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Our American Stories

How Billy Graham Became America's Pastor

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6817 Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2026

⏱️ 38 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, Billy Graham became one of the most influential Christian evangelists in American history, preaching to millions through large-scale crusades, radio, and television. What began with small gatherings grew into a global ministry that reached audiences across continents and generations. Over the course of his life, Graham met with and offered counsel to every U.S. president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama.

Here’s our own Greg Hengler with his story. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for granting us permission to use the audio you’re about to hear from their exceptional film, Billy Graham: An Extraordinary Journey.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

This is an I-Heart podcast.

0:02.6

Guaranteed Human.

0:14.2

This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories,

0:17.9

and we tell stories about everything here on this show,

0:20.6

from the arts to sports and from business to history, and we tell stories about everything here on this show, from the arts to sports

0:21.6

and from business to history and everything in between, including your stories, send them

0:26.3

to Our American Stories.com. They're some of our favorites.

0:30.6

Eleven presidents, the Pope, and dozens of world leaders have shared their personal thoughts

0:35.3

about matters of faith with him.

0:42.4

We would like to give a wholehearted thank you to the folks at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for granting us permission to use the footage you're about to hear from their

0:47.9

exceptional film, Billy Graham, An Extraordinary Journey.

0:52.9

Here's Greg Hengler with the story of Billy Graham.

0:59.3

Billy Graham was born on a dairy farm in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 7, 1918.

1:07.0

As a boy, he spent his time following baseball, reading Tarzan, and perfecting his technique

1:13.9

swinging from vines in the nearby woods.

1:17.0

Here's Billy's mother, Maro Graham, his sister Jean, his brother Melvin, and Billy himself.

1:24.4

Every afternoon, as Billy came through the door,

1:28.9

Mother, those were his first words, and I knew Billy was on the premises.

1:35.0

He read every thousand book, and then he would go down in the woods,

1:38.8

and he would try to act out, so it didn't work too well.

1:43.0

He and Melvin worked on the dairy farm.

1:46.0

Melvin loved the hard work.

...

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