New York Crusade (1957)
1957 evangelistic campaign / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New York Crusade was a major evangelistic campaign conducted in 1957 in New York City by Billy Graham. It was preceded by two years of preparation and lasted from May 15 to September 1 (16 weeks). It was the largest evangelistic campaign ever organized in New York City.
Date | May 15 – September 1, 1957 (1957-05-15 – 1957-09-01) |
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Duration | 16 weeks |
Location | New York City, United States |
Type | Evangelist revival meeting |
Organized by | Billy Graham |
Participants | ~2.4 million (total) |
In addition to Graham, the gathered audience heard speeches from then-Vice President Richard Nixon and Pastor Martin Luther King, among others. 97 evangelistic meetings took place in the then-current Madison Square Garden arena on Eighth Avenue, with an average attendance of 17,828 people. Additionally, special meetings with Graham were held at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, Times Square, Yankee Stadium, and several other locations. The largest gathering occurred at Times Square, with 125,000 attendees.
The Crusade was daily reported on by The New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune. Graham's campaign was criticized by liberal theologians, Protestant fundamentalists, and proponents of racial segregation. The New York evangelistic crusade marked the beginning of televangelism – a new form of religiosity based on media.