American evangelist Billy Graham, right, chatting with students during a visit to the Royal Technical College on 26 April 1955.
When Billy Graham arrived in the country of his ancestors on his All Scotland Crusade, he had the official endorsement of a number of churches including the Church of Scotland. Nearly 4,000 people, including many ministers, attended classes to enable them to act as counsellors during the crusade.
Graham was based at the Kelvin Hall, which was regularly packed out to hear him speak. He also attracted a crowd of 90,000 to a rally at Hampden Park. The highlight of the six-week crusade was the Good Friday rally at Kelvin Hall, which was broadcast live on BBC television and radio, attracting a TV audience second only to the Coronation at that time.
Opinions differ as to the long term effects of the crusade, but in 1960 church attendance in Glasgow was still 50 per cent higher than in 1954. Many clergymen were profoundly influenced, for the rest of their lives.
Reference: P4/186
Reproduced with the permission of Strathclyde University Archives
Keywords:
All Scotland Crusade, Americans, BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, Church of Scotland, churches, clergymen, evangelical crusades, evangelism, evangelists, Good Friday, Hampden Park, Kelvin Hall, ministers, radio, Royal Technical College, students, television, women
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