Southern California Sunday Release***MEDIA ADVISORY***
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HARVEST CRUSADE CONCLUDES TONIGHT AFTER DRAWING SOME 68,000 TO FIRST TWO EVENINGS
| WHAT: |
Final Night of Harvest Crusade to Feature Music from Grammy Winners Jars of Clay, Steven Curtis Chapman and Crystal Lewis, and a Talk from Greg Laurie |
| EVENTS: |
TONIGHT, Sunday, July 17
Southern California Harvest
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
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7 p.m. nightly
(doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
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After packing 48,000 people into Angel Stadium on Saturday night for freestyle Motocross featuring X-Games riders, edgy music by Kutless, Jeremy Camp and TobyMac, and a straightforward message of faith by evangelist Greg Laurie, the Southern California Harvest Crusade concludes tonight. So far, more than 68,000 have gathered in Anaheim this weekend for a high-impact message about faith and eternity, with more than 6,000 making commitments of faith in Christ. This evening's program will feature music from Grammy winning musicians Jars of Clay and Steven Curtis Chapman and Grammy-nominated vocalist Crystal Lewis, as well as a talk from Laurie.
On Saturday evening Laurie addressed a crowd comprise primarily of young people, delivering a message called, "Are We Living in the Last Days?" "Whatever pleasures you're experiencing in this life, they will never match the love that God has for you," said Laurie. "Are you ready to meet God? He doesn't want to judge you, He wants to forgive you."
Called the "evangelist of the future" by Graham, Laurie draws on contemporary means to describe the relevance of faith in today's world at each Harvest Crusade event, but chooses to keep the message consistent and simple as he presents a message of God's love. Laurie's talks encompass topics that appeal to people of any age and answer questions like: Why am I here? Is God real? What happens when I die?
Spreading the Word Through New Technology
For those not able to make it to Angel Stadium during the weekend, each night of the Southern California Harvest Crusade will be broadcast live on the Internet (www.harvestcrusades.org) and, for the first time, portions of the crusade will be uploaded to iTunes nightly.
In a partnership between Harvest, The GodCast Network, and Life Spring, a series of four podcasts were produced during the week prior to the crusade, providing a background on the message the music, the people, and the experience of the Harvest Crusade. Six podcasts will be produced during the crusade weekend, including the nightly messages given evangelist Greg Laurie and the unique sound-seeing tours of all aspects of the crusade events, including interviews with attendees as well as musical guests. Finally, two additional podcasts will be produced after the crusade, focusing on the experience of those who attended. The podcasts can be found on the web at http://www.harvestpodcast.org or http://harvest.godcast.org.
Nightly Southern California Harvest events begin at 7 p.m. and are free of charge. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and Angel Stadium charges $10 for parking. Each night of the event will be interpreted in Spanish, Korean, Arabic, and Vietnamese, and signing for the hearing impaired will be provided.
Greg Laurie, who founded the evangelistic Harvest Crusade events in 1990, also serves as senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the 15 largest churches in the U.S. During the past 16 years, the Harvest Crusades have drawn more than 3 million people to events in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Laurie's television program, Harvest: Greg Laurie, is the top-rated religious program in its timeslot on KTLA in Los Angeles. In addition to the Southern California Harvest Crusade, Harvest hosted 2005 events in Augusta , Ga. , Athens , Ga. , and Santa Monica , Calif. Harvest will travel to Newcastle , NSW, Australia , Sept. 8 – 11 and Christchurch , New Zeland, Sept. 14.
MEDIA NOTE: The Southern California Harvest Crusade is open to media. Media credentials may be picked up at Angel Stadium beginning at 4 p.m. each day, on the field level near the third base dugout. To arrange an interview contact Laura McGowan at cellular (847) 347-5206. For additional information or photos, access the Harvest Newsroom at newsroom.harvest.org. |