Billy v. New York

Like a combination of Babylon, Sodom and imperial Rome, New York lies waiting for a man of God to bring the city to its knees. That, at any rate, is the way Billy Graham sees it. Ever since he began his worldwide ministry, Evangelist Graham has catalogued New York City as a citadel of Satan he would have to tackle some day. He has decided to begin this spring. Billy and his twelve-man team have signed up Madison Square Garden from May 15 through mid-October to preach salvation to New Yorkers as he has preached it in London, Glasgow, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, New Delhi. This week, in the evangelical monthly Christian Life, Graham explains why he put New York off so long and why he is taking it on now.

"We felt that our particular type of crusade could at best only make a dent in New York City," writes Billy. "Time after time, as we stood in the midst of this throbbing metropolis, we felt our inadequacy to accept this challenge . . . Protestantism in New York is in an extreme minority.* Ministers have been discouraged and frustrated ... In talking with many of them we found almost a sense of desperation. Ministers who could not agree with us theologically . . . are willing to cooperate simply because there seems to be nothing else in sight for them to reach the conscience of this city. Recently a New York minister said that he felt this crusade could possibly be God's last call to New York."

Graham and his team have "wept, prayed and agonized" more over New York than any other community. "The enemy is fighting as we have never seen him fight before. We are wrestling with spiritual forces that can only be overcome by the power of God in answer to the prayers of God's people." Graham cites groups in Hong Kong, India and London who are praying for the New York crusade every day. Then he tells readers of Christian Life how they can help:

P: "Ask your friends and your church to pray regularly for the Crusade."

P: "Write to every friend or acquaintance you have in the New York City area, encouraging them to stand behind the meetings. Especially request your unsaved friends to attend . . . Urge every acquaintance you have in the business world to attend. We believe that many will come to Christ through this method."

P: "Take your vacation in New York next summer and spend time in the Crusade."

*New York City's 8,000,000 are 54.9% unaffiliated with any faith; of the remainder, 27% are Roman Catholics, 10.6% Jews, 7.5% Protestants.

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