Franklin Graham to Go Down Under for Back-to-Back Festivals
Hundreds of churches from many denominations are participating this month in two festivals in Australia led by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Hundreds of churches from many denominations are participating this month in two festivals in Australia led by the evangelistic ministry of world-renown evangelist Billy Graham. After more than 90 festivals in locations from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Tupelo, Miss., Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will go Down Under for Festival Tasmania in Hobart, Tasmania and Festival Victoria in Melbourne.
"For our community this is a massive step of unity and working together," says Matt Carswell, coordinator of Festival Tasmania.
Carswell noted that more than 1,300 people attended the first round of the Festival's Christian Life and Witness Classes, which help Christians to “live victoriously and to tell others of their faith in Jesus Christ.” Festival preparations also included an event called "Church Together," in which participating churches canceled their own evening services in order to meet at a single location for worship and prayer.
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"Festival Tasmania is providing not only a great means for Tasmanians to hear [the] Good News, but also for Christians to be empowered and trained to share the Good News with their friends and colleagues," said the Right Reverend John Harrower, bishop of Tasmania.
The week following Festival Tasmania, Franklin Graham crosses the Bass Strait to Australia's mainland and the city of Melbourne, Victoria, to hold Festival Victoria. The BGEA reported that some 750 churches are participating in Festival Victoria.
"Festival Victoria is uniting the Church across every denomination," said Tina Waldrom, of CityLife Church. "Prayer is a priority, and we are mobilizing the Church to pray—first for the event itself and then for unbelievers to come to know Christ. We recognize that without prayer, we really are not going to see the great results that we want to see happen."
"We haven't done anything like this in Melbourne on a large scale for at least 30 or 40 years,” said the Right Reverend Stephen Hale, Anglican bishop for the Eastern Region, Diocese of Melbourne. “I think the wider community is probably ready to stop and take notice.
“I am looking forward to the chance for churches in Melbourne to put evangelism into key focus.”
Festival Tasmania, slated for March 11-13, will take place at the Derwent Entertainment Center in Hobart, Tasmania. The following week, on March 18-20, Graham heads to Melbourne for Festival Victoria at Telstra Dome.
