Area contributors will meet whatever budget shortfall the local Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Billy Graham mission committee faces, organizers said tonight.

        “All of the expenses will be met — in entirety — by contributions met locally. We come into tonight's mission assured of that,” local spokesman Rick Segal.

        Before Sunday's concluding service, the four-day mission had met 86 percent of its $2.85 million budget.

        Earlier in the weekend, organizers said they were concerned about falling short, making this the first mission in recent memory to run into a financial deficit.

        Before gates at Paul Brown Stadium opened Thursday, about 70 percent of the budget had already been raised.

        Mr. Segal said area donators told mission organizers they will make sure there is no deficit.

        “If we come out with any shortfall after tonight, we have people in this community that have agreed in advance that there will be no short fall,” Mr. Segal said, without identifying potential contributors.

        “As we would say, God is good.”

        Timothy Johnson, finance chairman of the local Graham mission, said even if today's collection fizzles, “We have had sufficient pledges to cover the budget, no matter what happens tonight.”

        Mr. Johnson, who delivered today's offertory prayer, said he personally gathered many of the pledges of financial support from institutions and individuals before the mission began Thursday.

        “We may even have more left over to fund the programs locally after the mission is over,” Mr. Johnson said.

        The mission's expenses include $150,000 for the rental of Paul Brown Stadium. Another $90,000 is expected to be spent replacing football turf that is torn up by the massive stage and plywood road built down the middle of the field.

        Organizers had hoped to raise nearly $900,000 from the offerings taken up at each service. But lower-than-expected attendance during the first half of the mission meant the mission needed to collect more than $500,000 Saturday and today to meet their goal.

        Total costs might be less than the mission budgeted, said Larry Davis, mission co-chair.

        “We have a lot of bills that will never materialize,” he said. “I believe that they are going to find that their costs are a lot less than the original estimate. And our agreement with them is to pay the bill, and not the estimate.”

        Besides those who pledged to meet any financial deficit, Mr. Davis said contributions continue to pour in.

        “One of the most intriguing things about doing this is sitting down to open the contribution envelopes,” he said.

        “Sometimes you open it up and it's a single dollar, and you know that some little old lady gave you a dollar because that's all she had. It's been kind of fun to watch the little individual dollars add up."

Sunday crowd of 65,600 sets record
Mission brought people together
Budget shortfall would be covered
Coverage of Saturday's mission