Bring People Together
Bridge building also means emphasizing ways that people can
work together, not just work independently.
Rick Marshall, reflecting on the lasting effects of a Graham
campaign points to the cooperation between the various churches
in a community as perhaps its most significant accomplishment.
“Building this cooperation was so important to Billy’s strategy that
a team of six to ten of his people would work for a year or more
to mobilize the local churches, which spanned the breadth of
Christianity.
“We adapted our plans to local needs and opportunities,” said
Marshall, “and this development of the mission was very unify-
ing, very cross-denominational. At the end of that yearlong
process, Billy would come in. The public event itself we viewed as
the tip of the iceberg.
“We see the impact of a campaign as 45 percent preparation,
45 percent preservation, and 10 percent proclamation,” Marshall
continued. “The big public meetings [the ‘proclamation’] get the
most visibility, but the real heart of a mission is largely unseen by
the public and takes place primarily in the local churches.”
Building bridges among a wide spectrum of churches led to
long-lasting effects. For many of us in leadership, the relation-
ships bridge building produces may turn out to be the most sig-
nificant thing we accomplish.
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham