81,500 Gather to Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore to Hear Franklin and Billy Graham

BALTIMORE, July 10, 2006—Camden Yards, the stadium of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, hosted an event this weekend that was the only time this summer those on the field were more interested in erasing records than making them.

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or how much you’ve messed up in life, God will forgive you and forget your past,” said Franklin Graham at the Metro Maryland Festival—the only time this year Camden Yards will be used for an event other than a baseball game.

More than 81,000 people attended the Metro Maryland Festival July 7-9 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and 3,366 of them responded to the invitation to make a commitment to Jesus Christ.

The Sunday crowd also heard a special message from Billy Graham, who came to support his son’s event. Although he held his final Crusade event last year in New York City, it wasn’t the end of his personal ministry or his last opportunity to speak.

“Jesus came to love us, to heal us, to give us peace and joy, and to provide us a way to heaven,” said the 87-year-old evangelist. “Whether you’re a young person here or an old person like me, you better decide for Christ now because you never know when your time is coming to leave this world.”

The elder Graham added a touching personal moment highlighting the growth and future of the ministry he started 56 years ago.  “If you only had a son like mine, you could feel the pride I feel as a father,” said Graham about Franklin, who is the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). Since 2003 the organization has seen more than 6.8 million people make decisions to follow Jesus through its many outreaches, including Festivals.

In addition to messages by the Grahams, the Festival also featured energetic and diverse music by award-winning artists, including American Idol finalist George Huff, Israel Houghton and New Breed, FFH, Andrae Crouch, Newsboys, Randy Travis, Lynda Randle, Wintley Phipps, Joy Williams, Paul Overstreet, Dennis Agajanian, Tommy Coomes Band, Tommy Walker, a 1,500-voice choir, and long-time Billy Graham musicians George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows.

KidzFest, a special Saturday morning event for children, featured the popular superhero Bibleman bringing his fun action presentation of biblical truth. Some 5,000 kids enjoyed the upbeat music and a high-tech special effects show while learning principles of honesty, integrity, and forgiveness. Following the presentation, 442 children responded to the invitation to commit their lives to Christ.

The Metro Maryland Festival was a non-denominational effort organized through the BGEA and more than 655 churches representing 54 denominations throughout the Baltimore area.

This event in Baltimore was Franklin Graham’s fifth Festival this year, following events in Manila, Philippines; New Orleans; Angola, La.; and Mobile, Ala.  Later this year he will hold events in Quito, Ecuador; Winnipeg, Canada; and Okinawa, Japan. 

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