This Week in Christian History: Billy Graham Preaches to 1 Million People; YMCA Founded
YMCA Founded – June 6, 1844
This week marks the anniversary of the founding of the major international youth organization, the Young Men's Christian Association by British citizen George Williams.
A farmer-turned-department store worker who moved to London for work as a teenager, Williams founded the group when he was 22 along with other young adults.
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"Our object is the improvement of the spiritual condition of the young men engaged in houses of business, by the formation of Bible classes, family and social prayer meetings, mutual improvement societies, or any other spiritual agency," stated Williams.
Years later, in 1851, the YMCA established its first chapter in the United States, which was organized by a retired sea captain named Thomas Valentine Sullivan.
In the present day, the YMCA has an estimated 2,700 chapters in the United States, with a global outreach to approximately 45 million people in 119 countries.
