Flames Central video chronicles Will Graham’s journey to Liberty

Liberty University alumnus Will Graham (’97), the son of Franklin Graham and grandson of Billy Graham, originally arrived in Lynchburg with aspirations of playing goalkeeper on the men’s soccer team.

As a freshman, Graham said he wasn’t talented enough to start at that level, so he served as a team manager, washing players’ jerseys and cleaning their cleats. But the job allowed him to witness Head Coach Bill Bell’s evangelistic approach to coaching.

“After the game, talking to other players, that’s where we saw our coach shine, and it was the greatest joy in my life to watch that firsthand and see God use a great man to lead other people to Christ, even if they were the other team and the other coaches,” Graham said. “That’s what was amazing.”

Graham served as a backup goalie his sophomore season before giving up the sport for good, when God led him to deepen his faith, inspired by professors like Dr. Harvey Hartman in the Department of Biblical Studies.

“I knew the Bible, my dad read his Bible, we memorized Scripture. We’re a pro-God, pro-Bible family, and I knew Christ as my personal Savior. But (Hartman) helped me fall in love with God’s Word.”

After Liberty, Graham would go on to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and eventually serve as a pastor at a church in North Carolina before receiving an invitation to serve as an evangelist for a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) youth event from its director in Canada.

“I said, ‘That’s not me. I’m a pastor of a church,” Graham said. “(Evangelism is) what my dad does, that’s what my granddad does. Get them to do it.’”

He eventually agreed to go and give it a try.

“I went up there and just started to preach, and God just hooked my heart,” Graham said. “We saw a ton of kids give their lives to Christ. It was the Holy Spirit calling people forward. So all of that stuff at Liberty (and in seminary) was preparing me for what I’m doing now.”

Now he is following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather, sharing the hope of Jesus worldwide through BGEA evangelistic crusades and ministry. He also serves his alma mater as Vice Chairman of Liberty’s Board of Trustees.

“I am forever grateful for what Liberty instilled in me, and that’s that love of God’s Word,” Graham said. “It’s a place where I would fall in love … with God, and that would forever change my life.”

>> Watch this and other videos featuring Liberty student-athletes and alumni on the Flames Central website.