Rock the River concluded Sunday when 23,000 people flocked to Harriet Island Regional Park on the banks of the Mississippi in St. Paul, Minnesota, to hear music from some of Christian music’s hottest bands and the Gospel proclaimed by Franklin Graham.

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Visit the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association site to read more about Rock the River. The youthful crowd enjoyed music performed by Flyleaf, Kirk Franklin, DecembeRadio, Lecrae, Superchick, FLAME, and Canton Jones. In between sets, they listened while Graham told them about the incredible love of God, Who sent His Son into the world to save sinners. Hundreds indicated that they had come to faith in Jesus Christ.

The Twins Cities event was the fourth and final stop of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association-sponsored tour. Rock the River, designed to reach youth not acquainted with Christianity, began near the mouth of the Mississippi in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The tour continued up the river, stopping in St. Louis and Davenport, Iowa, before concluding near the headwaters Sunday.

Samaritan’s Purse worked alongside the BGEA to create a youth-friendly atmosphere. At each stop, Christian youth were encouraged to bring their non-saved friends to enjoy cutting-edge music.

“We are fishing for the souls of America’s youth, and music is a powerful lure,” said Graham, President of Samaritan's Purse and the BGEA. “God has burdened my heart for the next generation, and the Good News of God’s love and grace is the only message that can save and satisfy their soul.”

The first stop on the tour in Baton Rouge drew 11,000 people, who gathered in the sweltering summer heat along the banks of the Mississippi River in the shadow of LSU’s Tiger Stadium for eight hours.

“Rock the River was exactly what we prayed it would be: an exciting evangelistic event that would attract unchurched young people to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Graham said. “They loved the music from bands like Flyleaf and Mary Mary, and when I gave the invitation to receive Christ, hundreds raised their hands and surrendered their lives to the Savior.”

More than 65,000 people gathered at the base of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis for the second of the four events.

Nearly 14,000 people came together at Centennial Park in the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois for the third tour stop. By the end of the day, 805 people responded to the message of hope and love and came to faith in Jesus Christ.

Rock the River was all about bringing glory to God by reaching a lost generation with the Gospel.

“God has provided only one way of eternal salvation, and that is through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ,” Graham said. “We must do whatever is necessary to make sure our young people—as well as older—hear this truth.”

“We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4, NLT)

Samaritan's Purse , United States , Evangelism , Rock the River