Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Special Assistant to Billy Graham.

Evangelistic organization, founded in 1950 to: operate Billy Graham's ministry in a business-like way; provide a non-profit entity to receive donations for crusades and related ministries; plan and coordinate evangelistic meetings throughout the world; and with its agents and subsidiaries produce radio and television programs, films, DECISION magazine, and books and records. The BGEA was instrumental in: founding the magazine, CHRISTIANITY TODAY, and Wheaton College's Billy Graham Center; sponsoring a series of international and regional conferences on evangelism, beginning in 1966. It's headquarters was in Minneapolis, with offices in other U.S. and foreign cities.

The Special Assistant to Billy Graham worked on assigned projects, reporting directly to Graham. Between 1959 and 1978, Robert O. Ferm (born September 20, 1911) served in this capacity. His assignments included: co-editor, associate editor and consulting editor of DECISION magazine (1960-1978); Team Coordinator (1961-1964); Dean of Schools of Evangelism (1965-1968); research on conversion (1970-1978). Ferm retired from the BGEA in 1978.

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