Anniversary of Billy Graham Crusade has South Koreans coming to America to pray

Hundreds of South Korean Christians are coming to the U.S.A to pray for a revival. 

From June 1 - 5 South Koreans will disperse between 20 American cities to pray for revival during this national call to prayer, according to America's Prayer Meeting Movement. 

Back in 1973, from May 30 to June 3, Billy Graham held a crusade in Seoul, South Korea. It drew three million people to it and roughly 75,000 people gave their life to Christ during that time. Korean Christians say it changed the direction of the nation.

Now on the 49th anniversary of the crusade, Korean Christians are hoping to bring revival to the U.S. 

"They'll come to cities from coast to coast and border to border to pray morning noon and night," says P. Douglas Small, President of Project Pray. "We're asking churches to open their doors and call for prayer. To host prayer meetings, not preaching meetings, prayer meetings to pray for this nation, for revival, and spiritual awakening."

The teams that are flying to America are associated with the World School of Prayer in South Korea.

"After the crusade, the prayer revival broke out in many different churches in South Korea. Even revival broke out … and churches started to grow," says Aaron Park, Executive Director of the World School of Prayer. "Through the prayer revival and church growth, God brought us the blessing, economically and spiritually."

The Billy Graham Archive and Research Center is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's a place where people from around the globe can come and study the records and historical data of how God used Billy Graham and his organization to bring revival. This past Sunday Project Pray held a special broadcast, America’s Prayer Meeting, at the centre.

"Mr. Graham would have been so pleased, that the very first event, the first moments of this building, has to do with prayer," says Dr. David Bruce, Executive Vice President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and former personal assistant to Billy Graham. "One of the things that characterized Mr. Graham’s life, as long as I knew him…he was man of prayer himself, everything would begin and end in prayer."

Dr. Tom Phillips, Senior Advisor for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and former Crusade Director, says he saw first hand how Billy Graham fervently sought God for revival in America.

"How we need it now, and to have our Korean brothers and sisters joining with our American brothers and sisters to pray together because our job is to go into all the world and preach the Gospel that was Billy Graham’s calling, that’s our calling today, but it begins in prayer," says Phillips.