Franklin Graham Speaks to Romanian Media

July 3, 2008 - Today Franklin Graham spoke to members of the Romanian media in preparation for tomorrow's Festival of Hope Timisoara, Romania.

He mentioned the great Christian traditions in Romania, which although beautiful, have no meaning apart from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ:

"Romania has a great history, and the history of the church here goes back more than 1,000 years. But religion is not enough. I grew up going to church; we went to church every Sunday, but that wasn’t enough. I did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

"Romania is a country with great religious traditions, but there are millions of people in this country that have not had a personal experience with Jesus Christ. And I just want to share, with as many people as I can, how to have that assurance that their sins are forgiven, and that they have a right standing before Almighty God.

"The world rejected Jesus Christ when he was here, and 2,000 years later, they are still rejecting [Him]. That is why we come, is to tell men and women about Jesus Christ, the Son of God who will forgive our sins and cleanse us.

"We are here because of the invitation of the churches. ... We work very closely with churches. In organizing the Festival, we have been working here now for over a year. Every person that makes a decision for Christ is followed up by the churches that invited us to come. We want them to develop their spiritual life, so [follow-up] is a very important part of this ministry. ..."


Franklin Graham also answered questions about the hundreds of wheelchairs and walkers that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, partnering with Samaritan's Purse, distributed to people with special needs in Timisoara this week:

"When Jesus Christ was here on earth, He never passed by anybody that was in need. To the blind He gave sight, to the crippled He allowed them to walk. Even the dead could not stay dead in His presence. He raised people to life.

"He cared about people. He loved them. But His mission for coming to this earth was to save sinners, so I think when you preach the Gospel you cannot ignore practical help. Jesus did not ignore it."


Read more about the Festival of Hope Romania »