Billy Graham celebrates 95th birthday in Asheville

Eyewitness News was in Asheville Thursday night as hundreds of people helped Rev. Billy Graham celebrate his 95th birthday.

The guest list was full of well-known names like Donald Trump and Sarah Palin.

Many people from Charlotte made the trip for the celebration.

They sang “Happy Birthday” to Graham and watched a video message that he had been working on for the past three years.

Graham originally wanted to preach in a stadium one more time, but his son told Channel 9 he did not have the strength to do so.

Instead, he recorded the message in his living room and turned it into a series of videos called "My Hope America."

The video includes powerful messages from the reverend.

Channel 9 was told Billy Graham would not speak because his voice was too weak.

However, he surprised his guests by saying a few words.

There was also a large crowd at the Billy Graham Library on Thursday.

People signed a birthday card on the wall and received a piece of birthday cake to celebrate Graham's 95th birthday, in addition to a free copy of a book about life called "God's Ambassador" to take home.

Read more about Billy Graham's 95th birthday celebration here, and check out a slideshow from the event here

For more on the Rev. Billy Graham, don't forget to check out Channel 9's Billy Graham special section on the website HERE.