Christian Singer Carman Issues Urgent Call for Evangelism After Passing of Billy Graham

Billy's Graham's mission in life was to bring millions around the globe closer to Christ, a goal many agree he faithfully accomplished.

Since his death on Feb. 21st, many in the evangelical community have been stirred to carry the torch of Graham's legacy.

"WITH BILLY GRAHAM GONE, THE CALL IS URGENT AND MY SPIRIT IS ON FIRE," popular Christian musician Carman Licciardello, known to fans simply as Carman, wrote in a post on Facebook.

"The passing of Billy Graham has caused me to look across the global landscape of ministries on TV and the internet and see that it's easy to name 20 full time pastors and bible teachers. But very difficult to name even 3 full time evangelists," said Carman.  "We NEED our soul winners to come back to life."

He added, "It's time to act.  So I have decided to refocus this ministry to exclusively doing soul winning events like I have in the past.  I am looking for churches that have the same, shared passion for the lost that I have to work with me.  I'm asking pastors all over this country to join me in picking up the torch of evangelism given to all of us by Dr. Graham."

In an interview with CBN News, Carman, who once packed stadiums for his concerts, said he's always had a burden for the lost, saying, 'that's how the body of Christ grows.'

"There's no other way," he said. "That is the way God made everything to work that way.  Because we have what we call five-fold ministry, pastors, teachers, prophets, apostles and evangelists. And 20 percent of the way in which the church grows is through evangelism. That's our recruiting agency."

He went on to say Christians need to look for new ways to reach people.

"You're basically teaching the same people that have already been saved," he explained.  "You gotta go to new neighborhoods, new places, new locations, places people haven't been before and win the lost."   

Other Christian leaders agree that Graham's passing marks a significant time for evangelism.
 
The Call co-founder Lou Engle has been praying for God to raise up evangelists to follow in Graham's footsteps.

"I said Lord this whole year I'm going after the mantle of Billy Graham and a new breed of evangelists and musicians," Engle said at a prayer and prophetic conference held just two days before Graham's death. 

He also related the story a friend shared about a revival of evangelism in America.

"There's coming a shift to The Call. And it will not just be fasting and prayer but the proclamation of the gospel, signs and wonders," he said. "And stadiums would be filled and Billy Graham's mantle is coming on the nation."

Engle continued, "I am now believing that the day of the evangelist is coming.  And it's not just one evangelist. It's gonna be dozens of them."

Sid Roth, host of "It's Supernatural" believes Graham's death could be the catalyst to spark a new revival.

"Many people have said when Billy Graham is promoted, there will be a major outpouring of God's spirit and evangelism," Roth told CBN News a day before Graham's funeral.

Pator Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship said believers should honor Graham by following in his footsteps by way of evangelism.

"To me, the greatest tribute we could pay to Billy Graham is to do what Billy did.  What did Billy do? Billy proclaimed the gospel," he said.  "That's the greatest tribute we could give to a man who dedicated his entire life to doing that."

Meanwhile, Carman is partnering with churches to kick off a series of free of evangelistic concerts in the Fall.

"We're going back to opening up the doors and doing free concerts, free admission," he said. "Somewhere in there will be a call for salvation so that they can have an opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good."

Carman's concerts have been described as a cross between a Vegas show and a rock-and-roll Billy Graham crusade.

He has 15 gold and platinum albums and videos to his name and has sold more than 10 million records.  At his various events through the years, thousands have come to Christ.

In 2013 Carman was diagnosed with myeloma cancer which went into remission.  But in 2017 he learned that he had cancer again.  In December he announced he was 100% cancer free.

Also in December, he shared news about getting married saying, "God has restored me in 100 ways and it's only just the beginning."