American Religious History-Character Selection and Rationale
The choice of my historical religious figure is William Franklin “Billy” Graham, a renowned evangelical Christian evangelist who has been named as one of the most influential Christian of the 20th century (Finstuen, Wills, & Wacker, 2017). Billy Graham was and still is a major authority in the modern day evangelical movements, who through his ministry work reached out to millions of believers not only in the USA but also across the Globe.
Billy was able to sustain over 60 years of televangelism through the various networks. Overall these years, it is interesting to note that Billy Graham was able to reach out to every homestead in the USA. Thousands of believers who flocked the various stadiums attended the annual conferences held over all these years. During these meetings, miracles and wonders would be performed which displayed the glory and the authority of God (Finstuen, Wills, & Wacker, 2017). The meetings were filed by the presence of Holy Spirit and would see hundreds of thousands giving their lives to Christ.
The aspects of being able to unapologetically minister the word of God across difficult times without much regard to the status and the politics of the day is a excellent sign of firmness and focus on the word of God. This element was able to rightfully place the word of God into the American and the global societies. Through his international outreaches, it is important to note that Billy would minister to head of states and government and teach the word of God with such clarity and power that rejuvenated the church across the globe. Even today, most of his teachings are still broadcasted across the globe and continue to minister to the congregations (Trinity Broadcasting Network, 2016).
References
Finstuen, A., Wills, A. B., & Wacker, G. (2017). Billy Graham American Pilgrim. New York: oxford university press.
Trinity Broadcasting Network. (2016). Billy Graham classics. Retrieved from https://www.tbn.org/announcements/billy-graham-classics-span-25-years-of-gospel-preaching-for-the-masses
