Franklin Graham Festival in Romania is the Nation’s Largest Christian Event Since Fall of Communism

TIMISOARA, Romania, July 7, 2008—In 1985, under the careful watch of Romania's then-Communist government, Franklin Graham visited Timisoara with his father, Billy Graham, who was only allowed to speak in designated churches.  This weekend, 76,984 freely gathered for the Franklin Graham Festival of Hope, the largest Christian gathering since the nation's revolution in 1989.

"When I was here with my father I didn't imagine that I would be able to come back and preach with complete freedom to so many people," said Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. "Now my hope is that these people will not only know political freedom, but also have true spiritual freedom that can only come from God."

During the three-day event, July 4-6, crowds packed Dan Paltinisanu Stadium in Timisoara

to hear Franklin Graham present "the good news that Jesus loves us so much that he died on a cross for our sins and was then raised to life three days later." The Gospel message was interpreted into Romanian, Serbian and Hungarian.  Although there are only 29 evangelical churches in the city of Timisoara, supporters mobilized hundreds of buses that brought people to the Festival from neighboring communities and as far away as Serbia and Hungary.  By the end of the weekend, 3,922 people responded to the invitation to commit their lives to Jesus Christ.

The Festival of Hope also featured local and international musical performers including John and Anne Barbour, Dennis Agajanian, Huntley Brown, Banat Philharmonic Orchestra, a mass choir plus others from Italy, Ukraine and Moldova.  A special event for children was held on Saturday morning.

Graham is also head of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan's Purse which has worked in Romania for years to aid the physical needs of the people.  Through the organization's Operation Christmas Child project, hundreds of thousands of shoe box gifts have been hand-delivered to needy kids in Romania.  Samaritan's Purse has also helped orphanages, supported HIV/AIDS work, and provided basic food items and hundreds of wheelchairs.  At the Festival, two children from one of the local orphanages embraced Graham and gave him flowers to show their gratitude.

In a demonstration of how much has changed in Romania during the past 20 years, Graham was invited to meet with the nation's president, prime minister, the region's governor, minister of culture and religion, and the mayor of Timisoara.  Each one thanked Graham for holding the event and highlighted the positive impact such an event has on the hearts of their people.

In 2008 Graham has held events in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Knoxville, Tenn., and Villahermosa, Mexico.  Additional Franklin Graham Festivals will be held this year in Charleston, S.C. (Sept. 19-21); and Taipei, Taiwan (Oct. 30-Nov. 2).

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