Actor Kevin Sorbo has had a storied Hollywood career, but despite fame, money, and the wild success of TV shows and movies like “Hercules” and “God’s Not Dead,” he’s never strayed from his childhood faith.
“In later teenage years in my 20s, I did a lot of stupid things,” he recently told CBN News during a wide-ranging interview. “But I never went away from my faith. I never had that crisis where I didn’t believe in God or believe in Jesus.”
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Sorbo, a second-generation Norwegian, described growing up near Lake Minnetonka, in a small town about 20 miles outside of Minneapolis to loving parents who were “very devoted Christians.”
“My mom’s still alive at 92,” Sorbo said. “My father passed 12 years ago. My best friend, he’s the best man at my wedding. My dad, I miss him every day.”
As a teen, Sorbo was part of a youth group, listening to sermons that made the Bible applicable to his young life and experience.
And when he was just 13, an event unfolded that only added to that powerful faith rooting.
“When I was 13, we took a field trip to the St. Paul fairgrounds with the Rev. Billy Graham,” Sorbo said. “It was a hot August night. There [were], like, 300,000 people there outside. It was amazing — full moon was out and Billy Graham’s, like, incredible, even though he’s a mile away on the stage.”
Little did Sorbo know, but he’d end up meeting Graham that night. As he was sitting and talking with someone during the gathering, he felt a hand on his head.
“I turned around and it was Billy Graham,” Sorbo said. “And he had his security guys with him, of course. But his head was perfectly behind the full moon. It’s like these rays coming out of his head. And I … got goosebumps.”
The encounter stuck with Sorbo. Years later, the actor made it big and then publicly recounted the story to the late TV host Larry King. That’s when Graham’s publicist reached out to tell Sorbo that Graham’s team was looking to do a “Chicken Soup” book based [on stories about encounters with Billy Graham.
Sorbo’s story was included in the book, and he even ended up helping with publicity for the project.
“It was really cool,” Sorbo said, describing the full-circle moment. “I’ve become good friends with [Graham’s son] Franklin Graham ever since then. … That was kind of an important time in my life.”
To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.
Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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