Greetings From London

I wish to convey greeting to all who are gathered in the name of our Lord Jesus for the great annual Missionary Convention of the Moody Memorial Church [sic]. I wish to convey special greeting to the pastor of that great church, who, but a short time ago, ministered in one of London’s live churches. I believe that it is a special manifestation of spiritual concern that has brought you together again this year in the interest of world missions. Surely this is the spiritual outreach of a church that is led by the Spirit of God.

Although we are, at the present time, almost 4,000 miles away, there is a sense of nearness to you because of our common concern and our common vision and our common Lord. Your zeal and faithfulness to the cause of Christ is an inspiration to churches all over the world. Your world vision is a challenge to all who might have limited vision. For all this we give praise to our God for you in Christ’s name.

Here in London, God is blessing the preaching of the Gospel in a way that is unprecedented in my experience. In many ways this city is a challenge of a special kind. This is the city of John and Charles Wesley, whose evangelistic passion and musical inspiration were used of God to raise this city and nation from the brink of revolution into a position of world leadership in missions and evangelism for well over a century. This is the city that gave Wycliffe a chance to carry the Word of God into the language of the people, and thereby initiate a new thing in this nation and throughout the occidental world. This is the city that gave Whitefield to the world, whose evangelistic fervor literally shook the two continents in his day.

Not far from where we pass every day is historical Agricultural Hall. This is the place where some of the most stirring meetings of the 19th century were held by the one whose name your church bears, D.L. Moody. The very memory of his labors and of God’s blessing upon his ministry is a constant source of inspiration to all of us that are here.

We are engaged in a crusade here that has exceeded all our hopes. The Spirit of God has placed His seal of approval on the preaching of the Word of God in such a way that has humbled all before Him. I want to give all the glory to God for what is taking place in this historic city. The skeptic who might in this age ask, “Where is the God of Elijah?” will be silenced at the sight of the thousands who find their way to the front of this great Harringay Arena nightly. Not a night goes by but we see from 300 to 500 souls going to the inquiry room seeking Christ. We have seen over 600,000 people in attendance, and there would have been more but for the limited space we have.

One of the remarkable facts that we have noticed about these decisions is that 63% had no church affiliation. You can well understand why this entire city with its 12 million souls is alert to the moving of the Spirit of God. Reporters in the secular press are admittedly baffled at what they see nightly, but we are not baffled, for this is our God doing great things, bringing the lost to Himself in these last days.

No doubt in America, as in England, multitudes are frightened over the release of the news concerning the terrible H-bomb. Surely, apart from Christ there is ample cause for panic. But we who have Christ have a never-failing source of courage and confidence. The story is told that John Wesley was first confronted with the true Gospel while experiencing a storm at sea. Aboard the ship were a group of Moravian Christians, who, when all others were frightened, sang hymns of praise to God with no show of fear. This kind of confidence and serenity is demanded of all of us in this hour of tension and anxiety.

But I feel also that the precarious hour in which we live calls for redoubling of our efforts in every way. It is my prayer for you that at this missionary conference you will exceed in spirit and in giving every expectation. May God give you a season of refreshing as you fellowship in the extension of the Gospel. May the yielding of your lives and your substance be rewarded by an outpouring of the Spirit of God in your presence.

In this dark hour of world history we have our greatest opportunity to hold forth the Word of Life as a lamp shining in a dark place. I covet your prayers for the adequate physical and spiritual strength to give as I have never given before. For your past prayers, I wish to express thanksgiving to God for you. As we together unite our efforts in the spread of the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth, let us realize that the time is short. How much time we have left I do not know, but at the present world tempo it seems it cannot last much longer. In these few remaining hours of world history, let us who believe unite our every effort to achieve our proper goal as Christians and fulfill the commission of our Lord to whom all power has been given in heaven and on Earth. Let us concentrate on the things that really matter, and stir up always the gift that is in us which we have received through the Holy Spirit.

Again I say, may God’s choicest blessing be upon you all, and upon the work to which you have been called. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, and especially your great pastor, the Rev. Alan Redpath, whom God has mightily used for many years throughout the British Isles. His name is a household word among Christians here. Thousands are praying for him as he is ministering in the great Moody Church. And together we reach across 4,000 miles and we will meet you at the Throne of Grace.

—Billy Graham