“Do the work of the evangelist, fulfill your ministry!” Franklin Graham implored delegates as the European Congress on Evangelism officially ended on Friday (May 30) after four days of Bible teaching, excited discussions and much prayer involving 1,000 evangelical leaders from 55 countries.
Delegates took Holy Communion together, united in the conference hall of the JW Marriott Hotel in Berlin, Germany, to publicly declare their commitment to boldly proclaim the gospel in obedience to the command by the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20a to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
In the closing hours of the congress, the Archbishop of Sydney in Australia Kanishka Raffel spoke on the authority of evangelistic proclamation.
“Brothers and sisters, Jesus has sent us in His mission into the world,” Raffel said. “He does not send us alone. He is present in the midst of us. And He has authority to give us gifts for the mission: His blood bought peace, a Christ-shaped pattern of Holy Spirit power and a gospel promise of forgiveness.”
Raffel pondered the question as to what it is “like” to be on the mission with Jesus, and referenced the gladness of the disciples when they saw the Lord after His resurrection and He showed them his hands and feet.
“We have been sent by the one who laid down his life for us and lives again and lives forever,” Raffel reminded Berlin Congress delegates. “So as we go, our hearts are filled with gladness.
“Friends as you return to your homes and communities and ministries… let your heart rejoice and be glad. Glad to be sent by the King who lives and reigns and returns. Glad to serve in the King’s mission. Glad to announce peace with God through the forgiveness of your sins. He showed the [disciples] His pierced hands and wounded sides, and the blood has made us glad. God bless you!”
Another concluding talk was given by Rev. Skip Heitzig, senior pastor of Calvary Albuquerque in New Mexico, who became a Christian many years ago when he went to the fridge to get a beer and suddenly saw Billy Graham preaching on television, which convicted him of the truth of the gospel.
Heitzig spoke on “I am not ashamed of the gospel” referencing Romans 1:16, a lead Bible verse for the entire Berlin Congress: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
“The gospel is not a task and it is not a duty, it is a delight,” Heitzig reminded delegates as he explored why the “good news” really is so good. He spoke of how the good news is not seen as such at first by someone in an unrepentant state.
“The gospel is repulsive to the natural mind,” said Heitzig. “It is not good news when first heard by the unregenerative mind because it exposes sin, their lost condition. So they argue against it and attack us and when they attack us, our impulse is to grow silent and ashamed and embarrassed but though it might sound bad at first, the gospel penetrates the heart and then transforms the heart.”
Heitzig also challenged delegates about their own approach and confidence in the gospel.
“Why be ashamed of good news?” he asked, and later added: “As we close this conference is there any part of the gospel you are ashamed of?
“God would say to us, ‘You have no right to keep this to yourself. Take it into the world and let people hear it,’” he concluded.
In his closing remarks, Franklin Graham said the Berlin Congress has been an “incredible week” and he thanked all those involved in organising its success.
“In my closing thoughts let me just say in 2 Timothy 4:5 it says, As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry,” said Graham.
“To be sober minded—think of a person who is strong and sober. I think the word ‘be focused’ is a good word here. Be focused on your ministry. So many people get sidetracked onto other things, then they get back on with their ministry, then they get sidetracked [again] onto other things, then they get back onto their ministry. Be focused and do what God has called you to do and don’t let someone get you off track.”
Graham also said that “endure suffering” reminded him of the apostle Paul’s own suffering. He related it to a more recent example of Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen, to whom he paid tribute for bravery.
A former Minister of the Interior, Räsänen was criminally charged for sharing her Christian views on marriage and sexual ethics in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) in 2019, as reported by Christian Daily International. She was also charged in relation to a 2004 pamphlet for her church she wrote about the Biblical book of Genesis stating, “male and female he created them.”
The former government minister is facing a third trial after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Finland, following a request by the state prosecutor, despite the Christian previously being twice acquitted of “hate speech” for expressing her biblical views on marriage.
Räsänen spoke about the experience during an on-stage interview the previous night (May 29) with Cissie Graham Lynch, daughter of Franklin Graham.
“Be sober minded and endure suffering,” Graham mused over the scripture. “Suffering is going to come and it’s going to get worse. When we read Revelations, if you add up the people that die it’s supposed to be half the population of the world.”
Graham said with the current world’s population at eight billion, it means four billion people at risk not only of dying, but of going to hell if they don’t turn to Jesus.
“I don’t know [what specifically it will be], but it won’t be pretty as we approach the end,” said Graham. “It’s going to be tough friends and billions will die and go to hell unless we preach the gospel to reach as many people when we can, while we can. Do the work of the evangelist, fulfill your ministry!”
“All of us have different ministries,” said Graham as he encouraged delegates to expand the reach of their own work for the Lord. “All of us have different ministries. Fulfil it. Preach the gospel. Don’t be ashamed or afraid.”
Graham discussed the challenges faced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 2020, when planned evangelistic events in Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester, and Wales were canceled shortly before the pandemic. The cancellations, cited as breaches of contract, were widely believed to be linked to Graham’s public support for a biblical view of marriage as between a man and a woman.
The BGEA successfully took legal action against the venues, winning court cases over the cancellations. Graham said the funds awarded through these verdicts were placed into what he called “a war chest” to provide legal support for evangelicals who face opposition—such as from LGBT advocacy groups—and cannot afford to defend themselves in court.
“I tell you when we were losing our contracts in the U.K., it was coming from the LGBT+ community. They were the ones opposing us, who have the rainbow flags, which I see as the flags for the anti-Christ. And they wanted to have victory, well, God gave us victory! Don’t compromise. I don’t go out and fight these people but I share that marriage is between men and women and anything else God defines as sin.”
“This is the group coming after us,” warned the veteran evangelist, referring to LGBT extremists who oppose biblical teaching on sexual relationships. “So don’t compromise and be strong. Fulfill your ministry. We know there’s going to be suffering and challenges, some fights, but let’s be strong and we go in the power of the name of Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords.
“I believe He is coming back soon and we need to do everything we can to reach this world we live in with the truth of God’s love.”
Franklin Graham said the BGEA will be “working in Europe for the next few years” and noted that the ministry will stop at the ExCeL in London on June 21 as part of the “God Loves You Tour.” The free event is being held in partnership with 1,425 churches across the U.K. Graham also announced upcoming evangelistic events in Brussels, Belgium, as well as outreach to the Naga people in the remote mountainous region of northeast India.
“Pray for us as we pray for you,” he concluded.
