In June 1972, Campus Crusade for Christ sponsored Explo ’72, a music, evangelism, and training event featuring Reverend Billy Graham and Dr. Bill Bright. They brought together artists like Love Song, Andrae Crouch and the Disciples, Larry Norman, Children of the Day, Johnny and June Carter Cash and Kris Kristofferson.

About 80,000 middle and high school students gathered at the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas, Texas. After training in evangelism, the students scattered across the city to spread the good news, before returning home to share their faith in cities across the country.

Together ’22 will take place June 24-25, to mark the 50th anniversary of the event and “empower the next generation of Christians to ‘make Jesus known’.”

Evangelist Nick Hall spearheads the free stadium event. The founder and president of Pulse Ministry, he has a desire to lead people to Christ and equip others to do so. It brings together speakers, teachers and Christian music artists for the weekend of worship, evangelism, prayer and training.

For Hall, there is a personal connection to Explo ’72. He said The Daily Citizen that students from North Dakota traveled to Dallas and heard the gospel, then brought it back to their state to share it with others.

Hall’s father became a believer thanks to these students, a direct result of Explo ’72.

Hall has preached the gospel to more than five million people and seen nearly two million people respond to Pulse initiatives.

He has studied revivals and Christian revivals through the centuries. One of the characteristics he sees is a heart-level awakening and transformation in individuals, which then leads to a reformation of society. We desperately need it today.

Hall thinks millennials and Gen Z, who are cause-driven and willing to sacrifice and give up safety and security for their beliefs, are ripe for such a revival.

“Only God can satisfy their ultimate need and give them a reason to live,” he said.

There are two goals for Together ’22, Hall told us. The first is to equip these young people to talk about Jesus. The second is to send them home – to recount their experiences with the Lord and lead others to Christ.

Rather than playing it safe, these younger generations can channel their enthusiasm to revolutionize the world – just like Jesus did.

Just as Explo ’72 brought together the youthful enthusiasm of the Jesus Movement with evangelical leaders like Graham and Bright, Together ’22 connects the passion of young people with seasoned Christian leaders like Frances Chan, Tony Evans, Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, Lou Engle and Reverend Samuel Rodriguez.

Other speakers and performers at the free stadium event include Jonathan Evans, Lecrae, Israel Houghton and New Breed, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Will Graham and Miel San Marcos.

We the Kingdom, Evan Kraft, Ebony Small, KB, Anne Wilson and Dallas Jenkins, director of The chosenwill also appear.

Jenkins will air a documentary on the impact of The chosen. Like Hall, her father, author Jerry B. Jenkins, was deeply impacted by Explo ’72. In fact, Dallas Jenkins was named after the city where the event took place.

Josh McDowell will speak at Together ’72 and Love Song, the Christian band that was part of Jesus Music at the start, will perform. Both appeared fifty years ago during the initial gathering. Hundreds of other people who attended this event have also signed up for an Explo ’72 meeting.

Hall’s vision is that young people will be trained and encouraged to use their talents for the gospel in all areas of life – media, social media, business, music, education and the arts.

He is very excited about the $500 grants that will be offered to young people who submit project proposals that would use the money to share their faith. The ministry offers 500 such grants.

The Billy Graham Evangelical Association, Compassion International, The Send, UpperRoom and other ministries are partnering with the event to provide practical ways for young people to get involved in ministry.

Together ’72 kicks off on Sunday, June 19, with a week of practices and nightly events before the weekend’s events at the Cotton Bowl.

Related articles and resources:

Set ’22

ministry of impulses

Watch clips from Explo ’72 – complete with all those groovy ’70s trends, Jesus hair and music.