FRANKFORT, Ky. — Well known Christian evangelist Franklin Graham will address what is expected to be a large crowd Thursday on the steps of the West Virginia Capitol. West Virginia will become the 22nd stop on Graham’s Decision America 2016 crusade. The rally was in Nashville Tuesday and Frankfort, Kentucky on Wednesday.
“We’ve been seeing an average of about 5,000 people attending these rallies,” said Tour Spokesman Mark DeMoss. “We had about 8,600 in Nashville and we’re not even half way through the tour.”
The crusade started in January in Des Moines, Iowa around the time of the Iowa Caucuses. Although others were timed around the primary election, not all could be according to DeMoss.
“A few in the earlier part of the tour were like in Des Moines, New Hampshire, and South Carolina,” he said. “But there was no way to really do it with the primary calendar on days like Super Tuesday.”
The tour will arrive in Charleston five days ahead of the West Virginia Primary election and although the focus on the tour spotlights the election process, DeMoss said it’s not a political event.
“These rallies are very non-political. We haven’t mentioned any candidate or recognized anybody running for office,” he explained. “The only mention of political parties is when Franklin says he has no hope in the Democrat Party and no hope in the Republican Party, but the only hope for the United States is in Jesus Christ.”
Graham, who is the son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham, plans to stage rallies in all 50 state capitals by October. The message of each stop is two fold according to DeMoss. One is to encourage Americans to pray for the nation and pray for the nation’s leaders. A large part of the event is a time of prayer. The second part of the two fold message is an encouragement for Christians to become engaged in the political process, to consider supporting candidates with Biblical values and principles, and to consider running for office themselves at any level.
“We don’t advocate checking your faith at the door,” said DeMoss.
Thursday’s rally will be on the Lincoln Plaza on the Kanawha River side of the State Capitol complex. The event is expected to last about 45 minutes, but there is no seating. Some attendees have brought law chairs to previous events. There is rain in the forecast for Thursday, but the event goes on rain or shine.