The world knows them as Billy and Ruth Graham, the globetrotting evangelist who reached millions with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the woman who stood beside him and encouraged him every step of the way. The world sees them as two towering figures of the Christian faith.  
        I know them as Daddy Bill and Tai Tai.  I know the man who boomed forcefully with the Gospel message from the stage, but sits quietly and listens intensely at home in front of his fireplace. I know the woman with the quick wit, sparkling eyes, and mischievous love for practical jokes.
        Growing up, I didn’t realize the magnitude of being the grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham, let alone being the namesake William Franklin Graham IV. As I grew, and, especially as I went off to college, I finally began to realize the impact that God made through the life of Daddy Bill.
        It is with this mindset, knowing both the personal life of my grandparents as well as their far-reaching ministry, that I am constantly blessed as I walk through the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C.
        The 40,000-square-foot Billy Graham Library is built to resemble a large barn, symbolic of my grandfather’s formative years as the son of a dairy farmer. More importantly, the front of the barn is dominated by a giant glass cross to give honor to the Savior whom my grandfather proclaimed constantly over the course of his decades-long ministry.
        Being a Graham, perhaps a more intimate experience for me is visiting the other building on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library:  the Graham family homeplace where my grandfather spent many of his early years on the Graham Brothers Dairy farm. The actual home has been relocated and reconstructed, and is open for visitors to tour. It is moving and challenging for me to stand in the house and picture my grandfather in the front room as a young man, his future before him, not yet realizing what God had in store for his life. Visitors who step into the home will see early family photos, the typewriter that my great grandmother used for correspondence, letters that were written over the years, and other artifacts of our family history.
        After visiting the homeplace, I often make my way across the courtyard and through the glass doors at the foot of the cross, to enter the Billy Graham Library. A rustic wood interior and exposed wood beams adorned with Bible verses greet visitors, and children especially enjoy the talking cow that begins to tell the story of the journey that God ordained for my grandfather.
        As visitors begin to wind their way through the Billy Graham Library, they will first see a replica of the Canvas Cathedral, the tent in which my grandfather held his famous 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, which launched him into national prominence.  Many details are meticulously copied, right down to the misspelling of the word “Glorius” on the sign that hung on the side of the tent. At the front of the tent, a video plays of a young Billy Graham, about the same age as I am right now, pacing the stage, swinging his arms in grand gestures, and exhorting his audience to put their faith in Christ.
        The next room strikes a deep chord for me, as it details the loving relationship between my grandfather and grandmother, from their early days at Wheaton College to their elderly years quietly enjoying each other’s company at the home they shared in the mountains of North Carolina for more than 50 years. My grandmother’s history and sensibilities are clearly on display in this room, as a recreation of a Korean Gate details her childhood as the daughter of medical missionaries in China, and her time at a boarding school in what is now Pyongyang, North Korea. The other half of the room is a reproduction of their living room in Montreat, N.C., complete with a replica of the wooden diving board my grandmother salvaged and made into a mantle bearing the German words, “Eine Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott,” which translates, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
        From there, visitors travel through rooms detailing my grandfather’s use of technology to spread the Gospel message to the masses, and the development of his ministry over the tumultuous years that saw the Vietnam War, terrorist attacks and other hardships.
        Next is a gallery alight with the shining faces of people from around the world; evangelists who are carrying the same message as my grandfather to towns and villages and tribes in faraway lands. My grandfather had a burden to train and work alongside these international evangelists. Someone once asked my grandfather, “Who will replace Billy Graham?” My grandfather answered, “They will,” pointing to the multitude of evangelists that had convened in Amsterdam for training. So, when I come into this particular room and see the faces of these evangelists, I am often overwhelmed with how God used my grandfather to help raise up a new generation of evangelists who are reaching the world and impacting so many.
        One of the most striking rooms in the entire Billy Graham Library is the room detailing my grandfather’s experiences behind the Iron Curtain. Visitors are confronted with a realistic replica of the Berlin Wall (with graffiti modeled after the actual structure) and a military checkpoint. I find that the most impressive part of the display, however, is footage of the Russian Army Chorus singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" during my grandfather’s Moscow Crusade in 1992.
        Along the way, visitors will see many pieces of memorabilia from my grandfather’s ministry, including personal Bibles and a set of golf clubs he received as a gift from President Nixon. They will also learn more about the many amazing men and women who made up my grandfather’s team and who helped him in his ministry over the decades.
        Visitors will get a chuckle reading incorrectly addressed letters to my grandfather, such as the one sent to “Billy Graham, Many Apples, Many Soda” – which reached the organization’s former headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota – or the one simply addressed, “Billy Graham USA,” which was also delivered.
        And, of course, since this is the Billy Graham Library, before leaving the exhibit, every visitor must pass through a final room where the Gospel message of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is given clearly and plainly. We rejoice for the hundreds who have already made life-changing salvation decisions as they’ve passed through the Library.
        After going through the main exhibits, visitors have an opportunity to learn more about the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s current ministries, and browse the gift store named “Ruth’s Attic” after my grandmother, which has books, CDs, DVDs, and other unique items for purchase.
        Before I leave, I also always make time to stop at the Graham Brothers Dairy Bar for a sandwich, a chocolate chip cookie, and my favorite – chocolate milk!  
        After the tour of the home and the Billy Graham Library is complete, it is common for visitors to quietly walk down a pathway that is laid out in the shape of a cross. There, at the foot of the cross, is the final resting place of my beloved grandmother. In 2007, after more than 60 years of marriage to my grandfather, she went home to be with her Savior. At her grave is a simple marker which again exudes her ever-present humor, humility, and faith. It’s marked with the words she saw on a construction sign years earlier: 

Ruth Bell Graham

June 10, 1920 – June 14, 2007

“End of Construction

Thank you for your patience”

        As I make my way through the halls of the Billy Graham Library, it is an ever present reminder and challenge to me to walk humbly, to be fully devoted to Jesus Christ, and to always give God all of me and my abilities as I seek to do His work with urgency in a world that desperately needs Him.
        I invite and encourage everybody to come to visit the Billy Graham Library. We purposely made the admission and parking free of charge so that money would not be a barrier for those who want to take part in the experience. Please visit www.billygraham.org/library for more information.
        Also, please remember to pray for the ministries of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as we continue to reach out to a lost world through a variety of ministries with the Gospel message, and pray for my grandfather as well. He misses my grandmother terribly and looks forward with anticipation to the time when they will be reunited.