North Carolina-shaped invitation like this one. But an evangelist that worked with Billy had a different idea for Franklin. In 1989, John Wesley White talked Graham into preaching at a crusade in Juneau, Alaska. Things turned out differently than what Franklin expected."That night, after I preached, I felt in my heart God was calling me, and I had been resisting it really out of pride because I didn't want to be compared to my father, and that was the wrong reason," Graham said. Afterwards Franklin decided to devote 10 percent of his time preaching with his father's ministery. Soon Franklin's father at 82 got Parkinson's disease, many people questioned or resisted the suggestion of his son as successor.
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Personal life
William Franklin Graham III was born in Asheville, North Carolina, on July 14, 1952, to evangelist Billy Graham and Ruth Graham. As a teenager, Graham attended The Stony Brook School, a Christian private school on Long Island, New York, but dropped out. William Franklin Graham, III, born July 14, 1952, is the fourth of five children born to evangelist Billy Graham and his wife, Ruth Bell Graham.
When Graham was in his early twenties, Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of Samaritan’s Purse, invited him to join him on a six-week mission to Asia. It was during that time that Graham felt a calling to work with hurting people in areas of the world affected by war, famine, disease, poverty and natural disaster. "It is good that people receive not only food but also love, care, and counseling. Most people are open to God. Since the war, have united to love and care for their neighbors," the partner explained. "The war has changed people, and they are more open to hearing about God. Everyone knows that the church is always open for communication, overnight stays, and food."
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The following year Graham took over as president and chairman of what is now a $131 million, 300-employee organization that distributes supplies to those suffering from war, famine and natural disasters. Billy Graham was preaching in his crusades, as his son Franklin was ministering through Samaritan's Purse. Franklin Graham often was urged to follow his father to the pulpit, a path he did not want to take. Ruth GrahamWilliam Franklin Graham III is an American evangelist and missionary. He frequently engages in Christian revival tours and political commentary.
"Food assistance is very necessary because shops do not work in the villages. The roads are very bad, there are no buses for local residents to go somewhere to find food," the partner said. "The transportation was destroyed by the war. Many people without money, electricity, water, and gas almost from the first days of the war. In villages that were under occupation, the food stocks that were in the houses have already run out or have been taken from them." Graham supported North Carolina Amendment 1, which was passed by a voter referendum on May 8, 2012, prohibiting same-sex marriage and all domestic partnerships. Graham responded to Obama's May 9, 2012, statement of support for same-sex marriage, saying, "President Obama has, in my view, shaken his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage. It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more." Since the 2016 election, Graham has "become known, above all, as the most vociferous evangelical ally" of Trump. He has strongly opposed the impeachment process, calling it an "unjust inquisition".
Franklin Graham at Home
According to 2014 data, Graham is the highest paid Samaritan's Purse employee at $622,252 annually and leads other charities in compensation. The preacher gave up a salary at the evangelistic association during the late economic downturn, but the leaders urged him to accept compensation again and he now receives increased retirement contributions as well as a regular salary. The evangelistic association reported 2013 revenues as $106.5 million and 2014 as $112,893,788. The five children — Virginia "Gigi" Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, Ruth Bell Graham, Franklin Graham and Nelson Edman "Ned" Graham — all have had involvement in Christian service, according to Samaritan's Purse.
His family sent him to Stony Brook, an elite Christian boarding school on Long Island, New York. He dropped out and was later expelled from another school, LeTourneau College in Longview, Texas, for keeping a female classmate out all night past curfew ("The Prodigal Son Comes Home"). Using traditional and social media and speaking opportunities, Franklin regularly speaks to current moral and social issues, challenging Christians to make a difference in the world. He also offers Biblical context and application to current national and world events. Through the organizations he leads he has been instrumental in helping people impacted by crises including the nine-eleven terrorist attacks, civil war and natural disasters.
The eldest son of Billy and Ruth Bell Graham, he serves as President and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Under his leadership, Samaritan's Purse has met the needs of poor, sick, and suffering people in more than 170 countries. As an evangelist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, he has led crusades around the world. Samaritan's Purse also reports some of the brave pastors and church leaders who are partners with the ministry are also taking this food into the conflict zone. These unsung heroes take buses, vans, and even their own vehicles, loaded with food and other relief supplies from Samaritan's Purse to people who are suffering during the conflict. All venues booked for Franklin Graham's planned eight-city 2020 UK tour cancelled his booking after protests by LGBTQ+ activists, petitions and requests from local councils.
Shortly after his experience he went home to North Carolina and married a hometown girl, Jane Austin Cunningham. They got married on his parents front lawn, during the ceramony he publicly stated that he and his life had changed. He started looking for ways to show his faith, family friend Bob Pierce, founder of the Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse and World Vision, invited Graham with him on a six-week mission to Asia. Graham witnessed so many hardships of the world's poorest people, Pierce died of luekemia in 1978.
Franklin also serves as president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Presidents as well as world leaders from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. By the time of Franklin’s birth, his father, Dr. Billy Graham was already known around the world as a spiritual leader. Franklin’s maternal grandfather, Lemuel Nelson Bell, was a medical missionary to China for more than 20 years; a respected moderator of his denomination, the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and a co-founder and executive editor of Christianity Today. At age 22, after a period of rebellion and traveling the world, Franklin committed his life to Jesus Christ while alone in a hotel room in Jerusalem.
In a November 21, 2019, interview with Eric Metaxas, Graham suggested opposition to Trump was the work of a "demonic power". Graham came under criticism for comments he made about Islam in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks when he referred to Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion". Further criticism came on April 18, 2003, when he preached at a Good Friday service at the Pentagon. Graham has made controversial remarks against Islam saying "True Islam cannot be practiced in this country", to CNN's Campbell Brown in December 2009. Graham has also spoken of seeing the effects of the virus in his own organization.
Graham and his wife, Jane Austin, have four children, Will, Roy, Edward and Cissie, and 13 grandchildren. In his autobiography, Rebel with a Cause, Graham explained that“just being the son of Billy Graham won’t get me into heaven.”He knew that he was being called to do more with his life and to make a real commitment to God. So at age 22, after a period of rebellion and traveling the world, he committed his life to Jesus Christ while alone in a hotel room in Jerusalem. These food distributions provide opportunities for spiritual ministry too. One of the ministry's partners described the current situation in Odessa and Khersonska.
He is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization. Graham became a "committed Christian" in 1974 and was ordained in 1982, and has since become a public speaker and author. In less than two weeks, more than 65,000 people took part in the eight-city Tar Heel State Tour, filling fairgrounds, parks and stadiums to hear Good News in a time when our TVs, radios and social media feeds are full of discouraging news.
He reflected on being a troublemaker in school and how he wishes he would have paid closer attention. He knows how dangerous it is not to pay attention to God's prompting in our lives. "Pain is universal," said Jeremy Camp, who's traveled to dozens of countries as a Christian artist. While pain is a part of life, it is possible to have deep joy in the middle of turmoil. From October 1-13, Franklin Graham traveled across his home state, visiting Fayetteville, Greenville, Wilmington, Raleigh, Greensboro, Hickory and Charlotte, before reaching his final destination in Asheville. Be the first to know about the BGEA’s work in your community and around the world.
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