The press has always been an important part of the ministry of Billy Graham, and it remains important to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association today. On March 6, 1955, Billy Graham made his first appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. In that wide-ranging interview, he talked with program co-founder Lawrence Spivak about the Crusade in London, communism, race relations and other topics.

“The concept of God must be translated into our daily lives so that we are putting into practice the teachings of Christ in the office, and in the shops, and in the home,” Billy Graham said. “If [Christians] were living the kind of life that they ought to be then, we would not have the moral and the social problems that we have in this country.”

Following the interview, it was reported that Billy Graham described the interview this way:
“This was probably my biggest ordeal. I did not know one question they were going to ask me. But, I made this a matter of prayer, and I knew the Lord God was going to help me.”

His next appearance on “Meet the Press” came during the 1957 Crusade in New York City. During that interview, which covered a variety of theological topics, Billy Graham made the point of reemphasizing the need for Christians to not only use modern communication tools to communicate the timeless Gospel message, but also fight the urge to be indifferent to the need to evangelize.

“I do believe that we can use modern means of communication. The problem with the church today is indifference in its evangelistic thrust and its mission. It’s facing apathy and indifference. And, we have the problem of communication. We have the message, but how to communicate it to the masses. We have used television, radio and the press and every way we possibly can to communicate the fact that Christ can transform human lives.”

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