The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is known for its training materials and clear step-by-step presentation of how to have peace with God, but how did these timeless resources come to be?

During the 1954 Crusade in London, a man by the name of Charlie Riggs took the message Billy Graham had just preached and developed it into a concise, four step guide to understanding the Gospel. These steps were then turned into a booklet known today as “Steps to Peace With God,” which has been distributed to millions of people around the world and is still heavily used by the BGEA and its umbrella ministries.

“Steps to Peace With God” was only one of many teaching materials God used Charlie to help birth and implement during his four decades with Dr. Graham and the ministry. He led countless training sessions and authored quite a few books and reading materials including, but not limited to: Learning to Walk With God, Thirty Discipleship Exercises, Living in Christ, and Practicing His Presence.

The following is from a note card that was inserted into the “Developing Your Team through Scripture Memory” scripture packet, which was compiled by Charlie for the Billy Graham Training Center in 2004.

Charlie Riggs memorized and taught the secrets of a successful Christian life to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. But he did not teach mere theory; the principles he memorized and shared with others were borne out of his own life of consistently applying God’s Word to the circumstances of daily living.

Believing the Word of God to be the change agent that transforms lives, Charlie chose these verses specifically with a view to building a ministry team. God bless you as you hide them in your heart and see Him at work in and through you.

If you would like to learn more about Charlie Riggs and the materials he wrote, you can make a research appointment at the Billy Graham Archive and Research Center to study his materials.