Nearly 1,000 people joined Franklin Graham along with actor and author Kirk Cameron for two sold out readings of his children’s book Saturday at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Will Graham opened the event with prayer and Cameron led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by everyone singing “God Bless America” in unison.
Cameron then read aloud his book, As You Grow, published by Brave Books, to the children. Nearly 1,000 people attended the special event.
Meanwhile, Will Graham said Cameron reminds him of his grandfather, Billy Graham, and his father, Franklin Graham, because of his boldness, adding, “I’m grateful that he stands up for Jesus Christ and for our Christian faith,” the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association quoted him saying.
In a social media post on Monday, Cameron shared video footage of the event showing a sea of people waiting to hear him speak:
Cameron’s read aloud events at libraries have faced opposition, once from trans activists in Arkansas. In December at the Indianapolis Public Library, the organization initially tried to keep him from reading the book but eventually caved and allowed the event to take place.
A press release from Brave Books said its staff members have “faced adversity at many of their story hour events due to pushback from the library staff and/or activists.”
The release said of Saturday’s read aloud:
What this story hour meant, though, is that no matter where Kirk goes, whether it’s a library like Billy Graham’s or whether it’s enemy territory like his upcoming story hour in Seattle, Kirk is seeing the same amount of people come to each event (averaging 600 per event). This is evidence that all over this country, even in far-left cities, there are much more people who want to hear what Kirk has to say than what a drag queen has to say. Kirk has brought many people the voice of God’s truth and his bravery is making an impact nationwide.
Rev. Franklin Graham invited Cameron to read his book aloud to the audience on Saturday, according to Breitbart News.
He praised the author for “taking a stand for the voice of Christians to be at the table in today’s cancel culture where it seems ‘anything goes’ until it comes to Jesus Christ. We need to teach our children the truth of God’s Word, and that’s exactly what Kirk wants to do.”
Video footage shows a long line of families waiting to have Cameron sign their copies of his book:
Rev. Franklin Graham later shared photos taken at the event and said Cameron was a “great encouragement” to those in attendance:
Meanwhile, Cameron described the event and location as “a breath of fresh air,” adding every library they have gone to they have experienced some kind of opposition. However, this time it was different because Franklin Graham, the library workers, and families openly welcomed them.
“The Billy Graham Library is more than a library. It’s a ministry and my hope is that parents and caregivers walked away from the story hour ready to receive the torch from me,” he stated.
“I hope parents will not stop with their own children but they will look to heavenize beyond their own homes and beyond society, so we can turn America back to the values and blessings that made it the greatest Country in the world,” the author concluded.