The evangelist announced that he will fly to Ukraine to deliver a special message on Easter Sunday.
Evangelist Franklin Graham on Thursday announced that he will be traveling to Ukraine to deliver an Easter message next week. His Easter message is also set to air on Fox News on April 17 at 12:00 pm EST.
"I will be sharing a message the whole world needs to hear: Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, conquered sin and death 2,000 years ago when He rose victoriously from the grave," Graham said, as reported by the Christian Headlines. "This Good News changes everything-for individual hearts, for communities and for entire nations."
Over the last month, Graham has traveled to Ukraine as his ministries, Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), established humanitarian efforts to provide relief to those who have been displaced by the Russian invasion. In a post on Facebook, he expressed his gratitude to his father Billy Graham's friend, Rupert Murdoch, who paid for the television coverage for his Easter message inUkraine.
BGEA's website reported that the special event will feature music from an 80-person Ukrainian choir, whose many members have been displaced by the Russian invasion. Two Ukrainians are also set to deliver prayers during the Easter message in Ukraine.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Friday that in the last few weeks, two "life-saving, state-of-the-art field hospitals" have been set up in Ukraine, one of which was by Graham's Samaritan Purse. Israel set up the Shining Star field hospital in Mostyska, Ukraine, near the border with Poland, while Samaritan's Purse established another hospital in Lviv alongside four other medical clinics that have treated over 3,100 patients to date.
Shortly after Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, Samaritan's Purse was on the ground to assist with humanitarian efforts as millions had been displaced by the Russian assault. Graham also recently spent two days in the war-stricken country to engage with the ministry's medical and humanitarian teams and visit local churches and the Ukrainian people who have sought refuge in them.
"This is dangerous work, but our team is committed to helping the people of Ukraine. We want them to know that God loves them and we're here to care for them," Graham remarked. "There are many needs on the ground, but the greatest need is prayer. We need to continue to pray that God would work in the hearts of leaders to end the fighting."
Graham's Samaritan's Purse has 160 staff members in the European region and has made seven airlifts to deliver over 200 tons of relief supplies, which include medicine, food, hygiene kits, clothing and bedding. The Evangelical Christian organization has a network of more than 3,000 churches that distribute aid which they report has helped more than 47,000 people to date.
Aside from the Emergency Field Hospital in Lviv, Samaritan's Purse is also carrying out medical missions in four clinics, including a train station and bus station in Lviv and one in Chernivtsi, as well as a clinic nearer to the front lines. Graham said, "We go to where the fighting is and that's what we do."
