By Staff, Baptist Message
Tallahassee, FLA. – More than 4,000 people, including former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden, stood on the front lawn of the Old Capitol building for Franklin Graham’s ‘Decision America Tour, Tuesday Jan. 12.
It was the second stop of the tour.
During his nearly hour long speech, Graham covered issues like race relations, prayer in schools and same sex marriage. He assured the crowd his father, 97-year-old evangelist Billy Graham, was joining them in prayer from North Carolina.
“We’re in economic trouble, political trouble, and we’re in race trouble,” Graham told the crowd. “I have no hope in the Democratic Party. I have no hope in the Republican Party. My only hope is in the almighty God.
“Our nation is in trouble and there’s not a political party that can fix it,” Graham told an enthusiastic crowd on the capitol steps. “Thank you for coming out today. I am so encouraged to see so many coming together to pray.”
The tour will be making its third stop Wednesday, Jan. 13 at North Boulevard Town Square near the State Capitol in Baton Rouge at noon. Individuals and churches are urged to attend this important rally according to Graham.
Why?
“We need to take a stand, because we’re losing our country,” Graham told the crowd. “I believe we are perilously close to the moral tipping point for the survival of the United States of America and I refuse to be silent and watch the future of our children and grandchildren be offered up on pagan altars of personal pleasure and immorality.”
As people gather to intercede for America, Franklin is also preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, calling the nation to repentance and encouraging believers to engage the civil process by voting for godly leaders and prayerfully considering running for local office.
The Decision America Tour stops—while they will include a Gospel message from Franklin Graham, corporate prayer, and encouragement for Christians to get to the polls—will not include any plugs for specific politicians or political parties.
“I’m not going to endorse any candidates. The goal is to get Christians to vote. There are Christians who don’t vote. They think their vote doesn’t count. It does count … every vote counts,” Graham said in a recent interview.
He also said Christians not only needed to vote but run for public office, such as seats on local school boards.
“Could you imagine what would happen if evangelicals were able to get on the school boards of America,” asked Graham. “What an impact it would have on our nation over the next 20 years?”