Over the weekend, nearly 7,000 people made professions of faith during a two-day evangelistic event by pastor Greg Laurie that included performances by some of the top names in Christian music and a message by Laurie.
It was the 34th year of Laurie’s Harvest Crusade. It was held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif, the home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.
“There was an electric, revival-like atmosphere in that room both nights. You could sense God’s presence,” Laurie said in a press release sent to Christian Headlines. “I want to thank all of those that worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this as many described it as the best Harvest Crusade of all time.”
With the theme “Jesus Changes Everything,” the outreach drew 215,000 online viewers and 32,000 in-person attendees.
The 2023 Harvest Crusade Welcomed Over 32,000 People to Packed Out Honda Center and 200,000 Online
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) July 4, 2023
Nearly 7,000 made professions of faith in two-day worship experience
This past weekend, the Harvest Crusade hosted the 34th year of its annual evangelistic crusade in Southern… pic.twitter.com/fWChIe411z
Nearly 7,000 people made professions of faith – 3,700 of which were in-person. Another 3,000 online viewers made professions.
“Everybody worships something,” Laurie said during the crusade. “Some people worship things. Some people worship relationships. Some people worship a career, and some people worship God. And I wonder, ‘Who is your god tonight? You have a god.’”
Whatever you give up to follow Jesus will be more then made up to you. Here’s a clip from the Harvest Crusade from last Saturday. pic.twitter.com/xdIXPfOpyd
— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) July 4, 2023
Some 270 churches partnered with Harvest for the event.
This year’s Harvest Crusade included musical performances by Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, Taya, Phil Wickham and the Passion worship band.
“We had an incredible immersive worship experience in the round,” Laurie said. “Thousands of people were turned away each night because every seat was taken by excited believers who wanted to worship. At the same time, this was our most effective evangelistic event that we perhaps have ever had.”
The first Harvest Crusade was launched in the 1990s by Laurie’s Harvest Christian Fellowship as a way to “reach more people with Jesus Christ,” according to its website. They’ve been held in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, with more than 8 million attending in-person. More than 700,000 people have made professions of faith.
Photo courtesy: ©Harvest Crusade, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.