NEW!!! Billy GRAHAM Library OPENING! - Ministry Videos

May 31, 2007

CBNNews.com - It seems fitting that you enter the Billy Graham Library through the cross.

But the name "Billy Graham" is not on the building itself. His son Franklin told us that was no accident.

"When he saw that this could be used as an evangelistic tool, he was all for it," Franklin said. "But he said if it was just going to be a monument to himself, he said he didn't want any part of it. But we assured him that it wouldn't be a monument to himself; it would be an ongoing crusade."

The 700 Club, Newswatch, Christian World News and CBNNews.com will provide complete coverage of ceremonies and events this week leading up to the opening of the The Billy Graham Library on June 5.

Once inside, you are greeted by "Bessy" the talking cow, depicting Graham's humble beginnings on a dairy farm not far from the library.

There are Scriptures everywhere you look. They are even on the rafters.

The library takes you on an exciting 90-minute self-guided journey through Graham's family life, ministry and some of the world's most pivotal moments.

One exhibit takes you back to 1949, when Billy Graham made national headlines with what was then the biggest religious event in Los Angeles history, an unprecedented eight-week tent crusade. Even the billboard is the same.

Continuing on, you'll also be transported back to the tumultuous time before the collapse of the Berlin Wall to learn how Rev. Graham was able to preach the Gospel behind the iron curtain to many communist nations.

But Franklin says his favorite exhibit is the one about his mother Ruth.

"As a son, I love both my parents. But I think mom is always special. My Daddy was gone a lot and my mother raised us. And to go in there, that's Daddy's favorite, too," commented Franklin.

The tour proved emotional for some visitors. "My eyes welled up again because it brings such honor to the Lord because I feel like Billy Graham's ministry was to bring us to know Jesus," Jacquie