History of Evangelism in America at the Billy Graham Center Museum

For over 40 years, the Billy Graham Center Museum has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors annually.

The first part of the museum is the History of Evangelism in America. See the first Bible printed in America – and it wasn’t in English, it’s the Eliot Algonquin Indian Bible.

Colonial Puritan Cotton Mather’s sermon notes and books are on display, as well as books from Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield on the First Great Awakening. You can also browse some of the sermon notes from Chicago-based evangelist, D.L. Moody, founder of the nearby Moody Bible Institute.

This beautiful collection takes 90-120 minutes to see, and highlights every major period of American history, before transitioning to the Billy Graham [1918-2018] era.

The one-time Bob Jones University student would graduate from Wheaton, where he met his wife Ruth, would be the youngest college president in the country (Northwestern, Minneapolis; at age 29), hold crusades around the world, was friends with many US Presidents, and continues to be broadcast on radio and television.

Exhibits include:

• A portion of the Eliot Algonquin Indian Bible from 1663—the first Bible printed in America
• A copy of the book The Ecclesiastical History of New England by Cotton Mather, 1702
• A manuscript of a sermon by Cotton Mather
• A copy of the book “Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Renewal of Religion in New England” by Jonathan Edwards, 1742
• A copy of George Whitefield’s book “The Nature and Necessity of Our New Birth in Jesus Christ,” 1737
• A saddlebag with sermons used by 19th century circuit riders
• A copy of “Poems of Various Subjects,” by Phillis Wheatley, 1773
• A copy of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1879
• A book of Scriptures for soldiers used during the Civil War, 1863

Featured Image Credit: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons