God’s servant ‘Billy Graham” says he would pray more if he could live his life over again

Nov 23, 2004 (PASADENA, CA) --- In an exclusive TBN interview, network founders, Paul and Jan Crouch, spoke one-on-one with renowned evangelist Billy Graham about his historic four-day evangelistic “Los Angeles” crusade held last week at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena where Graham preached to a crowd of over 350,000-strong with a message of hope. During the interview, Paul Crouch asked the Rev. Graham, “If you could live your life over again, is there anything you would do differently?” Graham replied, “Yes, there is. I would pray more.”

On Friday, the second night of the crusade, more than two thousand people came forward to accept Graham’s invitation to turn their lives over to Christ. “It was wonderful!” exclaimed Paul Crouch Jr., Vice President of Administration at TBN and the eldest son of the Crouch’s. “People from all walks of life came forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”

It has been fifty-five years since Billy Graham’s first Los Angeles tent revival that launched him into worldwide prominence. “Do you feel your life has been a failure? Is your life turned upside down? Do you wonder which way to turn? The choice you make tonight will affect your whole life. It will also affect where you spend eternity,” Graham told the thousands gathered.

It is the same simple message that Graham, 86, has devoted a lifetime to preaching—the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

The Greater Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade, Graham’s seventh in Los Angeles and his 416th worldwide, marked his return to the area that hosted one of his most important appearances—the historic 1949 crusade in the “canvas cathedral” at the corner of Washington and Hill streets. That crusade brought Graham and his ministry national attention.

Even before the opening night of the Crusade thousands of people heard the Gospel during Crusade-related events, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) reported. More than sixty meetings have been held in correctional facilities throughout the area since June. More than six thousand inmates attended and some two thousand made decisions for Jesus Christ.

In addition, the Crusade’s “Love in Action” committee held twenty-seven “Feasts of Faith” in twenty urban communities around Los Angeles where thousands of needy families were fed, over ten thousand Bibles were distributed, the homeless received hygiene kits, and all were invited to Saturday’s program at the Crusade.

When the Greater Los Angeles Crusade was announced in February, Graham said, “I feel somewhat like the Apostle Paul in wanting to go back to places where we have preached the Lord to see how they are doing. More important, however, there is a new generation that needs to hear the Gospel since our last crusade there in 1985.”

Since 1949, Graham has held five campaigns in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Paul Crouch Jr. announced that TBN would likely air special segments of Graham’s Los Angeles Crusade in 2005. TBN currently airs “CLASSIC” Billy Graham Crusades four times a week.

In the United States, TBN is available to 92% of the total households. Its website receives over 25 million visitors monthly.

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