--- title: Billy Graham Dies at 99: How His Evangelism Machine Worked description: It was more than Graham's charisma that drew crowds to his "crusades" in the mid-20th century. They were complicated and well-planned events canonical: https://time.com/5168188/billy-graham-evangelism-crusades/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-21T14:31:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:58:04.743Z article:section: History og:title: 'I Am Selling the Greatest Product in the World.' Inside Billy Graham's Evangelism Machine og:description: We went behind the scenes with the influential pastor og:url: https://time.com/5168188/billy-graham-evangelism-crusades/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd770c4139e7d267e/69892862db2987d8e925ed80/graham.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Billy Graham og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'I Am Selling the Greatest Product in the World.' Inside Billy Graham's Evangelism Machine twitter:description: We went behind the scenes with the influential pastor twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd770c4139e7d267e/69892862db2987d8e925ed80/graham.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Am Selling the Greatest Product in the World.' Inside Billy Graham's Evangelism Machine  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Feb 21, 2018 2:31 PM UTC  Evangelist Billy Graham addressing the congregation in Trafalgar Square in London in 1954 Evangelist Billy Graham addressing the congregation in Trafalgar Square in London in 1954Fred Ramage—Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Feb 21, 2018 2:31 PM UTC When he appeared on the cover of TIME in 1954, [Billy Graham](http://time.com/11296/billy-graham-rare-photos-from-early-years-of-his-career/) — the evangelist who [died Wednesday at 99](http://time.com/18423/billy-graham-obituary/) — was already “the best-known, most talked-about Christian leader in the world today, barring the Pope.” At that point, he had already traveled the nation and the world to preach to thousands. He also made a handful of movie appearances, wrote regular newspaper columns and was broadcast on radio programs, and it had only been a few years since he first [made headlines](http://time.com/vault/issue/1949-11-14/page/65/) by converting a couple of celebrities. But it was more than just Billy Graham’s charisma and belief that drew crowds of converts. His “crusades” were complicated and well-planned events designed for maximum impact. Here’s how they worked, as TIME explained it back then: --- > “” ---  The Oct. 25, 1954, cover of TIME Cover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN By the time Graham got to town, everything was ready to go. The “counselors” were ready to speak to anyone who stood up while Graham preached, to bring him or her to the “Inquiry Tent” to give them a pep talk and get the information needed to pass the new convert on to a local church. That practice of decentralized recruitment made Graham friends among clergy wherever he went, and helped those “baby Christians” stick with their newfound dedication. And, though the well-rehearsed mechanism of a Graham crusade could have seemed impersonal or unseemly, Graham made sure it didn’t — mostly by believing so strongly in its urgency. “I am selling,” he told TIME in 1954, “the greatest product in the world; why shouldn’t it be promoted as well as soap?” **_Read the 1954 cover story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [A New Kind of Evangelist](http://time.com/vault/issue/1954-10-25/page/1/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5168188/billy-graham-evangelism-crusades/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5168188/billy-graham-evangelism-crusades/"},"headline":"'I Am Selling the Greatest Product in the World.' 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