Was Charlie Kirk’s memorial service the largest altar call in history?



On Sunday, September 21, nearly 100,000 people gathered at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for the memorial service of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Thousands more gathered in a nearby overflow arena, and according to Charlie’s executive producer, over 100 million people streamed the service online, not counting replays.

The event kicked off with a powerful worship session led by the biggest names in Christian music, including Brandon Lake, Chris Tomlin, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and Phil Wickham.

But even when speeches began, the majority of them given by high-profile conservative media figures, like Tucker Carlson, Jack Posobiec, and Benny Johnson, as well as several Trump administration officials, including Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard, Stephen Miller, Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and President Donald Trump, the presence of God remained steady. Every single speaker who took the stage either shared the gospel message, highlighted Charlie’s faith in Jesus Christ, or read directly from scripture.

While there were many powerful addresses, most notably the one given by Charlie’s widow and TPUSA’s new CEO, Erika Kirk, during which she graciously forgave her husband’s alleged murderer, Pastor Rob McCoy perhaps made history with an altar call that reached millions across the globe simultaneously.

— (@)

Pastor McCoy, Charlie’s longtime pastor from Godspeak Calvary Chapel in California, began by asking all Christians — those who “profess Christ as their Savior” — to remain seated.

Referring to Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:32-33, he said, “The Bible says if you profess me before man, I’ll profess you before my Father in heaven. It requires an act of faith — you stand. That’s what Charlie did every day on campus with death threats. He stood because he knew in whom he had trusted, and he wants to give you the gift of the why and what he did, and that is his Savior, Jesus.”

“While believers are seated, if there’s any in this room and across the globe that would desire to receive Jesus as their Savior, as Charlie did as a young man and now is in the presence of his Savior, I’m going to ask you to put action to your faith, and I’d ask you to stand right now to receive the Lord. Don’t be ashamed — stand!” Pastor McCoy encouraged.

Video footage shows several people in the stadium standing up at this invitation. The potential thousands of streaming viewers who stood up from their couches is anyone’s guess.

Pastor McCoy told the standing group that angels were rejoicing in heaven over their decision to follow Christ — as was Charlie. “He’s stoked and he’s excited about your commitment to his Savior,” he roared over the cheering crowd.

But the standing wasn’t over.

“For this remaining moment, if you’ve given your heart to the Lord and someone is seated next to you, I want that person who is a believer to stand and pray with you,” McCoy said to the thousands of professing Christians.

As the stadium filled with prayers and embraces, the scene evoked the monumental altar calls of Billy Graham, whose 1973 Seoul crusade drew over 1 million attendees in person, with tens of thousands responding to the gospel.

Yet in the digital age, Pastor McCoy's invitation — broadcast to over 100 million online viewers — may rival or even surpass those historic moments in sheer global reach, potentially making it the largest altar call since Graham's satellite-linked events decades ago.

Charlie Kirk's memorial didn't just commemorate a life of bold conservatism; it sparked a profound spiritual revival, proving that his greatest legacy was pointing others to the eternal hope found in Christ.

The Billy Graham smear on Trump just completely collapsed



Last year, a group called "Evangelicals for Harris" tried to use famed preacher Billy Graham to attack Donald Trump.

The group, now known as "Evangelicals for America," released an ad that spliced together old footage Graham with footage of Trump. The purpose of the ad was to weaponize Graham against Trump, trying to make it appear as if Graham himself was condemning Trump as "greedy," "proud and abusive," and violent.

'Maybe they don’t know that my father appreciated the conservative values and policies of President [Trump] in 2016 ...'

The ad ended with Graham declaring, "Keep clear of people like that."

As Blaze News reported, the ad exposed Evangelicals for Harris to legal liability. Lawyers for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reportedly sent the group multiple letters, including a cease-and-desist notice. The BGEA accused Evangelicals for Harris of "unauthorized, political use of the BGEA’s copyrighted video."

At the time, Evangelicals for Harris lashed out at the BGEA's attempts to tell the truth about Graham and protect his image. The group accused Franklin Graham, the CEO of the BGEA, of using the "Trump playbook" to "silence" them.

Ten months later, Evangelicals for America is singing a completely different tune — and admitting wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, the group released a statement apologizing for using the footage of Graham. The organization also removed the ad from its platforms.

"Our intent was not to infringe on BGEA's copyright or to give the impression that Rev. Graham would have taken a side in publicly supporting one political candidate over another in an election, so we apologize to BGEA," Evangelicals for America said in a statement.

"We have continued dialogue with BGEA since the election, and we affirm its position that Rev. Graham's purpose was always clear: Telling people about God's Son, Jesus Christ, who alone came from heaven to earth to make a way for all mankind to be saved from our sins. He never politicized the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the works he created through BGEA," the statement continued.

While it's not clear if voters were swayed by the ad, it did accumulate 30 million views before being removed, according to the Religion News Service.

For Franklin Graham, the issue was not one he could ignore. Not only was Evangelicals for Harris potentially running afoul of copyright law, but Franklin believed the group was weaponizing his father to "mislead" voters.

"The liberals are using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris. They even developed a political ad trying to use my father @BillyGraham’s image. They are trying to mislead people," Franklin said last year. "Maybe they don’t know that my father appreciated the conservative values and policies of President [Trump] in 2016, and if he were alive today, my father’s views and opinions would not have changed."

The BGEA said the apology from Evangelicals for America "speaks for itself."

"We are grateful for the outcome," the BGEA told the Religion News Service.

Wheaton’s Cowardice In The Face Of Russ Vought Attacks Is Emblematic Of Its Leftward Lurch

It should not be controversial for Wheaton College to request prayer for alum Russ Vought as he takes a position in the Trump administration.

'Evangelicals for Harris' tries to use Billy Graham against Trump — but it could backfire in a big way



Evangelicals for Harris, a political action committee, could be facing a lawsuit for trying to use Billy Graham against former President Donald Trump.

Last month, the group released a new ad campaign featuring Graham and Trump. The ad splices together pieces of a 1988 sermon the late evangelist preacher gave on 2 Timothy 3:1-5, according to the Christian Post, with clips of Trump.

'In all of his years of ministry and across relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham sought only to encourage them and to offer them the counsel of Christ, as revealed through God’s Word.'

"But you must realize that in the last days, the times will be full of danger," Graham declares in the ad. "Men will become utterly self-centered and greedy for money."

After Graham's pronouncement, the ad cuts to a video of Trump at a campaign stop, saying, "My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy."

Returning to Graham's sermon repeatedly, the ad suggests that Trump is "proud and abusive," based on previous comments he made about women; suggests Trump is violent, citing a speech in which Trump joked that he wanted to punch someone in the face; suggests Trump loves "pleasure," not God, citing the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape; and suggests Trump "maintains a facade of religion," citing his declaration that he has never asked God for forgiveness.

The ad ends with Graham declaring, "Keep clear of people like that."

— (@)

Evangelicals for Harris spent more than $1 million on the new ad campaign, according to the Christian Post, and now the group may be facing a lawsuit.

After the ad's release, lawyers for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reportedly sent Evangelicals for Harris multiple letters, including a cease-and-desist notice.

One letter, the Religious News Service reported, even threatened a lawsuit on the basis of copyright infringement.

In a statement, the BGEA confirmed it shared its concerns with Evangelicals for Harris about "unauthorized, political use of BGEA’s copyrighted video."

"It may be worth noting that, in all of his years of ministry and across relationships with 11 U.S. presidents, Billy Graham sought only to encourage them and to offer them the counsel of Christ, as revealed through God’s Word. He never criticized presidents publicly and would undoubtedly refuse to let his sermons be used to do so, regardless of who is involved," the statement explained.

In response, Evangelicals for Harris claimed Franklin Graham is using the "Trump playbook" to "silence" the group and argued that the use of the Billy Graham sermon is protected under the Copyright Act.

"Franklin is scared of our ads because we do not tell people what to do or think. We merely hold Trump’s own words up to the light of Scripture, the necessity of repentance, and Biblical warnings against leaders exactly like Trump," the group said in a statement.

"If Franklin follows through on his threats, we’ll see him in court," Evangelicals for Harris said.

While Evangelicals for Harris may indeed think they are holding up Trump to the "light of scripture," the group fails to do the same for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Millions of people will now see these important Bible verses thanks to a new Billy Graham statue in the US Capitol



Billy Graham, the famed evangelist whose crusades reached hundreds of millions of people, was officially honored at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday.

A 7-foot statute of Graham's likeness was unveiled inside the National Statuary Hall during a ceremony that was attended by Graham's family, Speaker Mike Johnson (R), North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), former Vice President Mike Pence, and other North Carolina lawmakers.

'I think it's providential that it's right here. I think it's the perfect placement.'

"Today North Carolina gives the nation a symbol representing one of our dearest treasures: the Reverend Billy Graham, a man of faith, a man of North Carolina," Cooper said at the ceremony.

The statue depicts Graham holding an open Bible with his left hand, and his right hands points to the text. The Bible is opened to Galatians 6:14, which reads, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

The base of the statue includes two additional Bible verses:

  • John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
  • John 14:6: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Speaker Johnson remarked that he was thrilled of the statue's position — prominently situated near the opening of the Capitol hall — because it means millions of people will be confronted with the Bible verses and Graham's faith.

"I think it's providential that it's right here," Johnson said. "I think it's the perfect placement."

Franklin Graham said that his father would be uncomfortable with Thursday's ceremony "because he would want the focus to be on the one that he preached. He’d want the focus to be on the Lord Jesus Christ."

Known for being a pastor to presidents — counseling Harry Truman to Barack Obama — Graham died in 2018 at the age of 99. Because of his oversized influence, Graham became just the fourth private citizen to lie in honor inside the U.S. Capitol. He was laid to rest at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, next to his wife on March 2, 2018.

Graham's statue replaces the statue of Charles Aycock, a Democrat and segregationist who served as the 50th governor of North Carolina. The campaign to install Graham's statue dates back to 2015.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Whitlock: Joe Rogan, Ted Koppel, and Billy Graham were supposed to save America



Journalists should be Joe Rogan’s most passionate defenders.

His massive podcast following is built on asking questions. Rogan is an interviewer, not an opinionist. He’s Bob Ley, not Skip Bayless.

Do we even remember Bob Ley, the longtime ESPN broadcaster? Ley joined the sports network three days after its 1979 launch and was its signature on-air journalist until 2019. Ley retired. ESPN abandoned his signature show, “Outside the Lines,” which was sports television’s version of “Nightline.”

Joe Rogan’s success proves that journalism still makes good business sense. The presentation of information can still drive an audience. Information doesn’t need to be dressed up with bombast and snark.

Joe Rogan should be a hero.

Instead, he’s being turned into a pariah. His three-hour interviews with doctors who question the prevailing COVID narratives are being framed as an existential threat to our democracy and health. Rogan’s interviews are so dangerous that Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones accused Rogan of being racist. In a since-deleted tweet, Hannah-Jones alleged that Rogan’s popularity is due to America’s comfort with racism.

Hannah-Jones shared a compilation video of Rogan using the N-word. There is no context to the video. We don’t know how Rogan used the word. For some people context does not matter. Rogan is white. He used the N-word. He is racist.

I’ve watched Rogan’s interviews with Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough. Malone and McCullough offered COVID opinions that contradict the official, government-approved narrative. I’ve seen a half-dozen other Rogan interviews. His interviews don’t strike me as particularly dangerous. I’ve heard nothing racist from Rogan.

He’s a comedian who likes to use drugs. It wouldn’t surprise me if he cracked jokes that could be deemed bigoted. In pursuit of laughs, comedians push the envelope. From Dave Chappelle to Redd Foxx to Andrew Dice Clay to Paul Mooney, comedians use racial stereotypes to make audiences laugh.

Now we’re using accusations of racism to silence people who ask the wrong questions or interview the wrong people.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, the New York Times, Big Pharma, and Big Tech are determined to smear Joe Rogan with the same brush that smeared Alex Jones and Donald Trump. Most people believe Jones and Trump deserved to be smeared and deplatformed. The same is true of black nationalist Louis Farrakhan.

But where does the censorship stop?

Joe Rogan is a bigot? Is Bill Maher next? Dave Chappelle is transphobic.

When they’re done deplatforming and demonizing comedians, Christian ministers will be next. It’s already happening. Ministers are afraid to preach biblical truth. Their goal now is to be inclusive.

In a healthy, free society, journalists, comedians, and ministers should feel liberated to explore and discuss uncomfortable truths. Newspapers, comedic stages, and pulpits were sacred grounds for truth-telling. Journalists, comedians, and ministers are supposed to set the boundaries for truthful debate. Big Tech is a poor substitute.