My name is Ford, and I served with the 2024 internship program at the Billy Graham Library. As a part of GenZ, I did not have the privilege of watching Billy Graham preach during my lifetime. Getting to learn more about his life this summer has been one of the most impactful parts of my summer. My hope and prayer is that aspiring ministers from my generation can learn from Rev. Graham and apply his life principles to their own ministries.

Integrity Matters

The first lesson I learned from Billy Graham’s life is: Integrity matters. Billy Graham and his team were men of integrity, exemplified in their “Modesto Manifesto,” a set of principles meant to uphold the team’s financial integrity, sexual morality, publicity, and partnership with the local church. Mr. Graham and his team were convinced that it was in these four areas that evangelists and ministers are so often tempted to sin, and they made a commitment to take extreme precaution to maintain integrity in these particular areas of life. I would encourage every man or woman in ministry to read the Modesto Manifesto and be challenged by Mr. Graham’s deep commitment to integrity, both in his ministry and his personal life.

Engage with Contemporary Issues

The second lesson I learned is: Christians can healthily engage in contemporary issues. I heard somewhere that Billy Graham would preach with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. By no means does this warrant viewing the two as equally important, but it shows us that God cares about our society’s current issues and has spoken to us regarding them in His Word. As I observe my generation, I tend to see people fall into one of two broad categories. They are either so involved in contemporary issues and politics that they get lost in them, allowing the world to dictate their feelings, thoughts, and lives, or they are so disconnected from society that they are unable to engage in conversations about current issues and what the Bible says about them. My generation would do well to follow Mr. Graham’s example, being informed and engaged with culture while continually resting on the Bible as our source of authoritative truth and guidance.

The Bible is Our Guide

This leads me to the final lesson I learned, which is more of a reminder for all believers rather than a new insight: The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and it is our only authoritative guide in this life. In the words of Billy Graham, “The Bible is our authority in everything it touches. This means the Bible is our guide to show us how to live…it is our instructor.” With every new generation, the temptation to forsake the authority of the Scriptures or reinterpret the Bible to fit our own preferences seems to grow stronger. Mr. Graham understood the divine nature of the Bible and its importance in the Christian’s life. Would his commitment to the Scriptures be an exhortation to believers around the world to hold fast to the Word of God as we engage with our culture, spreading the Gospel to every nation until King Jesus returns!

Learn more about internships at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association