Evangelist Preacher Billy Graham Dies at Age 99 in Montreat, North Carolina

NBC’s Lester Holt looks back at Graham’s remarkable life, reporting Graham, who counseled many presidents, was closest to Richard Nixon. However, biographer David Aikman claimed Graham’s closest presidential relationship was with Lyndon B. Johnson.

Evangelist preacher Billy Graham has died at the age of 99 at his home in Montreat, North Carolina.

The Rev. Billy Graham, who served as a counselor or minister to a dozen U.S. presidents, and who preached to an estimated 215 million people in 185 countries around the world during his life, died Wednesday morning, February 21, 2018.

Billy Graham provided spiritual counsel for every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. Graham was especially close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. President Lyndon B. Johnson was one of Graham’s closest friends. During the 1964 US presidential election, supporters of Republican nominee Barry Goldwater sent an estimated 2 million telegrams to Graham’s hometown of Montreat, North Carolina, seeking Graham’s endorsement. However Graham was supportive of Johnson’s domestic policies, and hoped to preserve his friendship with President Lyndon B. Johnson. Graham stayed neutral in the election, and following Johnson’s victory, Billy Graham’s role as the main White House pastor was strengthened.

The charismatic North Carolina pastor took his evangelizing crusades around the country and the world. Billy Graham’s message reached millions more people, as he created a network with near-constant presence on radio, television and the Internet.

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.

— Billy Graham (more on BrainyQuote)

The Billy Graham Center was founded at the Wheaton College campus (Illiniois) and opened in 1981 on the south end of the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. The Billy Graham Center serves (via training & equipping, networking, and resourcing) as a world hub of inspiration and training for missionaries and evangelism. The Billy Graham Center is the primary location for many bible and theology classes at Wheaton College, as well as the graduate school’s main headquarters. Wheaton College offers Masters-level studies in evangelism and leadership at The Billy Graham Center, which is also host to multiple museums, auditoriums, and institutes — including the Institute for Prison Ministries.

Graham also wrote more than two dozen books, including his 1997 memoir,”Just as I Am,” which was a New York Times bestseller.

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