On Sept. 13, 1980, Billy Graham spoke at the dedication of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, 37 years after he graduated from the school. The Center would go on to preserve and make accessible the extensive collection of documents and artifacts from Billy Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) for nearly 40 years.

That day, Billy Graham declared that “the important thing is not this building, but what will take place here.”[i] He shared that the hope and prayers for the facility were for it to be “a world hub of inspiration, research, and training which will glorify Christ and serve every church and organization in preaching and teaching the Gospel to the world.”[ii]

In 2019, a year after Billy Graham’s homegoing to heaven,  BGEA brought the collection to Charlotte, North Carolina, to be housed in a soon-to-be-completed extension of the Billy Graham Library. In 2020, construction began on a state-of-the-art, 30,000-square-foot facility specially designed for storage, preservation, and research of precious artifacts, papers, manuscripts, film, audio and video recordings, and many other materials that encompass the entirety of Billy Graham’s ministry. On Nov. 7, 2022, the Billy Graham Archive and Research Center (BGARC) opened its doors to researchers.

The BGARC is open for onsite appointments in the Research Room and also fulfills remote requests for researchers who desire to garner wisdom from the multitude of historical resources in the collection, but are unable to make the trip themselves. Since opening, the BGARC has hosted over 100 research appointments and fulfilled more than 450 remote requests. On-site researchers have come from the United Kingdom, Japan, and all over the United States. The reference staff frequently serves pastors, ministry leaders, lay ministers, authors, professors, and people desiring more information about a Crusade they themselves or family members attended that led to their salvation.

The continued hope of the BGARC is to carry out a declaration made by Billy Graham at Wheaton College that September day in 1980: “God forbid that the archives should ever become objects of intellectual curiosity rather than forces of spiritual stimulation.”[iii]

If you’re a student, leader, or researcher, we invite you to browse our online collection guide and request an appointment to study at the Billy Graham Archive and Research Center today.

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[i] “Graham Center Dedication.” Sermon number 1592, September 13, 1980. CN 1 Billy Graham Manuscripts and Transcripts. Page 12.

[ii] “Graham Center Dedication.” Sermon number 1592, September 13, 1980. CN 1 Billy Graham Manuscripts and Transcripts. Page 15.

[iii] “Graham Center Dedication.” Sermon number 1592, September 13, 1980. CN 1 Billy Graham Manuscripts and Transcripts. Page 16.