Graham Crusade Committee Confirms Dates, Location for N.Y. Event
The executive committee of the Greater New York Billy Graham Crusade announced today its unanimous decision to move the venue for world renowned evangelist’s last New York City crusade from Madison Square Garden to Flushing Meadows Park.
The executive committee of the Greater New York Billy Graham Crusade announced today its unanimous decision to move the venue for world renowned evangelist’s last New York City crusade from Madison Square Garden to Flushing Meadows Park. The committee also confirmed the dates for the evangelistic event, which is now slated for June 24 – 26.
"I am delighted by the decision to move the crusade meetings to Flushing Meadows," said Graham, now 86. "It is the site of two world's fairs—now the whole world is there. I'm told that the surrounding neighborhood is the most international community in the country, with 130 language groups within walking distance of the park."
According to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), the crusade committee – made up of local pastors and business leaders – has held that facility on reserve for the June meetings since announcing the crusade at Madison Square Garden last September. The BGEA reported that based upon the high level of more than 1,000 churches participating in the pre-crusade preparations, crusade leadership recognized early this year the need to relocate the meetings to a large outdoor venue.
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"We have gone through a diligent process and God's sovereignty led us to the right place," said Dr. A. R. Bernard, pastor of The Christian Cultural Center, who serves as crusade chair. "Through this crusade we want to gather as many individuals as possible to hear Mr. Graham's Gospel message of hope and forgiveness, and to direct the local churches to follow-up everyone who responds to his invitation to make a commitment to Christ."
Crusade Director Art Bailey confirmed that city officials and crusade organizers came to a consensus that the most appropriate venue is Flushing Meadows Park.
"After good faith discussions with park officials, it became obvious that Flushing Meadows Park is the best option throughout the city to accommodate the anticipated crowds," he said, according to the BGEA.
"This location is a crossroads that has drawn people from all over the world; today, people from virtually every language group live in the neighborhood," said Rev. Robert Stearns, president of Eagle's Wings ministry. "Jesus told the church to 'Go into all the world to preach the Gospel'—now we are able to do so from one location."
Rev. Bob Johansson, chair of the crusade pastor's committee, agreed that this decision positions the Greater New York Crusade for global impact. "The Unisphere, the symbol of the 1964 World's Fair, can become a symbol for this crusade—'One world, one hope, one Gospel,'" he said.
The BGEA reports that the June 24-26 meetings will be held on Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). Saturday programs will feature a youth-oriented "Concert of Hope," as part of the crusade's "Get Real"-themed effort to reach out to the more than two million young people aged 18 and under throughout metro New York. Seating for all events is free.
As Graham has aged there has been widespread speculation that every crusade would be his last. "I've done nine 'last Billy Graham crusades,'” crusade director Jeff Anderson told the Los Angeles Times last year in July, prior to the Greater Los Angeles Crusade – Graham’s last crusade in California.
Since his first Los Angeles tent revival launched him into worldwide prominence in 1949, Graham has preached the Gospel to more than 210 million people in more than 185 countries.
According to the BGEA, the Greater New York Crusade will be the Rev. Graham's seventh campaign in the area, following meetings at Madison Square Garden in 1957 and 1969. His first was the most historic, the BGEA reports, as meetings initially planned to last for six weeks were extended to sixteen, attended by more than two million people, including individual meetings at Yankee Stadium, Wall Street, and a closing-night crowd of many thousands in Times Square.
Other previous crusades held by Graham in the New York City area include meetings at Shea Stadium in 1970, at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island in 1990, and at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and in Central Park in 1991.
