God Rules in Australia Stadium as Franklin Graham Shares the Gospel with Nearly 80,000 People

Teresa Neumann : Apr 13, 2005
The Challenge Weekly

MELBOURNE – The Telstra Dome in Melbourne is famous as a home for Australian Rules, but when the sports loving people of the city packed the stadium last month it was for a different reason.

The stadium was transformed into the home of Festival Victoria with Franklin Graham, with the huge grass playing field the meeting place for over 5000 people who made first-time decisions for Christ or rededicated their lives.

Graeme Lee, of the National and South Pacific Evangelism and Discipleship Centre, who attended the event, says that during the appeal on the Saturday "Youth Night" 2500 people made responses.

"It was a very moving scene to see such a large number of people streaming onto the grounds to dedicate their lives to Christ."

Mr. Graham spoke to a total attendance of 70,000 to 80,000 people over the three days.

Many additional responses were made by young people at the Saturday morning "Kids Fest", which was wholly directed to children and young people.

"The success of the festival was based in the 800 local churches throughout the State of Victoria who supported the festival in terms of commitment, financial giving and counsel training," says Mr. Lee, who last month challenged the Auckland churches to work towards greater unity and commitment for the postponed Franklin Graham festival in this country.

The Christian Life and Witness Classes were hugely successful, with over 9000 people being trained before the festival and many among them making first-time decisions for Christ. This surprised some, as the classes were for Christians who wanted to help with the festival.

The festival provided a musical treat, including the Katinas, Nicole C Mullen, Australian Idol Guy Sebastian, Marina Pryor, Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong Band.

On Sunday afternoon, the Governor-General of Australia, Major General Michael Jeffrey, gave a clear and powerful testimony to finding faith in God while serving in Vietnam.

"The incredible thing is, He is there for all of us if we just ask," he said