PHNOM PENH — Evangelist Franklin Graham proclaimed the hope of Jesus Christ to 23,700 people in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this weekend. The two-day Love Phnom Penh Festival with Franklin Graham, held Dec. 7 and 8 at the Phnom Penh City Center Driving Range, marked the largest evangelistic gathering in the history of the kingdom of Cambodia.
“We’re here to work with the church, and we hope that when this weekend is finished the church will be strengthened, encouraged and will continue to grow,” said Graham before the Festival.
“The Cambodian people are wonderful people, and I believe that God has a great plan for this nation and for the church in this country,” Graham continued. “At the same time there’s still a great spiritual need in Cambodia, and that is to know God and have a relationship with Him.”
In a country that is reportedly 98 percent Buddhist, and where it is estimated that only 200 Christians survived the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge genocide in the late 1970s, 1,396 Cambodians made a decision to follow Jesus Christ at this weekend’s event.
Local Christian leaders believe that the results from the Love Phnom Penh Festival are just the beginning of what is to come in the years ahead. “The Holy Spirit has touched our city and entire land. We are thankful that people heard the Gospel that Jesus is the Truth, Way and Life,” said Pastor Sin Somnang of Fellowship Church of Pochentong, who served as general chairman of the Festival. “This will be a blessing for our country and our spiritual legacy to be remembered for the next generation through the Festival.”
Churches and Christian leaders in Cambodia had been praying, planning and preparing for the Love Phnom Penh Festival with Franklin Graham for several years, and the event – which was a partnership between local churches and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association – took place with the approval and blessing of the Cambodian government. Representatives from several other Asian nations attended the Festival with plans to hold similar evangelistic gatherings in their countries.
The Love Phnom Penh Festival was the final outreach of 2019 for Franklin Graham. Earlier this year, he held multi-day Festivals in Bangkok, Thailand, and Cúcuta, Colombia, as well as multi-city tours in Australia, the northeastern United States, and North Carolina. In January 2020, Graham will preach in six Florida cities as part of the Decision America Sunshine State Tour.
About Franklin Graham
Franklin Graham is the oldest son of the late Ruth and Billy Graham. Like his father, Franklin Graham has devoted his life to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He serves as President and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse. He has spent the past three decades spreading the Good News by holding evangelistic Festivals across the U.S. and around the world.
CONTACT: Mark Barber, 828-386-5803, mbarber@bgea.org
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