Thomas Novelly

tnovelly@tennessean.com

The iconic statue of Southern Baptist evangelist Billy Graham in downtown Nashville will be disassembled Wednesday and moved to North Carolina in the fall, according to LifeWay Christian Resources.

The Christian publishing company plans to move its bronze statue of Graham to its new location at LifeWay’s Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center near Asheville, N.C.

“Ridgecrest is a perfect location for the Graham statue,” said Thomas Rainer, LifeWay president and CEO. “It is only a few miles from the home where Graham has lived most of his life, and it will welcome nearly 70,000 men and women who come to Ridgecrest every year for spiritual training and retreat.”

LifeWay said the decision to move the 9-foot-tall statue of Graham from its original spot at the corner of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Commerce Street, where it has been for more than a decade, was prompted by the sale last year and move of the Christian publishing company’s corporate campus to a smaller facility.

“We have about 3 acres at our new facility,” LifeWay spokesman Marty King said. “Contrasting that with the 15 acres at our old location, the mountainside retreat setting in North Carolina was the most optimal location.”

Downtown Nashville spreads northward with LifeWay move

Donated to LifeWay in 2006, the statue pays tribute to Graham’s career as an author and evangelist. During the presentation of the statue at the Southern Baptist Convention, sculptor Terrell O’Brien said he “tried to bring the Gospel to the forefront in this sculpture and pay tribute to a man who has dedicated his life to preaching all over the world without compromise.”

Since beginning his ministry in 1947, Graham has written 33 books, preached in more than 185 countries and has been on Gallup’s list of the “Ten Most Admired Men in the World” for nearly 60 consecutive years.

Graham, 97, lives in the mountains of North Carolina not far from LifeWay’s retreat center.