“He spoke in the plain language of the common person and at the same time was at home with presidents and world leaders.”
Graham died Feb. 21 at his North Carolina home, of natural causes, his family reported. He was 99.
Bishop Bruce R. Ough was among the United Methodists recalling Graham’s influence, and for him it was crucial. Ough, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, was a 16-year-old working on his uncle’s North Dakota farm when he watched “youth night” of a televised Graham revival crusade.
“I first gave my life to Christ in my uncle’s living room as a result,” Ough said. “I was raised in a United Methodist church, it wasn’t like I wasn’t part of a church, but that was the moment I was conscious of making a decision that I wanted to be an intentional disciple of Jesus Christ.”