At the end of May, Berlin will be host to the largest gathering for evangelism in Europe in a quarter of a century.
The European Congress on Evangelism will take place from 27 to 30 May and bring together 1,000 pastors and ministry leaders from 56 countries and territories.
The main theme of the gathering will be Romans 1:16, which states: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
The convener of the event is Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), who said of the event: “Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ and the truth of God’s Word is the greatest need in the world today, and it’s an honour for BGEA to come alongside and encourage believers in Europe who are taking the Gospel to their communities and to the ends of the earth.”
Graham’s father, the American evangelist Billy Graham, was well known for his large-scale evangelistic events all around the world, including many in Europe.
Between 1947 and 2005, Billy Graham held over 400 crusades. While just over half of these were in the US, the rest were all over the world and he was even able to preach in North Korea. In 1954 he held rallies in what was then West Germany.
Europe has become an increasing priority for Franklin Graham in recent years as the region continues to struggle with a prolonged decline in Christianity.
The Berlin event is by invitation only and will feature more than 20 speakers from 13 different countries. Its aim is to “encourage and equip believers from dozens of denominations to reignite the church with a passion for bold and biblical proclamation evangelism”.
There will be music from Michael W Smith and Charity Gayle as well as artists from across Europe.
The last time the BGEA was involved in an event of this scale in Europe was in the year 2000 in Amsterdam.
Now in 2025, Franklin Graham shared how much he is looking forward to returning to the continent: “It was the Christians in Europe who crossed the ocean and brought the Gospel to the United States four centuries ago, and I am grateful for the believers in Europe who continue to be a bold and faithful witness for Jesus Christ.”
