Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, closed his first Route 66 God Loves You Tour on Saturday, Oct. 2 in San Bernardino after offering the message of God in several states along Route 66.
During his Route 66 God Loves You Tour, Graham visited the states of Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California from Sep. 19 to Oct 2. The tour came to an end at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, California where more than 6,800 people attended. Harvest Christian Fellowship’s senior pastor Greg Laurie led the opening, according to Mark Barber, media relations manager for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
“There are a lot of people who are afraid,” Graham said at the beginning of his tour. “People have lost their jobs. Many people have been sick and loved ones have died. I just want people to know that God hasn’t forgotten them.”
More than 230 local churches participated in the tour and over 217 counselors attended the event, said Barber.
Tara Fernandez, a local volunteer from San Bernardino, said she was stoked for the tour and hopes everyone who attended the tour kept an open mind and allowed the light of Jesus in.
“By bringing this tour in at such a crucial time where our nation and city could turn one way or the other, all we need is Jesus to focus and give us the stability and faith to keep our nation going in the right direction,” Fernandez said.
The Route 66 God Loves You Tour had a total of 56,000 visitors, including Candace Collins from San Bernardino and her 7-year old son, Nicholas Collins.
Collins said she was a meth addict earlier this year and felt hopeless while weeping in a hotel room, which is what led her to her reconnection with Jesus Christ, according to an interview by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
“God did for me what I couldn’t do for myself,” Collins said.
Lee Coe, pastor of Calvary Chapel in San Bernardino, said, “San Bernardino is a broken city with a multi-cultural population of hurting people who desperately need a message of hope.” Route 66 God Loves You Tour serves a meaningful purpose in the San Bernardino community.
Although this was the first Route 66 God Loves You Tour, Graham has also held similar tours in the country. In 2016, Graham launched the Decision America Tour where he visited 50 state capitals, said Barber. More than half a million people attended this tour as it continued through the states of Texas, Tennessee, California, the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast, North Carolina, and Florida.
“Times change, culture changes, but people’s need for a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, doesn’t change,” said Graham. “With all the bad news around us day in and day out, people need hope. I want people along Route 66—and the rest of this nation—to know that God loves them.”
Graham plans to continue the God Loves You Tour in 2022 but dates and locations are not finalized yet.
You can learn more about Franklin Graham and the Route 66 God Loves You Tour at Billygraham.org
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