37 years ago, Billy Graham preached in China for the first time
April 18, 2025
37 year ago, renowned Christian evangelist Billy Graham began a 17-day, five-city trip where he preached in China for the first time.
The Christian Post reports that the late evangelist’s official Facebook page commemorated the April 12, 1988 date when Graham and his wife Ruth first set foot in the country together.
The Facebook post recounted the visit, noting “The Grahams spent a wonderful two-and-a-half weeks in China preaching in churches and schools, meeting with Chinese believers, and visiting Ruth’s birthplace in Tsingkiangpu.”
In his autobiography, Graham explained that the trip came about after he received an invitation from Bishop K. H. Ting, then president of the China Christian Council (CCC), in 1985.
Graham recalled, “After a series of negotiations, a firm invitation arrived, asking us to preach in churches in several cities in September of 1987.” That trip was delayed by several months after Graham fractured a rib.
According to the Christian Post, the Grahams received a red carpet reception at the Beijing airport where they were greeted by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Wenjin, Bishop K. H. Ting, Han Wenzao, vice-president of the CCC, and American Ambassador Winston Lord.
While in Beijing, Graham briefly met with Chinese Premier Li Peng along with other high-ranking officials and religious leaders.
Graham described the 17-day journey in his memoirs, stating, “In a span of seventeen days, covering two thousand miles and five major cities, we packed in more speaking and preaching engagements, interviews, social events, and even sightseeing than I remembered from any other trip I’d taken (though not as much sightseeing as I would have liked).”
The famed evangelist would later return to China in 1992 and again in 1994 during which he became more confident that Christianity would one day take root there.
Graham concluded, “On each visit, my feeling about China’s strategic place in the future has been reinforced. We continue to pray for China, that it may become a spiritual powerhouse in the future.”
Photo: top, Credit: gospeltimes.cn