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GREATER SILICON VALLEY HARVEST DRAWS DIVERSE CROWD OF
38,000 TO HP PAVILION THIS WEEKEND FOR SINGULAR MESSAGE

Gathered for "Down to Earth Talk About Faith" from Greg Laurie, Oct. 13–15, More Than 4,000 People Dedicate Their Lives to Christ in San Jose

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Oct. 16, 2006—From Latino teens keeping time to the music to Chinese families listening to the program translated into Mandarin on headsets, the diversity of California's South Bay area was well represented at the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest Crusade at San Jose's HP Pavilion this weekend, Oct. 13–15. Although the crowd was diverse, more than 38,000 people, young and old, gathered for a singular message—God's love and free gift of salvation.

In an area where roughly only seven percent of people attend church, no amount of planning could have prepared Harvest Crusade organizers and local pastors for the response to that message throughout the weekend as more than 4,000 walked onto the stadium floor to indicate their faith in Christ after an invitation from Harvest evangelist Greg Laurie. During the Saturday evening Amplify youth event, so many people got up from their seats to pray with volunteer counselors that the aisles at HP Pavilion became spontaneous meeting spots for those who couldn't make it down the stairs from the concourse.

"Something happened in San Jose this weekend that was so powerful it can only be attributed to God," said evangelist Greg Laurie. "In 17 years of crusade ministry, we have never seen such an overwhelming response to the salvation message presented—it was off the charts."

Throughout the Harvest Crusade, Laurie spoke on topics including, "God's Cure for Heart Trouble," "What is the Meaning of Life?" and "Immortality." Addressing the audience Laurie said, "Life is filled with stress—the state of current world events, war, illness, and personal disappointment. But there is hope for a different kind of life—eternal life—if you put your faith in Jesus Christ."

The Greater Silicon Valley Harvest was hosted by more than 270 local churches and marks Harvest's first visit to San Jose and its second visit to Northern California. It also represents the largest full-scale evangelistic crusade in the Silicon Valley since Billy Graham's visit in 1997.

In addition to Laurie's nightly talks, the Greater Silicon Valley Harvest featured music from some of Christian music's most popular artists, including newsboys, Salvador, Jeremy Camp, Seventh Day Slumber, Kutless, Todd Agnew, Crystal Lewis, and Chris Rice.

Harvest Hosts First-Ever Spanish Language Matinee
Seeking to reach the 32 percent Latino population of San Jose, Calif., Harvest with Greg Laurie offered its first-ever Spanish-language event on Saturday afternoon. Conducted entirely in Spanish, the matinee was hosted by more than 80 Spanish-speaking churches in the Silicon Valley area, and included simultaneous translation of Laurie's message from the stage at HP Pavilion.

Local organizing pastor Frank Perez thought that Greg Laurie's message was exactly what the Latino Protestant community needed to hear. "'Lord, let them come together so we can be one,'" Perez, quoted in the San Jose Mercury News (Oct. 13, 2006). "That phrase was ringing in my ears as I listened to [Laurie]."

Laurie's matinee service message focused on the biblical story of the prodigal son, who runs away from home, goes to another country, and finds his life empty. "It's the picture of us running from God and familia, which is important to the Latino community," said Laurie in the same article.

God at Work During Amplify Youth Program
Playing to a capacity crowd of 18,000—another 1,000 were turned away once the stadium was full—the Saturday evening Amplify program featured amped up music from popular Christian bands Kutless and Seventh Day Slumber, as well as from solo artist Jeremy Camp. The crowd in attendance—primarily youth—filled every corner of the San Jose "shark tank" to catch a glimpse of their favorite musicians and then to listen to a message from Harvest Crusade evangelist Greg Laurie entitled, "What is the Meaning of Life?"

"Come as you are to God. Don't wait until you clean up your life before coming to him," Laurie urged the audience. "Come with your addictions and problems. God will accept you as you are, but he doesn't want to leave you that way. You just need to accept Him and turn away from your sin."

Harvest Draws Worldwide Audience Through Enhanced Technology
In addition to the 38,000 who participated in Greater Silicon Valley Harvest events firsthand, more than 30,000 people from 83 countries participated in the crusade virtually through live internet broadcasts ("netcasts") of each program (www.harvestcrusades.org). The netcasts offered during the crusade featured new technical enhancements including cutting-edge graphics and video roll-ins, and a team of hosts to provide commentary and breakaways to viewers, similar to commentary provided for football games to keep the viewer informed about the action happening on the field.

One person watching the netcast on Saturday night commented, "I am thanking the Lord that you have let us have this option to be at the Crusade even by webcast."

Harvest's video podcast programming also offered coverage of each night's message, as well as "behind the scenes" footage and interviews with musicians, volunteers, and crusade staff (www.harvest.org/podcast). All netcast and video podcast programs are archived and available for viewing.

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 17 years, the Harvest Crusades have drawn more than 3.4 million people to events in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Harvest with Greg Laurie hosted events this year in Christchurch, New Zealand (April 28–30), Anaheim, Calif. (Aug. 11–13), and San Jose, Calif. (Oct. 13–15), and 2007 Harvest Crusade events are so far planned for Raleigh, NC (June 22–24), Anaheim, Calif., and Wellington, New Zealand.

Media Contact:
Laura Swickard McGowan
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