By Mark Rhoads
Rev. Billy Graham is the most famous Christian evangelist of the last century. He has been a friend and spiritual advisor to ten American presidents and has been called America's Chaplain. Billy was born in North Carolina in 1918 and his residence has mostly been in that state when he was not traveling on crusades. But at the very start of his ministry, he spent five important years of his life studying and preaching in Illinois and on Illinois radio stations.
While a student in Florida, family members of V. Ryamond Edmand, president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, met Billy and were impressed by his preaching ability and Christian character even though he was only 21 years old. Dr. Edmand encouraged Billy to complete his undergraduate education at Wheaton and Billy enrolled at Wheaton in 1940. While he was still a student, Billy continued to preach as a very young pastor at the United Gospel Tabernacle in downtown Wheaton. Billy met and fell in love with a classmate who was the daughter of former missionaries to China. Her name was Ruth Bell. Billy graduated from Wheaton in 1943 with a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology. After graduation, Billy and Ruth were married in August but could not travel far for their honeymoon due to the gas rationing of World War II so their trip was limited to the Chicago suburbs.
In late summer 1943, Burton W. Rhoads, the grandfather of this writer, was a Deacon at the Village Baptist Church in Western Springs, Illinois. Rhoads interviewed Billy Graham and recommended to the church elders that Billy be hired as an associate pastor. About a year later, Graham succeeded Pastor Torrey Johnson both as pastor of the church and as host of a popular Christian music radio program produced by the church in Western Springs called Songs in the Night.
Billy recruited a powerful soloist, George Beverly Shea, to sing on the program. Shea lived most of his life in Western Springs and worshiped at the Baptist Church there between the Billy Graham crusades. Later in 1945, Billy was presented with an opportunity to work again with Rev. Torrey Johnson and return to Wheaton as Vice President of a newly merged national Youth for Christ organization. After that time, Billy launched his first crusades and never worked again as pastor of a local church.
Over the next four years, Billy Graham preached at Youth for Christ rallies all over the country and formed chapters. With George Beverly Shea as soloist and Cliff Barrows as a master of ceremonies, music and program director starting in 1950, the Graham team was put on the map in terms of national publicity. The breakthrough came in 1949 during a crusade in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, the conversions of California crime figure and wiretap expert Jim Vaus and Hollywood cowboy singer and actor Stuart Hamblen gained publicity for the crusade. In addition, the very active and personal support of William Randolph Hearst and his newspaper chain helped to propel Billy Graham to the highest level of national prominence where he has remained ever since. Billy Graham is now 87, Cliff Barrows is 83, and George Beverly Shea is now 97. Yet even at their very advanced ages, and 57 years after that Los Angeles crusade, Graham, Barrows, and Shea are all scheduled to appear at a crusade led by Billy's son Franklin Graham a few weeks from now in Baltimore.
