Tom Phillips, 40+ year friend of Evangelist Billy Graham, here tells the story of a group of praying people on a North Carolina farm, asking God to raise up an evangelist to reach the nations with the “Good News” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Teenager Billy Graham was working nearby on the family farm!
Among a good number of inspirational points raised in this brief radio discussion, I ask longtime friend Tom Phillips about something I had heard about off and on for years.
“What can you tell me about the Billy Graham and his evangelistic team’s “Modesto Manifesto ?”
He explained. At a time when many ministries were failing, Billy Graham had his team members pull aside for a time to seek from the Lord what they might do to seek the Lord and seek His wisdom and guidance to allow them to have an extensive and sustained ministry. What pitfalls should they avoid?
They came back together while ministering in Modesto, CA, in 1950 with some answers.
This resulted in the “Modesto Manifesto” which the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association continues to practice to this day. (The BGEA is now led by Billy and Ruth’s son, Franklin). It contains four simple points:
1. Never overestimate the number of people in attendance. (Don’t “inflate” the numbers.)
2. Never criticize another ministry.
3. Never handle the money of a local “Crusade” or Evangelistic “festival” but have the local people do so.
4. Never, ever be alone with any woman that is not the teammember’s own wife!
Even today at the Billy Graham Headquarters in Charlotte, NC, there are glass windows wherein anyone passing by can look into every office and see what is “going on.”
Enjoy this great radio discussion of some of the works of God done through the Billy Graham Evangelistic.
For more, see www.billygraham.com and www.samaritanspurse.org.