Contact: Erik Ogren, 704-577-2109, eogren@bgea.org

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 15, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks that shocked Paris Friday night, a team of chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is headed to France's capital city to offer emotional and spiritual care.

At the direction of Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), an international consortium of BGEA's U.S., Canada and U.K. Rapid Response Teams has coordinated together to send six French-speaking, crisis-trained chaplains to offer emotional and spiritual care and support in the heart of Paris.

"Join me in praying for the French people," Franklin Graham said, "all those injured and the loved ones of the victims of these barbaric attacks."

Jack Munday, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, added, "This has been reported as the worst tragedy in France since World War II. We want to encourage them, let them know we’re here to support them."

The chaplains—who will be working directly with a church in Paris, as well as up to three other Christian organizations—are scheduled to arrive on Monday morning. This will be the first BGEA internationally-coordinated relief effort since the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Billy Graham's ministry in Paris included four Crusades, most recently in 1986. BGEA's Internet Evangelism ministry has partnered with Paris-based Jesus.net since 2011.

"We'll be there for the people on the streets, the storekeepers, the café workers to listen and provide comfort," Munday said. "They need to know that God loves them and hasn't forgotten them."

For more information on the ministry, including videos, photos, news articles and an interactive map of former and current deployments, visit www.billygraham.org/rrt. Updates can also be found at www.facebook.com/RRTChaplains.

About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team:
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was developed by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has since grown into a nationwide network of chaplains in 48 states who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed to more than 200 disaster sites, including shootings, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.