WASHINGTON — 

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today honored the late Rev. Billy Graham during a speech on the Senate floor. Thune lauded Graham for spreading the good news of Christ throughout the world, and he shared a personal memory of Graham from when he and his wife, Kimberley, sang in the choir for Graham’s 1986 Crusade in Washington, D.C.

Excerpt from Thune’s speech below:

“Mr. President, last week, we lost a great man of faith.

“At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives his disciples the Great Commission: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’

“If any one man may be said to have fulfilled that charge, it was Billy Graham.

“Over a ministry that spanned more than 60 years, Billy Graham truly made disciples of all nations, preaching the Gospel in the United States and around the world.

“In the days since his death, many have remembered Billy Graham as a spiritual adviser to several presidents, which he was.

“But neither his association with presidents nor the famous of this world ever distracted him from his primary purpose, which was making sure that the good news of Christ reached everyone.”