A Walk Through the Library: The World Discovers Billy Graham

Guests will experience three media Billy Graham identified early on as imperative to his ministry: radio, television, and motion pictures. Each medium is featured in an approximately 90-second multimedia segment that informs visitors of its significance and impact.

The exhibit begins with a recreation of a 1950s-era radio broadcast booth. Images on the wall include Billy Graham with Cliff Barrows (longtime friend, crusade partner, and host of the radio show Hour of Decision) at their microphones, getting ready to begin their popular radio program. This weekly radio show was broadcast around the world on Sundays for more than 50 years.

The next highlighted area is a TV studio, dimly lit, with a desk, chair, and open Bible. Visitors will discover how Billy Graham pioneered the use of television as a way of reaching people with the Gospel. Through the early years of black and white TV, Graham was able to speak to people nationwide right in their homes. In 1957, ABC television recorded that each Billy Graham program drew an average of seven million viewers. Footage is also shown of Billy Graham being interviewed by famous talk show hosts including Woody Allen, Larry King, Phil Donahue, and Edward R. Morrow.

The last segment of the exhibit features Billy Graham’s motion picture ministry, World Wide Pictures. The ministry, begun in 1951, impacted tens of thousands of Americans who were more likely to watch a movie than attend a church service. A row of the actual theater chairs once used to screen films rests in front of an old fashioned-looking movie screen and curtains. The screen lights up to show trailers of World Wide Pictures' popular films such as Man in the 5th Dimension, The Climb, and Last Flight Out.

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