Franklin Graham

William Franklin Graham III is the President and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) which proclaims the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ around the world.

Founded in 1970, Samaritan’s Purse is based in Boone, North Carolina, and has corporate offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Germany with activities in more than 130 countries.

When Graham was in his early twenties, Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of Samaritan’s Purse, invited him on a six-week mission to Asia. During this time, Graham felt called by God to work with hurting people in areas of the world affected by war, famine, disease, poverty and natural disaster. Graham was elected to the Board of Samaritan’s Purse in 1978. One year later, after the death of Dr. Pierce, he was elected president.

Graham was elected to the Board of BGEA in 1979 and conducted his first evangelistic event in 1989. Since that time, Graham has proclaimed the Gospel in the far corners of the globe, holding evangelistic rallies in 47 countries and all 50 states. In 2016, Graham launched the Decision America Tour and traveled to all 50 state capitals to hold prayer rallies. These evangelistic events challenged Christians to pray for the United States and its leaders and to live and promote Biblical principles at home, in public, and at the ballot box. The Decision America Tour continues this year with stops in seven Northeastern states.

Through his work with BGEA and Samaritan’s Purse, Graham has been instrumental in helping people impacted by crises including 9/11 and other terrorist attacks, conflict in Iraq and South Sudan, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and natural disasters ranging from catastrophic hurricanes in the U.S. to massive earthquakes in Ecuador, Nepal, Japan, and Haiti. He has met privately with six United States presidents as well as world leaders from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

As a speaker and author, Graham regularly addresses current moral and social issues, calling Christians to stand for Biblical values and challenging them to make a difference in the world for the sake of the Gospel. He is Editor-in-Chief of Decision magazine, the “Evangelical Voice for Today,” which features solid Scriptural teaching as well as cutting-edge stories about issues and events in today’s culture, from a Biblical worldview.

Graham is the fourth of five children of the late evangelist Billy Graham and his wife, Ruth Bell Graham. He resides in Boone, North Carolina, with his wife, Jane. They have four children and 12 grandchildren.