“Our hearts go out to the people of southwestern Colorado who are reeling from the devastating floods that swept through their communities last weekend,” said Josh Holland, international director of BG-RRT. “As residents return home and begin the recovery process, our crisis-trained chaplains will be there to offer a listening ear, a prayer, and the hope of Jesus Christ.”

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) is deploying crisis-trained chaplains near Nashville, Tennessee, where multiple casualties have been reported following a blast at an explosives manufacturing plant. As of Saturday morning, 18 people are unaccounted for. 

The sound of worship reverberated throughout ING Arena in Brussels on Saturday night as the name of Jesus Christ resounded through the rafters—and into two overflow areas set up for the Festival of Hope with Franklin Graham.  In this multicultural city that serves as headquarters for both NATO and the EU, over 14,000 people lifted their voices to God in many languages: from Dutch to Spanish.

“So many young people in Europe are searching for purpose in life,” he shared with reporters. “They try sexual experiences and drugs and alcohol looking for God and they’re not finding God. I want young people to know that God made them, He’s real, He loves them, He cares for them, and He’s got a plan for how we can have a relationship with Him.”

Robert doesn’t know the seeds that had already been planted or what might have been going on in his heart before the disaster. But God used the flood to grab his attention, and now Zach has certainty about where he will spend eternity. 

In the late 1970s, Lee Strobel was always defensive when it came to Christianity. As the legal editor at the Chicago Tribune, he was a...

Last weekend, record rainfall inundated Milwaukee, Wisconsin, causing local rivers and waterways to swell. Experts are calling the event a 1,000-year flood, which damaged hundreds of homes and buildings across the city. 

In early February, Pastor David Vandeput stood before more than 500 Christian leaders from across Belgium. As they worshiped, preached, and prayed in three languages, Vandeput could hardly believe what he was seeing. 

Since flash floods on the Fourth of July swept through Kerr County, Texas, much of the landscape is unrecognizable. Canoes are plastered against tree branches 10 feet in the air, and debris forms miles of dams.  But for Joe Rodriguez, this scene looks all too familiar.

The death toll has surpassed 100, with many still missing. Helicopters buzz overhead as rescue crews sweep this densely wooded area. Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are coming alongside locals in their unimaginable grief, offering compassion and prayer at sites across the area. As chaplains enter this tragedy and help bear the burdens of so many across the state, they’re also offering the all-surpassing hope of Jesus Christ.

“Bartimaeus was blind. He didn’t have a job. All he could do was just sit on the side of the road and ask for gifts from people passing by. Bartimaeus was poor,” said Graham. “But regardless of your worldly possessions, we are all poor toward God. … We are poor because of sin, because we’ve all broken God’s rules. God loves you, and He will forgive you tonight,” he continued. “But you have to come through Jesus Christ because when He hung on that cross, He took your sin.”

On June 6, protests against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement turned violent across Los Angeles, prompting 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to mobilize in an effort to quell civil unrest. Following a week of looting, fires, and broken curfews, a local church invited the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) to help bring spiritual hope in this time of crisis.

On May 16, Olivia* and her seven-year-old daughter, Chelsea, * were on the second floor of their home when they heard what sounded like a bomb going off. Seconds later, they found themselves lying in the front yard—holding each other and crying in shock and fear as 100 mph winds roared around them.

While some anti-Christian groups continue to push back on Gospel opportunities, BGEA has seen even more churches get involved in the God Loves You Tour this year than in the past, said Lenning.

The rally was a historic event. Mr. Graham’s message marked the first time an evangelistic service had been conducted from the steps of the nation’s Capitol. But America’s Pastor was far more concerned with the significance. It was time to pray. It was time to get real with God.

In the midst of one of the deadliest disasters in the country’s history, chaplains provided emotional and spiritual care to those anxiously awaiting news outside the club—and at a local hospital as bodies were still being recovered.  

Next month, over 1,000 Christian leaders, pastors, and evangelists from more than 50 European countries and territories will gather in Berlin, Germany, for a week focused on evangelism.