Billy Graham's predecessors often arrived in the pulpit after visiting the ditch. There's nothing new about an evangelist shouting that God saved him from smoking, drinking and flirting with disaster. The question isn't whether Franklin Graham has anything to say, but whether great masses will flock to hear him say it. Today's rapidly growing groups are nondenominational, but stress a specific subject or audience. On The Family is one example and Franklin Graham's audience in Washington was assembled by another, the Promise Keepers movement for men.
Similar groups target women and young people.
While some worry that the BGEA is becoming irrelevant, Franklin Graham said he's convinced it can retain a niche by sticking with basic evangelism. A decade or two ago, there were 12 or 15 people doing straight evangelistic preaching. You'd turn on the radio and hear them. Now there's a void, out there. We don't need to re-define ourselves or create some kind of new BGEA for a new day.