Billy Graham’s World Tour 1947–2005

Evangelicalism emerged during the revivals of the Methodist movement in England between 1730 and 1840, and the contemporaneous great awakenings in the United States. The many streams of Evangelicalism had some persistent features in common: an emphasis on individual conversion and faith in the literal inspiration of the Bible, and a scepticism towards institutional churches and political power. In May 1919 the first World Conference on Christian Fundamentalism took place in Philadelphia. The northern Baptist churches based in Minneapolis spearheaded the campaign against modernism and the network of fundamentalist-affiliated churches grew steadily. Some conservative evangelicals, especially Baptists and Presbyterians, repudiated the separatist fundamentalist movement, electing to be called Neo-Evangelicals, shortened to Evangelicals. In 1942 Evangelical leaders formed the National Association of Evangelicals. They prospered and attracted persuasive spokesmen, the most famous being the Baptist evangelist Billy Graham, whose oratorical skills and commitment to his preaching mission attracted worldwide interest.