Rev. Will Graham to speak at Community Easter Service
The Rev. Will Graham, grandson of legendary evangelist, The Rev. Billy Graham, will be the principal speaker at the Community Easter Sunrise Service at City of Palms Park (Red Sox Stadium) in downtown Fort Myers Easter Sunday, April 4.
Congregations from throughout Southwest Florida will gather to worship and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ at this sunrise service, which has been a tradition in Fort Myers for more than a half century.
Doors open at 5:30 a.m. for the Easter Sunrise service, which begins at 6:30 a.m. There is no admission for the service or for parking at City of Palms Park. Free coffee and pastries also will be served both before and after the service.
The Rev. Will Graham will be traveling to Fort Myers specifically to deliver the Easter message. Rev. Graham is the third generation of Grahams to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ under the banner of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
Ministers from a dozen area churches participated in the planning for this year’s annual Easter Sunrise service.
Supporting the program will be The Rev. John Daugherty of First Baptist Church of Fort Myers, Pastor Chuck Smith of Broadway Community Church, Rev. Arlene Jackson of Central United Methodist Church, Pastor Gregory Ford of First Assembly Cornerstone, Rev. Gary Cox of First Christian Church, Rev. Paul deJong of First Presbyterian Church of Fort Myers, Rev. Jim Mitchell of First United Methodist Church, Rev. Philip D. Read, II, SSC, of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Rev. Jon Zehnder of St. Michael Lutheran Church, Pastor Bob Calvert of Sonshine Worship Center, Rev. Dr. Israel Suarez of Templo Cristiano El Buen Samaritano, Major Arthur Penhale of The Salvation Army, and Rev. Douglas Kelchner of Thomas A. Edison Congregational Church.
Additional churches are encouraged to bring their congregations to the service as well, according to organizers.
The Community Easter Sunrise Service has been a tradition since the 1950s and has moved over the years from the Fort Myers High School Stadium to Centennial Park to City of Palms Park. This is the 15th year that the service has been conducted at City of Palms Park. Last year, more than 2,000 people attended the service.
“We welcome and encourage everyone to join us on Easter Sunday for this community-wide worship service,” said Rev. Daugherty, who is the chairman of this year’s planning committee. “We have room for 7,000 people at City of Palms Park and we’d like to pack the place with people who wish to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Music will be provided by the Southwest Florida Symphony Chorus and Brass Quintet along with the praise team “Scripture.” The service will be inter-denominational.
Since beginning his evangelistic ministry with youth-oriented, one-day events in Canada, Rev. Graham has spoken to tens of thousands in North America, and countless more during outreaches in Australia, South America, India and other parts of Asia.
Rev. Graham’s first crusade-style event which he calls Celebrations took place in 2006 in Leduc, Canada. His first Celebration on U.S. soil came later that year in Gastonia, N.C. Since then, he also has held multi-day evangelistic outreaches in Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, and Ontario.
“I’m not trying to be the next Billy Graham; I’m just Will Graham,” says the ordained minister. “I have a burden in my heart to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If that’s to an arena full of people or one person on the street, I will do whatever God is calling me to do.”
Rev. Graham also serves BGEA as assistant director of the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, N.C. The Cove offers multi-day seminars on a variety of Christian subjects and features nationally-recognized speakers.
Rev. Graham graduated from Liberty University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Religion and in 2001 graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminar with a Master of Divinity degree.
He and his wife, Kendra, have two daughters, Christine Jane (CJ) and Rachel Austin, and a son, William Franklin Graham V. The family lives in North Carolina.
For more information about the Community Easter Sunrise Service, call (239) 334-7747.