Hundreds of churches and volunteers are banding together to prepare Duval County, Florida, for one of the largest evangelistic tours to come to the state.
Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, is returning to Florida on Saturday with his Decision America Sunshine State Tour’s first stop at SeaWalk Pavilion in Jacksonville Beach. The free event features live music, a message of hope and a communal prayer asking God to better the nation.
On the evening’s itinerary are live performances from award-winning guitarist Dennis Agajanian and Grammy-nominated artist Jeremy Camp, who will perform contemporary Christian music.
The 4 p.m. event can be watched live at BillyGraham.org.
The tour’s travel destinations are Plant City, Panama City Beach, Key West, Boca Raton and Fort Myers.
Billy Graham, an evangelist famous for preaching the Gospel to the most people in history, first preached in Jacksonville back in 1961 and gathered the largest indoor audience that the city had ever seen.
Franklin Graham follows in his father’s footsteps by preaching the same message.
After his father’s passing, Graham became the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Graham has stated that people are not as familiar with Christianity and the Bible as they once were. At the Festival of Hope event, Graham made a point to pray for non-Christians and those who don’t go to church.
Graham is also the president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian global humanitarian organization that supplies food, medicine and other necessities to areas in the world that have been affected by natural disasters, famine and war.
This organization will be working with Panama City and Key West on the Sunshine State Tour to provide relief for damage caused by hurricanes over the last few years.
Graham said as part of his tour in Florida, he wants to emphasize the importance of politics and urge people to vote.
“With elections coming up, I want the people to be informed about who they wish to vote for ... I will not directly show them how to vote, but I want to show them that they should vote,” Graham said.
At the end of the day, Graham says that he wishes to follow the plan that God has for his life and to be ever faithful to that message.
“The good news of the Bible is God loves us and there is power in that message that can change Florida,” he said. “Through this event, people will have the opportunity to make a decision that can impact their lives now and for eternity.”
