History

Billy Graham

Charlotte-born evangelist

Charlotte-born evangelist whose 1947 hometown campaign and 1958 Coliseum crusade bookend the city's midcentury religious life.

In the record (2)

  1. 1947

    Twenty-nine-year-old Billy Graham held one of his earliest citywide evangelistic campaigns in his hometown of Charlotte in November 1947, drawing more than 40,000 people to meetings at First Baptist Church and the Charlotte Armory.

    Source · checked 2026-08-15

  2. 1958

    Billy Graham returned to his hometown for a fall 1958 crusade at the Charlotte Coliseum, with overflow crowds at Ovens Auditorium, drawing more than 400,000 people over the course of the campaign.

    Charlotte ColiseumOvens Auditorium

    Source · checked 2026-08-15