Article By Ryan Foley
Franklin Graham shared the Gospel message with more than 30,000 people at a historic worship event in Belarus over the weekend, encouraging attendees to experience “a spiritual rebirth through Jesus Christ.”
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said attendance surpassed 15,000 people on both nights of the Festival of Hope in Minsk, Belarus, over the weekend. The event took place Saturday and Sunday at Chizhovka Arena in Minsk, the capital and largest city in Belarus.
“Tonight you can experience a new birth, a spiritual rebirth through Jesus Christ,” Graham, the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham, told the crowd. “Jesus didn’t come to condemn you; He came to save you. Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ There’s no other way to God. He made you and He loves you, but the only way to be forgiven of your sins and have a personal relationship with Him is through His Son, Jesus Christ.”
As CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Graham preached on both evenings and shared highlights from the weekend in a series of X posts.
“It was an amazing night here in Minsk, Belarus! Many of the Christians here say that God did a miracle,” he wrote in an X post published Saturday. “They came on buses, trains and cars from every part of the country and filled the arena, as well as the overflow space — and then even stood outside the arena to hear the Gospel message!”
“[S]omething like this has never happened before in the history of the country,” he added, noting the event featured “a 1,300-member choir from 43 cities and villages, as well as an unbelievable symphony orchestra and several local artists.”
Graham thanked Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko for “allowing the evangelical churches to gather on a national scale like this.”
Photos accompanying the post showed an overflow crowd, Graham speaking on stage, choir members and worshipers gathered at the event.
In an X post on Sunday, Graham said “a historic crowd” of 15,500 people packed into the Chizhovka Arena in Minsk, Belarus. He shared the story of a man who had planned to end his life the previous week but attended the event instead.
“He came tonight, heard the Gospel, and found true hope by putting his faith and trust in Christ,” Graham said. “We give God the glory for his life — and for the hundreds of others who turned from their sins and surrendered their hearts to the only One who can save for eternity — the Lord Jesus Christ.”
According to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, nearly 700 Evangelical churches participated in the Festival of Hope. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association distributed more than 2,000 Bibles.
Graham is scheduled to make additional overseas trips later this year. Madrid, Spain, will host the Festival de la Esperanza May 30–31, while his “God Loves You Tour” will make a stop in Manchester, England, on Oct. 3.
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