2006 San Jose Release
"2006 GREATER SILICON VALLEY HARVEST WITH GREG LAURIE"
TO VISIT SAN JOSE'S HP PAVILION OCTOBER 13–15
More than 220 Local Churches to Host Largest Community Outreach Since 1997 Billy Graham Crusade
RIVERSIDE, Calif., September 14, 2006—Nearly a decade after Billy Graham brought his 1997 crusades to Northern California, more than 220 local churches are working together to host a full-scale evangelistic outreach called the 2006 Greater Silicon Valley Harvest. The Harvest event will take place at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Oct. 13–15, and will feature a straightforward message about faith from Southern California pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie.
"As we have prepared for the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest over the past two years, church unity has increased to a new level as pastors of a variety of denominations and ethnicities have worked side-by-side," said local steering committee head Gary Zelasko. "Since last April, more than 1,300 people have gathered to pray for the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest, and we are excited to see the impact that the message presented at the Harvest event will have on our community."
During each Harvest program, Laurie will address some of the spiritual questions that are on the minds of many Americans in light of current world events, including: Why am I here on earth? What is the meaning of life? Is the end of the world near? Commenting to The Orange County Register (August 10, 2006) Laurie said, "We don't know what's going to happen. But the end of your own personal world might be near, and my objective is simply to prepare people to meet God through a relationship with Jesus Christ."
With a trademark ability to present the gospel message in a culturally relevant format, drawing on the latest in current events, contemporary Christian music, and technology, Greg Laurie's Harvest Crusade events have drawn more than 3.4 million people to stadiums and arenas around the world since 1990, including 102,000 who recently attended the 17th annual Southern California Harvest at Angel Stadium in Anaheim (Aug. 11–13). Laurie also serves as pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the 15 largest churches in the U.S.
In addition to nightly talks from Laurie, each evening of the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest program will feature some of Christian music's most popular artists, including newsboys, Salvador, Jeremy Camp, Seventh Day Slumber, Kutless, Todd Agnew, Crystal Lewis and Chris Rice. The Harvest event will also include a Saturday evening event called Amplify, designed especially for teens and young adults, as well as a first-ever Saturday midday Spanish-language matinee.
Greater Silicon Valley Harvest Facts and Figures
As preparations are underway for the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest, facts and figures include:
- Some 220 churches are working together to host the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest.
- San Jose will serve as the site for the first Spanish-language matinee in Harvest's 17-year history.
- Some 1,300 local volunteers will serve as follow-up workers during the Harvest event, praying with people in attendance.
- More than 20,000 bumper stickers and 365,000 invitations to the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest will be distributed locally.
- Church youth groups from locales as wide-spread as Riverside, Calif. and Auburn, Calif., will join with teens in San Jose to "take the message to the streets" and hand out some 125,000 Amplify invitations to local youth.
- All three nights of the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest will be broadcast live on the internet at www.harvestcrusades.org.
- Video podcasts of nightly messages from Greg Laurie and a "behind the scenes" look at the Harvest Crusade events will be made available at www.harvest.org/podcast.
Greater Silicon Valley Harvest Schedule of Events
(events are free and open to the public)
Friday, October 13: 7 p.m. (gates open at 5:30 p.m.)
- Featuring Greg Laurie and music from newsboys, Salvador, and the Harvest Crusade Band
Saturday, October 14, Spanish language matinee: noon (gates open at 10:30 a.m.)
- Featuring Greg Laurie and music from Salvador and Ericson Alexander Molano
Saturday, October 14: Amplify youth event: 7 p.m. (gates open at 5:30 p.m.)
- Featuring Greg Laurie and music from Kutless, Jeremy Camp, and Seventh Day Slumber
Sunday, October 15: 6 p.m. (gates open at 4:30 p.m.)
- Featuring Greg Laurie and music from Crystal Lewis, Todd Agnew, Chris Rice, and the Harvest Crusade Band
The Greater Silicon Valley Harvest begins at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights (gates open at 5:30 p.m.), and 6 p.m. on Sunday night (gates open at 4:30 p.m.), while the Saturday Spanish language matinee begins at noon (gates open at 10:30 a.m.). All events are free of charge. HP Pavilion charges $10 for parking. Each night of the event will be interpreted in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean; signing for the deaf will be provided.
Each night of the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest is being broadcast live on the internet (www.harvestcrusades.org). In addition, video podcasts from each night's program and a "behind the scenes" look at the Harvest event are available at www.harvest.org/podcast.
Media Contact:
Laura Swickard McGowan
Laura@lauramcgowan.com
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(847) 328-8009 |
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(847) 866-9511 |
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