It was my privilege to visit the Billy Graham Center located at Wheaton College, IL. I was impressed not only by the immense amount of information housed in this facility but by the impact the Center is making in the lives of Christians and non-believers around the world.

Founded in September 13, 1980, just six days short of forty years from the day Billy Graham first started classes at Wheaton College, it housed a library and a museum on the history of evangelism. Today this building is the hub of ten departments that include fifty different ministries dedicated to encouraging and motivating global evangelism. They are all focused on the one goal of strategically telling the good news of Jesus Christ. These ministries continue to encourage and equip Christian workers to effectively take the gospel to the estimated five billion people who have not met Jesus Christ.

Brief descriptions of a few of the areas of ministry are listed below:

The Institute of Strategic Evangelism offers evangelism training and strategic evangelism thinking for Christian leaders by working to identify and develop those who will be the future champions of evangelism.

The Evangelism and Missions Collection houses one of the world's largest collections of evangelism and missions resources. Formerly the Billy Graham Center Library, it consists of periodicals, more than 60,000 bound volumes and 130,000 items in microform.

The Institute for Prison Ministries supports the evangelism and discipling efforts of nationwide prison ministries by providing training and resources to professionals and volunteers who serve in jails and prisons.
It was established as a result of the vision of Charles Colson and Kenneth Wessner in 1984. The Charles W. Colson Scholarship was added in 1986. The Scholarship program gives ex-prisoners an opportunity to obtain an education preparing them for leadership in areas of ministry.

The Institute for Cross-Cultural Training equips individuals with the skills for learning foreign culture and language as well as preparing them to teach English. It includes on-campus and online courses, workshops, publications and consulting.

The Billy Graham Center Scholarship Program enables Christian workers to obtain a Masters degree at Wheaton College Graduate School.

My visit was brief and this article reflects only a small part of what the Billy Graham Center is all about. If you would like to learn more, visit the Billy Graham Center website.

"And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!" Romans 10:15 (NLV)

(UPDATE)Billy Graham entered the presence of his Lord Jesus Christ February 21, 2018. Praise God, he is home with his savior hearing "Well done good and faithful servant."




Look for my photo of the Billy Graham Center online as a JigSaw puzzle. Click here