Ministerial career
Franklin Graham was ordained in 1982 by Grace Community Church in Tempe, Arizona, a non-denominational church. Graham gained his first experience in ministry in 1975 when he was invited by Bob Pierce, President of Samaritan's Purse, to accompany him on an international trip. According to Graham's autobiography, the journey included visits to missionary and refugee camps, hospitals, and meetings with government officials, church leaders, and missionaries in South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Nepal.
In 1979, after the death of Pierce, he became the president of Samaritan's Purse. According to Graham, he built the organization in close cooperation with the Board, mirroring it after the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) by adopting its policies and procedures.
In his first year as president of Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham managed the organization's operations from Boone, North Carolina, while administrative tasks were handled from its California office. In 1980 the headquarters was relocated to Boone, where it merged with World Medical Mission under one roof.
In 1982, Franklin Graham was ordained, marking the beginning of his evangelistic career. He denied that he was groomed to become a successor of his father. He argued that God had called him for his own work in the Samaritan's Purse.
In 1989, Franklin Graham held his first evangelistic event, continuing his father's preaching to large audiences in stadiums and other venues worldwide. He has preached at more than 325 outreaches across all 50 U.S. states and territories, as well as in over 55 countries. Since 1989, Graham has delivered sermons in Mexico, Poland, Vietnam, Italy, United Kingdom, and other countries.
In the early 1990s Franklin Graham was second second vice-chairman of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). He was the only child of Billy Graham on the BGEA's board. It was speculated that Franklin Graham could become his father's successor in ministry; however, he denied that he could fulfill the role in the same way as Billy Graham. In 1995, at a crusade in Toronto, Billy Graham collapsed from a bleeding colon and, despite his hosts' efforts to find another preacher, insisted that his son Franklin take his place, highlighting Franklin's emerging role as his father's successor. A few month later in 1995, Franklin Graham became vice-president of the BGEA. According to Billy Graham's biographer, the decision to appoint his son, Franklin, as the head of the BGEA was initially controversial among some long-time employees who were critical of Franklin's lifestyle that clashed with the organization's conservative corporate traditions. At the same time, Franklin's father remained chairman and chief executive.
According to Billy Graham's autobiography, Franklin Graham gradually assumed greater leadership responsibilities within the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) as his father reduced his public engagements and administrative duties due to declining health. Billy Graham stated that Franklin's experience as the president of a global Christian relief and evangelism organization made him well-qualified to lead BGEA. In 2000, Franklin Graham was named the CEO of the organization, since his father retired from ministry. According to the BGEA spokeswoman, it was his father's decision to let his son take charge. In 2001, Franklin Graham succeeded his father, Billy Graham, as President of BGEA.
Franklin Graham continued the crusade ministry following his father's final evangelistic event, the Greater New York Crusade, held in June 2005. In 2006, Billy Graham preached alongside Franklin at two events: the Celebration of Hope in New Orleans and the Metro Maryland Festival in Baltimore.
