Will Graham, grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, shared his message with thousands of people who turned out for the East Alabama West Georgia Will Graham Celebration. The event was held at Beard-Eaves Coliseum March 26-28. Graham has been leading the celebrations since 2006 Sunday was the night geared most to Auburn students. The night was kicked off with Auburn football chaplain Chette Williams and free safety Zac Etheridge. "In my opinion, this is the greatest event ever seen in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum," Williams said. Etheridge, who was injured in last season's game against Ole Miss, told audience members how important his relationship with God has been throughout his healing.
"I encourage everyone to walk with the Lord," Etheridge said. "He's the backbone of life. Let the Lord be known through your actions." As Etheridge finished his testimony the Coliseum took on a concert ambiance as hundreds of screaming fans packed the floor to get as close as possible to the night's artists Skillet, TobyMac and 2008 and 2009 chart topper Matthew West. "This is one of the larger venues we've had yet," said Erik Ogren, senior public relations specialist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Friday kicked off the weekend with entertainers Diamond Rio and Trip Lee as well as a message from Will Graham.
Saturday afternoon offered a change in pace with KidzFest for the younger attendees. Saturday was wrapped up with another night of worship, spotlighting musical artists Canton Jones and DecembeRadio. In one student's opinion, it was the artists that drew out the large numbers, not the message being delivered. "I knew about Billy Graham, but I didn't really know about Will Graham," said Holley Adams, sophomore in special education. "To be honest I just came with my friends to see Skillet and TobyMac." While most of the young crowd may have sympathized with Adams, others came for deeper meaning and left with a sense of fulfillment.
"I came because I am a Christian and I've been to Billy Graham crusades in the past and I felt this would be uplifting for my spirit," said Cheryl Hulsey, retired Auburn employee and Valley resident. Event coordinators also hoped people were coming for more than just the music. "Our goal for these events is to see churches working together, have people show up, lives changed and the community turned upside down for the gospel," said John Cass, celebration director. Cass, who has been traveling between North Carolina and Auburn since September, said it was encouraging to see how the surrounding area churches came together. In total 223 churches from the surrounding 50 miles sponsored the event and provided volunteers.
"We were really pleased with the sense of celebration and unity of the different denominations that we have felt this weekend," said Al Jackson, pastor of Lakeview Baptist in Opelika, in reference to all of the different churches represented. Jackson was among the local church figures who pushed to bring the Will Graham Celebration to town. "Mark McCarty was the real catalyst of getting this together," said Jackson of the Pine Grove United Methodist pastor. "He went to a Billy Graham event in North Carolina and came back and asked all of us what we thought of bringing a celebration here. " In the end, Jackson and other event coordinators felt their prayers and planning had paid off In fact, to date, it was the largest Will Graham Celebration with 19,700 people turning out over the weekend, including 12,000 Sunday night, the largest single night attendance ever.
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