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He works hard for a miracle, and a small one occurs. Over eight days of crusading in Australia, Franklin Graham eventually posts an audience turnout to establish him in the ranks of the big-time preachers: 114,000 people, the largest numbers of his career. But the response in Sydney could actually be more significant. The crowds may be modest, but over three days, 1,555 out of 25,000 who attended have answered the invitation, coming forward to profess their relationship with the risen Christ. The actual ratio is 6.1%, a better record than Billy's over three previous Australian swings. And over 80% of those responding are under age 25. They are the future of arena revivals, the harvest of souls still waiting to be taken--by one Graham or another.
"God's not finished with him," insists Franklin of his father. "He's a warhorse. Daddy in his latter years is having some of his biggest meetings. He set the attendance record for the SkyDome in Toronto. He set the attendance record for the Georgia Dome. Broke it." And then the son is suddenly full of the Spirit. "As our society falls apart, as crime increases, when, as the Bible says, the love of most grows cold, people want to know, Does God care? Am I just here on earth to breathe so many cubic meters of oxygen and eat so many cows and pounds of potatoes in my lifetime and then die, and that's it? Is there some kind of plan that has been ordained before time for me? They want to know. The Gospel message is the message of love. God so loved the world, everything that's in it, that he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for it. That's how much he loved it. He wanted to make a way for you and me, an escape for us to get to heaven. All we have to do is just believe it and recognize him, ask God for forgiveness and invite Christ by faith into my heart."
Franklin Graham does enjoy preaching. It just took him a while to figure it out.
--Reported by Richard N. Ostling/Boone