More than three decades after his father preached the Gospel in Argentina, the late Billy Graham’s son, the Rev. Franklin Graham, shared the Good News of Jesus with more than 70,000 Argentinians last weekend as part of an outreach one church leader is calling “a miracle from Heaven.”
In a statement published Monday, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association provided a recap of a free two-night evangelistic outreach event in Buenos Aires, Argentina, titled Esperanza Buenos Aires. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association CEO Franklin Graham spoke to nearly 75,000 people at Velez Stadium over the course of the two-night event, where he shared the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
“God loves you. He made you and cares for you and has a plan for your life,” Graham told the crowd. “He wants to forgive you, but you have to come to His Son, Jesus Christ, in repentance and faith.”
The outreach in Buenos Aires was the result of a partnership with 2,500 churches. The official website for Esperanza Buenos Aires notes that the televangelist’s visit to the South American country comes 34 years after his father traveled to Argentina to share the Gospel with people and encourage them to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. The first night of programming for Esperanza Buenos Aires took place on what would have been Graham’s 107th birthday.
In addition to the remarks from Graham, Esperanza Buenos Aires featured musical performances from the Argentinian Christian band Rescate, the Latin Grammy-nominated Redimi2 as well as American Christian musicians Michael W. Smith and Charity Gayle. Approximately 30,000 people attended Esperanza Buenos Aires on Friday night, with attendance growing to 43,000 on Saturday night.
A fleet of 1,000 buses transported attendees to Velez Stadium. One attendee, 30-year-old Adriana, recounted her experience at the event and detailed how it changed her life.
“He spoke about sins and that really touched me. The fact that he was willing to tell all people [about sin], from the stage, in front of so many people — I know that impacted all the people here, not just me.”
“God is calling me back,” she proclaimed. “God spoke to me a lot about my sins, and it really got to my heart. This event renewed my faith. I go home very blessed and encouraged to follow Christ.”
Another attendee, Valentino, expressed confidence that he was “here for a reason,” adding, “God called me to Him here today.” He described how “I felt His love, I felt joy.”
“Today I believe He is the way, the truth, and the life. I want to start following God and I want to bring my family too because they don’t walk with Him,” Valentino declared.
Ale Neusch, who served as the church coordinator for Esperanza Buenos Aires, indicated that he was “blown away and surprised by the number of people who came forward.”
According to Neusch, “It’s incredible to see so many lives be changed at one moment here in this stadium. It’s beyond words.”
“This is not common,” he said. “We’re not used to seeing things like what just happened. It’s a miracle from Heaven, and we thank God for each and every person whose life was transformed by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.”
Graham reflected on his time in Buenos Aires in a series of social media posts. In a statement published on X Sunday that included pictures of Esperanza Buenos Aires from the night before, Graham wrote, “I came to Buenos Aires to tell the people of Argentina that God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them.”
“I shared that there’s only one way to have a personal relationship with God — and that is by putting our trust in Jesus Christ. He paid the price for our sins. We thank God for the hundreds who responded to God’s invitation to come to Him in repentance and faith!”
Esperanza Buenos Aires is one of several overseas trips on Graham’s itinerary. Graham also plans to visit Nagaland, India; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Lima, Peru; and Madrid, Spain in the near future.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
