Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California was founded in 1974. Today, it is one of the largest churches in America. Harvest doesn't have one of those mega-church feels to it, however. The basics of biblical Christianity have remained the focus. The church does not exist for the church, but for the message of the Lord. Since I discovered the church in 1979, the only thing that has changed is the size of the church, and the creation of the Harvest Crusades.
Twenty years ago, this month, Harvest decided that with the massive growth of the church in Riverside, the responsibility of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ was increasing, and the need to reach out to more people was the duty of the church. The first Harvest Crusade at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, California, drew 35,000 people, nearly filling the stadium, and launching a national evangelistic ministry that has become a welcomed event each year at Angels Stadium, and around the world. Worldwide, Harvest Christian Fellowship's Greg Laurie has reached more than 3.8 million people who have attended these events, a million of those people at events outside of Anaheim. The various other locations have included New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh N.C., Athens Georgia, Fayetteville Arkansas, Waikiki, Fort Lauderdale, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 317,000 recorded professions of faith have resulted from these events.
Tonight is the third evening of this weekend's event in Anaheim, and as always, the events this weekend were filled with inspirational music by a variety of Christian music bands, prayer, a powerful message from Greg Laurie, and an invitation for the attendees to come to Christ.
This year's event follows a year of reflection since the death of Christopher Laurie, who joined the Lord July 24, 2008. Greg and Cathe Laurie's son died in a single-car crash while on his way to the church, leaving behind his pregnant wife, and daughter. After the traumatic event Greg Laurie has grown in ways he never expected, seeing everything a little differently, and becoming aware of how many others out there hurt from the loss of a child. Now, his message carries a new perspective by adding a deeper dimension regarding the storms of life.
The message over the years has remained consistent with the Word of God, though the music, style, and a greater opening of his heart since the death of his son, has tweaked the event here and there. The journey of the last twenty years for Greg, as with his church members, has been one of personal growth. Greg is not the person he was twenty years ago. He has become a stronger person, and more intent on continuing, and growing, the outreach God has blessed him with.
To learn more about Greg Laurie, Harvest Christian Fellowship, and the Harvest Crusades, visit Harvest.org.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
By Douglas V. Gibbs
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