Evangelist Will Graham Shares Gospel in China, Celebrates Centennial of Great-Grandparents’ Arrival in Country

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service

CHINA (ANS, March 7, 2016) – American evangelist, Will Graham, grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham, returned to China recently to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a city that still remembers and celebrates the impact of his great-grandparents.

According to a BGEA news release, Dr. L. Nelson Bell and his wife, Virginia, landed in China 100 years ago, and spent 25 years as medical missionaries in what is now called Huai’an. Graham’s visit was part of a commemoration of the centennial anniversary.

“It’s emotional for me,” said Graham, after preaching to more than 3,000 on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at Huai’an Christian Church. “My great-grandparents gave up so much to spend more than two decades offering the hope of Christ in this city. I feel like I’m harvesting the seeds that I did not sow. People are coming to Christ today because of my great-grandparents’ sacrifice a century ago.”

While in Huai’an, Will preached from John 3:16. Prior to his visit, he had obtained audio of his great-grandfather, Dr. Bell, reading the passage in Huai’anese, which had been recorded in the early 1970s. “As I began my message, I said, ‘I want someone to read this to you. You’ve likely never met him, but you know who he is. Billy and Ruth Graham with L. Nelson Bell

Billy and Ruth Graham with L. Nelson Bell

It’s my great-grandfather, and he’s going to read this verse right now,’” Graham said. “That was really impactful.”

Many came forward at Graham’s invitation to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, both in Huai’an and in two similar meetings at Xuan’De (Hudson Taylor Memorial) Church in Zhenjiang, China.

Virginia Bell gave birth to five children during their time in Huai’an. Their second, Ruth McCue Bell, would eventually attend Wheaton College in Illinois, where she met and married a young evangelist named Billy Graham.

“Even today, the people of the city consider my grandmother to be Chinese,” shared Graham. “There has always been an incredible mutual love between the Bells and the people of China.”

This was Will Graham’s third time in China, following trips there in 2012 and 2015. He was accompanied on this journey by his younger brother, Roy Graham.

In addition to preaching, Graham also had the opportunity to meet with several leaders and dignitaries, including the U.S. Ambassador to China, Max Baucus; Council General of the U.S. Consulate Shanghai, Hanscom Smith; Secretary General of the China Christian Council, Rev. KAN, Bao Ping; and Vice Minister of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), Mr. JIANG, Jianyong.

Now back in the United States, Graham turns his attention to the Colorado River Celebration with Will Graham, a multi-day outreach that will take place March 11-13, 2016, at the Rodeo Grounds at SARA Park in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

About Will Graham:

Will is the third generation of Grahams to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ under the banner of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). He also serves as vice president of the BGEA, and as executive director of the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, N.C. Follow Will on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/WillGraham4 and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TellaGraham.

Media Contact: Erik Ogren, (704) 401-2117, eogren@bgea.org .

Amazing church growth in China

According to a recent ANS story by Mark Ellis and Chad Dou, within 15 years, China should become the country with the most Christians in the world, according to a study.

Fenggang Yang, of Purdue University, predicts that China will reach 224 million Christians by the year 2030, as quoted in the UK Financial Times.

“By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon,” said Yang, an expert in sociology and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule, in the UK Telegraph. “It is going to be less than a generation. Not many people are prepared for this dramatic change.”

The explosion of Christianity in China will upend the traditional Christian powerhouses of the world. In 2010, the U.S. had around 159 million Protestants, and many observers say congregations are in decline.

As part of a possible passing of the baton, China is now sending missionaries – especially to North Korea.

Photo captions: 1) Will Graham delivers a message of hope, continuing the legacy of ministry his great-grandfather set forth in this country so well loved by the Bell and Graham families. 2) Billy Graham, Ruth Bell Graham, and L. Nelson Bell (photo courtesy of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association). 3) This was one the worshipful spirits in attendance as the 100th anniversary of Dr. Nelson Bell’s ministry was commemorated. 4) Many people traveled by bike to the Huai’an Christian Church for the celebration. 5) Dan Wooding interviewing Will Graham at a NRB convention in Nashville (Photo: Peter Wooding).

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS), and is also the author of some 45 books, the latest of which is Mary, My Story from Bethlehem to Calvary (http://marythebook.com). He has been a full-time journalist now since 1968 when he began his career in London, England, working as Chief Reporter for the then Billy Graham-owned newspaper, The Christian, and later worked as a senior reporter for two of the UK’s largest-circulation newspapers. He has also worked as part of Billy Graham’s media team in Moscow, Russia; Essen Germany and San Juan, Puerto Rico.