Franklin Graham, the oldest son of the late Billy Graham, also president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is bringing his Decision America Tour to Plant City on Sunday, January 12, 2020. The free evangelistic event will kick off at 4 p.m.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Franklin Graham has spent the past three decades traveling around the world spreading the gospel. The original Decision America Tour began in 2016 when Franklin Graham held prayer rallies in all 50 state capitals, encouraging Christians to live a biblical life and pray for their nation. Since then, Franklin Graham has continued these evangelistic events in cities across the country.
Dubbed the Sunshine State Tour, Franklin Graham will travel to six cities across Florida to encourage Christians to live out their faith and share the hope of Jesus Christ to the lost. The Plant City event will take place at the Florida Strawberry Festival Soundstage. Jeremy Camp, a GRAMMY®-nominated Christian artist, will also take the stage to perform some of his well-known songs.
Norm Blanton, a local minister from Plant City, was hired as a tour representative by the Billy Graham Evangelism Association. Blanton is coordinating volunteers and procuring counselors who will witness to attendees during the rally.
“This is an evangelistic rally with an emphasis on reaching those who don’t know Christ,” said Blanton. “We want Christians to bring friends who don’t know Christ to the rally.”
Blanton continued, “What an awesome opportunity to impact Plant City and the region. We are expecting up to 10,000 folks to attend and are looking for hundreds of volunteers to greet and run tables.”
Brian Stowe, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church Plant City, said, “Our church is going to be a big part of it [the rally], and we’re honored.”
He continued, “The biggest challenge is getting those who don’t know Christ to the event. We are training our church on the importance of the invite. People aren’t going to come just because we are out there, but they will come if they are invited.”
No ticket is required, and parking is free. Opportunities to volunteer can be found online at https://fl.billygraham.org/event/plant-city. For questions, call Norm Blanton at 326-0749. The Florida Strawberry Festival Soundstage is located at 303 Lemon St. in Plant City.
