Correspondence, proposals, reports, minutes, programs, publications brochures, budgets, audio tapes, clippings, photographs, and video tapes related to the founding, ground breaking and dedication and continuing work of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College as a research and training center in evangelism, and its ongoing activities. Includes audio and video recordings of Center-sponsored conferences (on themes including evangelism and evangelistic preaching, outreach to various communities, women and evangelism, partnership in mission, prison ministry, leadership training, etc.)

Paper Records (Box List)

Sub-series: I. Historical Materials

Arrangement: Alphabetical by folder title

Date Range: 1967-1981

Volume: 2.8 cubic feet Boxes: 1-3

Geographic coverage: United States

Type of documents: Correspondence, memos, reports, minutes

Correspondents: Hudson Taylor Armerding, Joseph Armisano, John Corts, John Dettoni, Lois Ferm, Leighton Ford. Billy Graham, Philip Hammer, Donald Hoke, Timothy L. Smith, Ted W. Ward, Stephanie Wills

Subjects: Origins and development of the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Christian evangelism, preaching, North American Protestant Evangelicalism

Notes: This series consists of all the materials in Collection 3 before the collection was rearranged to document the ongoing development of the Center as well as its early history. Almost all the material in this collection is from 1981 or earlier and is concerned largely with the BGC planning committee, dating ca. 1970 to 1973, records of the three official ceremonies involving construction of the building (ground breaking, cornerstone laying, and dedication), and records of a workshop sponsored by the BGC in 1981. Exceptional items: Records concerning the planning committee include correspondence, notes, and minutes of a consultation held in Birmingham, Alabama, in May 1972 (folders 1-2 and 1-3). This consultation's objective was to discuss the BGC's philosophy, form, programs, etc. Several papers and proposals were prepared as a result of this consultation, including proposals for an educational training outreach of the BGC (folders 1-25, 2-7, and 2-11) and for the BGC Archives (folder 2-6). The early ideas of what the BGC Museum might entail are documented in folder 2-10; information gathered from other libraries and archives (especially the Presidential libraries) used to help construct a proposal for the BGC Library and Archives is found in folders 1-1 (possible choices of sites), 1-5, 1-6, 2-5, 2-12, and 2-14.

Correspondence from the planning committee is a substantial part of the collection, and includes the following persons: Joseph Armisano, architect folder 1-11); John Corts, BGEA staff member in charge of coordination of planning for the BGC (folder 1-12); John Dettoni, research analyst (folder 1-13); Lois Ferm, BGEA archivist and librarian (folder 1-14); Leighton Ford (folders 1-15, 16) files includes material on Christian designer Peter Wolf, who was interested in designing the BGC Museum; Billy Graham (folder 1-17); Philip Hammer, economic consultant (folder 1-18); Timothy L. Smith, pastor of Wollaston (Massachusetts) Church of the Nazarene and participant in Birmingham Consultation; (folder 1-19); Ted W. Ward, professor, Institute for International Studies, Michigan State University and participant in Birmingham Consultation (folder 1-20); Stephanie Wills, Mr. Graham's secretary (folder 1-21). Folder 2-13 contains a volume entitled "Billy Graham Center Handbook," which was prepared by BGC director Don Hoke just prior to his leaving the BGC staff. In it, Hoke assembled a history of the BGC, and of the individual divisions (archives, library, and museum). For each of these, Hoke described the present status of the work and his recommendations for the future. Also discussed were various outreach programs of the BGC, fund-raising, public relations, and budget.

Records of the ceremonies attendant to the construction of the BGC include newspaper clippings and publicity from the 1977 ground breaking (folders 1-26, 2-3, OS1), and tapes of that event (T1, T2). Folder 1-26 also includes material on the cornerstone laying, and folders 1-7 through 1-10 contain copies of the contents of the cornerstone. Copies of audio tapes and photographs in the cornerstone have been separated to Audio Tape and Photograph Files; see Location Records in this guide. A checklist of contents is in folder 1-9; it is annotated to reflect what items on the list are not in this collection. There are also some photos and slides of the event, described in the relevant location records below.

The BGC's dedication in September 1980, is documented by newspaper clippings (folder 2-2 and OS 1) and material in folders 1-22 (including the program book) through 1-24. See also Mel Lorentzen’s files on the planning of the event in boxes 73, 74 and 75. The BGC visitors' register for the month of dedication is in folder 3-1. Video tapes (V1 through V6) of the dedication ceremony the morning of September 13; the gospel concert with Jeannette Cliff George's portrayal of blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby, and entertainment by musicians Ken Medema, Larnelle Harris, Myrna White, and John Wilson; and a crusade on September 14, featuring BGEA Team members Billy Graham, Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea, John Innes, and Tedd Smith, are part of this collection: see Location Records for Video Tapes. A "Forum on the Church's Future" was held the previous week in conjunction with the dedication. Video tapes V7 through V11 record four of the six sessions in this Forum. (See also audio tapes T267-T269) The panel topics and panelists were:

COMMUNICATIONS: Walter Brovald, Professor, University of Minnesota; James Engel, Professor, Wheaton College; Roger Palms, Editor, Decision, magazine; Pat Robertson, President, Christian Broadcasting Network

CHURCH/PARA-CHURCH RELATIONSHIPS: Bill Bright, President, Campus Crusade for Christ; James Kennedy, Pastor, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Jay Kesler, President, Youth for Christ; John Williams, Pastor, St. Stephen Baptist Church, Kansas City, Missouri

NEW MODELS IN EVANGELISM: Arthur deKruyter, Pastor, Christ Church, Oak Brook, Illinois; Leighton Ford, BGEA; Paul Moore, Pastor, Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, New York City, New York; Ruth Siemens, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship

PERSPECTIVES ON EVANGELICALS: Robert Dugan, Director, NAE Office of Public Affairs; George Gallup, Gallup Polls; Ralph Martin, Servant Ministries; David Wells, Professor, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

See also publicity material in folder 1-22.

This collection includes material from the summer 1981; "Preaching for Commitment" workshop, which spanned two weeks, and offered to participants the opportunity to hear lectures on the subject and do research in BGC holdings in the area of preaching. Dr. David Maclagan, pastor of St. John's Church, Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland, was the main speaker at the workshop. Video tapes V12 through V24 are sessions of this workshop; see Location Records for details and other speakers' names.

The early history of the BGC is well documented in a comprehensive set of newspaper clippings spanning a decade, 1971-1981 (folders 1-28 through 2-1, and 2-4).

*****

Sub-series: II. Administrative files

Arrangement: Alphabetical, Chronological

Date Range: 1974-2011

Volume: 15.1 cubic feet

Boxes: 4-93

Geographic coverage: United States, China, central Europe and Russia

Type of documents: Minutes, reports, correspondence, brochures, curriculum, departmental self- studies, budgets

Correspondents: Hudson Taylor Armerding, John Corts, Sterling Huston, David E. Johnston, Center directors William Shoemaker, Jim Kraakevik, Lon Allison, and other administrators and staff.

Notes: This series is intended to receive on a continuing basis a basic minimum of materials that document the ongoing work of the BGC.

Special mention is made in the box list of any files for particular conferences sponsored by a BGC department. Special mention is also made of files relating to Scholars in Residence or Visiting Scholars who were doing sponsored research at the Center. If the Archives does not currently have any files for a particular category, that category is marked "(empty)".