Harvest Online ::: News

After filling the Newcastle Entertainment Centre to capacity in 2003, Harvest with Greg Laurie will return to Newcastle, Sept. 8–11, for "Harvest '05," an evangelistic outreach that is being hosted by more than 200 churches throughout the Hunter region. Harvest '05 will feature down to earth talk about heaven from Southern California pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie as well as nightly performances from top international and Australian musicians.

Laurie has been called the "evangelist of the future" by Billy Graham, and draws on contemporary means to describe the relevance of faith in today's world at each Harvest event. 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?

In addition to nightly talks from Laurie, each evening of the Harvest '05 program will feature music spanning genres from alternative to rock to Gospel. Musicians for Harvest '05 will include award-winning artists Delirious, Rebecca St. James, Planetshakers, Hillsong/Darlene Zschech, Steve Grace, and the Harvest Band.

After filling Angel Stadium to capacity at its Southern California Harvest Youth Jam in July, Harvest will offer a similar event in Newcastle, presenting two programs on Saturday specifically for youth, at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Harvest Youth Jam program will feature a message from Greg Laurie and music from Delirious and Planetshakers. Due to the high attendance for this event in 2003, provisions have been made for overflow seating.

Laurie, who founded the evangelistic Harvest 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. Since 1990 the Harvest events have drawn more than 3.2 million people to arenas and stadiums in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

In addition to Harvest '05 in Newcastle, Harvest hosted 2005 events in Augusta, Ga., Athens, Ga., Santa Monica, Calif., and Anaheim, Calif. The final Harvest event for 2005 will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand on 14 Sept.

MEDIA NOTE: Harvest '05 begins at 7:30 p.m. each evening, and is free of charge. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and Newcastle Entertainment Centre charges $5 for parking.