CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It has been four years since world-renown evangelist Billy Graham passed away, but the North Carolina native's work continues to be felt.
"We think of it as an ongoing crusade," Graham's son, the Reverand Franklin Graham, said Monday morning speaking of the Charlotte-based library dedicated to remembering his father's teachings. "Every person that comes to the library is going to hear and see my father preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Rev. Billy Graham died of natural causes on Feb. 21, 2018 at his home in Montreat, which is located in the western North Carolina county of Buncombe. He was born in Charlotte in 1918.
Graham retired to his mountain home in 2005 after nearly six decades on the road calling people to Christ at all-out preaching and musical events from Miami to Moscow.
According to his obituary, during the week of his 95th birthday in 2013, Graham delivered his final message on more than 480 television stations across the U.S. and Canada. More than 26,000 churches participated in the My Hope project, making it the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s largest evangelistic outreach ever in North America.
Graham's childhood home was relocated to the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in southwest Charlotte, where guests can take tours and view family artifacts and photos.
"We want people not only to see how he lived his life, but also when he left this world, how the world turned out to show their love and respect to him," Franklin told WCNC Charlotte's Sarah French Monday.
The Billy Graham Library is currently closed for renovations. It is expected to open in late spring 2022.
You can learn more about the extensive history of Rev. Billy Graham's on his memorial page.
His presence continues to be felt to this day with the works of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, based in Charlotte, and Samaritan's Purse, which is headquartered in Boone.
Rev. Billy Graham's oldest son, Franklin Graham, is the president and CEO of both agencies.
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