‘I hope this is going to raise up an army of young people’ By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, September 20, 2025Franklin Graham told The Christian Post that he believes Charlie Kirk’s assassination has “backfired,” but has shown the Left wants to silence their opponents. | Courtesy BGEASamaritan’s Purse CEO Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, said the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk indicates the Left wants to silence their opponents, but urged Christians to follow Kirk’s example by remaining unafraid.”I think what the assassin was wanting to do, no question, has backfired,” Graham told The Christian Post in a phone interview. “And what the Left is wanting to do is to shut the mouths of anyone who’s willing to speak out.” Graham expressed hope that Kirk, who was allegedly assassinated last week in Utah by a 22-year-old with leftist political views, will have an impact for Christ even in the wake of his death.”I hope this is going to raise up an army of young people who will take a stand for Jesus Christ, who are not afraid to speak out and not afraid that they’re going to be attacked or accused,” he said. “We have to take a stand and be open to the truth and not be afraid to speak the truth.”Graham, who participated last week at the second meeting of the White House Religious Liberty Commission in Washington, D.C., said, “There’s no question that Christian people of faith are under attack.”While he said he hopes his father would be welcomed in the public square if he were alive today, Graham acknowledged the culture has grown increasingly hostile toward Christianity, noting the term “Christian nationalism” has been “coined by the Left to put down people of faith who want to share their faith publicly.””It’s another word to try to put you down, and to shut you up and to make you fearful of taking a stand,” he said, adding that all Christians are called to share their faith boldly regardless of the pejorative labels hurled at them.”And Charlie did that very well,” he said.Graham has emphasized Kirk’s outspoken proclamation of the Gospel, highlighting a tweet Kirk made 11 days before his death that urged his followers to “tell someone about Jesus this weekend.”This week Charlie Kirk posted, “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life … Tell someone about Jesus this weekend.” pic.twitter.com/OW7ysa0FCz— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) September 13, 2025 “I think Charlie’s death put a huge spotlight on this truth: that Jesus Christ is God’s Son,” Graham told CP. “And so what the assassin, I’m sure, wanted to do was to shut Charlie up, to shut his mouth. The opposite effect is taking place.”Graham noted that “millions of people are talking about” the Gospel around the world in the wake of Kirk’s assassination. In what has been dubbed “the Charlie effect,” reports have emerged of a surge in church attendance during the weekend after Kirk’s murder.Though Graham said he is unsure if the United States is on the cusp of revival, which he noted is something that often takes “a long period of time,” he commended Kirk for his outspoken witness to Gen Z especially. He suggested many young people are coming to realize the futility of living for selfish pleasure.A study that was part of Barna’s State of the Church 2025 initiative found that commitment to Jesus Christ has risen sharply among millennial and Gen Z men, with conversions jumping 15 percentage points between 2019 and 2025 among Gen Z men and 19 percentage points among millennial men.Graham said many young people are starting to wonder, “What’s life all about? It’s not a party; there’s an emptiness, and I don’t have it. I’m not fulfilled; I’m not satisfied.””I think people are looking now, because drugs and sex and alcohol don’t satisfy,” he said. “There’s an emptiness in young people, and they’re searching. When Charlie said that Jesus Christ was everything to him, that was huge.””He is going to be remembered for his faith,” Graham added.Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
Franklin Graham says Charlie Kirk assassination ‘backfired’
