Graham Crusade in Kansas City Rescheduled for October
Crusade General Committee Announces New Dates and Renewed Commitment to Enlist More Churches During Extended Time of Preparation
The General Committee of the Heart of America Billy Graham Crusade announced on Thursday, May 27 their decision to reschedule the Crusade at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The meetings, originally planned for June 17-20, will be moved to October 7-10, 2004.
The crusade was postponed to enable Mr. Graham to complete a regimen of physical therapy and fully recover from a procedure last week to stabilize his pelvic bone fractured in a fall at his home on May 14.
"We believe that God has a plan for Kansas City, of which Billy Graham is a vital part, and are excited that these new dates will enable him to return for his third crusade in this great city," said G. Richard Hastings, CEO of St. Luke's Health System and chair of the Crusade. "This extension will not only allow Mr. Graham to recuperate, but will provide additional time of preparation to mobilize more churches for training and personal outreach, culminating in a crescendo of prayer this fall."
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Mr. Hastings added that the General Committee has given assurances to the owners and management of the Kansas City Royals baseball team that they will make necessary adjustments to shift crusade dates and meeting times, as necessary -- if the team gets into the American League postseason playoffs -- due to the shared parking facilities between the adjacent stadiums.
In addition to approving the new dates at a special meeting today, the local Crusade leadership also reaffirmed their excitement to move forward with a renewed resolve and vision to win the surrounding five-state Heartland of America region for God. Expanded preparatory events will include a combined choir rehearsal in June, a mobilization rally, and additional Christian Life and Witness Classes in early fall.
Two crusade-related events will continue as planned: namely, "Operation Arrowhead," a surround-the-stadium prayer event on June 5, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association School of Evangelism, to be held June 16-18 at a Kansas City hotel. Presently, more than 500 pastors from 55 denominations representing 40 states and two Canadian Provinces are registered for the intensive three-day training.
Yesterday, the Executive Leadership Team of the Greater Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade similarly announced their decision to reschedule the Crusade at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena from July 29-August 1 as originally planned, to new dates of November 18-21.
