The KHOU-TV Collection - Billy Graham Sermon at the Astrodome (1965)

Duration: 15:37

Year Published: 1965

Sound: sound

Description: This unedited news footage from Houston’s KHOU captures scenes from a religious service led by Christian evangelist Billy Graham at the Astrodome on November 28, 1965. Graham was in Houston for a 10-day “crusade,” or evangelistic campaign. At each sermon, Graham preached the gospel and invited people to come forward to pray and accept Jesus as their savior. (Graham conducted 417 such missions between 1947 and 2005.) The Houston campaign attracted more than 380,000 people, with a crowd of 61,000 at the final service on November 28. President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson flew to Houston from the LBJ Ranch to attend. Graham was a close friend and counselor to the Johnsons, making frequent visits to the White House during the Johnson administration. In the footage, Graham preaches from a small stage. Hundreds of attendees congregate on the floor to pray together. Following the service, Graham exits the Astrodome with the Johnsons. The President shakes hands with people lined up along the motorcade route.