Festival Victoria Draws Over 80,000 to Melbourne
More than 80,000 people attended a three-day festival at Melbourne's Telstra Dome yesterday afternoon, and about 7000 accepted an invitation from evangelist Franklin Graham to come forward to receive Christ.
More than 80,000 people attended a three-day festival at Melbourne's Telstra Dome yesterday afternoon, and about 7,000 accepted an invitation from evangelist Franklin Graham to come forward to receive Christ.
It was Graham's first visit to Melbourne, and the biggest evangelistic effort in the city since his father, Billy Graham, mesmerized the city in 1959, drawing 143,750 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Billy Graham also visited in 1969.
According to Melbourne's The Age news agency, Graham was well pleased with the festival. "It's so different from 1959, because at that time maybe 50 percent of people went to church, but now this country is unchurched," he said, according to the Age.
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"To see what happened over the three days, and to have more than 800 churches involved, is tremendous."
He said he found the audience "very receptive, very warm - delightfully so".
Buses brought people from throughout the suburbs and the state - youth groups on Saturday night, church congregations yesterday afternoon, bringing non-Christian friends and family with them.
The Age reported that the biggest rally was on Saturday night, when singer Guy Sebastian turned out to be the "mystery star". Sunday's surprise star was the Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, who became a committed Christian as a combat commander in Vietnam. Jeffery said the Lord had given him strength and hope throughout his life.
"He is there for all of us if we but ask," the Governor-General added.
Festival coordinator Paul Molyneux said 55 percent, or about 3,800 of those who came forward at the conclusion of the three-day event were first-time converts. The rest were people renewing their commitment.
According to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the Festival meetings themselves will be the "tip of the iceberg". Prior to the Festival there had been months of training and preparation through prayer and personal outreach as the churches of Victoria come together in unity to support and participate in the Festival in a variety of ways.
Activities such as Operation Andrew, a four-week Christian Life and Witness Course offered at a variety of local churches, gave thousands of Christians the opportunity to be renewed in their personal relationship with Christ and to be trained to share their faith. Additionally Christians and churches were trained to follow up those who would make a commitment at the Festival until they also become active members of a local church.
Festival Victoria was Graham’s second evangelistic festival since the beginning of this month. The week before, Graham brought a message of eternal impact to the more than 10,500 that attended Festival Tasmania in Hobart, Tasmania. According to the BGEA, the total number of those who attended the event from Mar. 11-13 nearly tripled local pastor' estimates of how many people are in church services on any given Sunday.
