Franklin Graham Festival (Metro Maryland 2006)

By Steve Simms

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Your hard work and prayer leading up to, and then commitment this past weekend to the Franklin Graham Festival, helped to bring glory to God and 1,906 souls to Christ.

This was an extraordinary work of God that will have effects in Baltimore and the larger Kingdom of God for years to come. Thank you for your perseverance and commitment to Central's efforts to support the Festival!

Here are the statistics so far for the Festival, and they are impressive - for which of course God receives the sole glory and credit:

• Total Attendance: 81,500
• Total Decisions: 3,366
• Salvation: 1,906 (56%)
• Assurance: 267 (7.9%)
• Rededication: 1082 (32.1%)
• Inquiry: 36 (1.1%)
• Other: 75 (2.2%)

Cash offering Sunday was $137,000 with an attendance of 34,500.

In John 14 (verses 6-7), Jesus clearly stated

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

He also says in John 14:12-14,

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

This weekend we saw the Body of Christ in action - God responding to prayers and "doing it" - and through the Church in Baltimore "doing even greater things."

In addition, the Baltimore Sun ran a remarkable article after the Festival. In essence, the Sun reprinted Dr. Graham's invitation, sending that out to another 100,000 people! That's a work of God in and of itself!

So, please continue to pray for the harvest to come in from the Festival - for the small flames that the Festival lit with people who didn't make a commitment to Christ this weekend, but will in the coming months. Also continue to pray for effective follow-up of the people who made first-time commitments and recommitments to Christ. Central will be involved in those follow-up efforts, too, and I am looking forward to continuing to work with you on that.

• Sunpaper article: Baltimore hears Graham's call: Ailing evangelist thrills tens of thousands at Maryland Metro Festival, By Matthew Hay Brown 7/10/2006