Harvest Online ::: News

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Sept. 25, 2003—Reaching new audiences and spanning the globe with a message of hope, Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie concluded its 14th season last weekend with a two-day crusade event in Auckland, New Zealand. This year’s Harvest Crusade events drew more than 167,000 people to stadiums, arenas, and concert venues in five cities, including: Honolulu, Hawaii; Lahaina (Maui), Hawaii; Anaheim, Calif.; Newcastle, Australia; and Auckland, New Zealand. An additional 19,000 people from 48 states and 40 countries logged on to the Internet to watch a live webcast of the Anaheim Harvest Crusade.

More than 12,000 people made decisions to put their faith in Jesus Christ as a result of the crusade events.

With a trademark ability to present a straightforward Gospel message in a culturally-relevant format, Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie translated this message to a variety of audiences in 2003—at home and overseas. “While Laurie makes liberal use of modern methods in presenting the Gospel, his ministry is built on a solidly conservative foundation…Presenting a basic a Christian message, he will try to help young and old look down their own roads and decide whether to let Jesus steer their journeys of life.” (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif., Aug. 7, 2003)

A Broader Reach in 2003:

Harvest attracted a new audience in its own backyard during the Anaheim crusade (Aug. 8-10) with the advent of the first-ever Summerfest, an outdoor youth festival attended by some 20,000 people. Summerfest featured a Freestyle Motocross demonstration led by top ten ranked X-Games riders Jamie McGuire and Dave Domingos, as well as a professional skateboard exhibition led by top X-Games skater Anthony Carney. In addition to the sports exhibitions, Summerfest featured music from top Christian bands Sonic Flood, Kutless, and The Elms, as well as a Kids’ Zone and a Sports Zone.
85% of the local churches in Newcastle, Australia (282 churches of a variety of denominations) participated in the Hunter Harvest Crusade, held Sept. 11-14, at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. The Hunter Harvest, the first-ever Harvest event in the region, drew more than 26,000 people over four nights, filling the arena to capacity and necessitating an overflow room. During the Saturday night Youth Jam, featuring Switchfoot and The Lads, returning audience members were asked to give up their seats so first-time attendees did not have to stand outside to listen to the program. Attendance during the Youth Jam reached 7,600, breaking all-time attendance records at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
Harvest traveled to New Zealand for the first time in 2003, drawing some 6,900 people to the Logan Campbell Centre in Auckland for the Auckland Harvest Mission.

With nightly attendance at the arena surpassing the 3,000-person seating capacity, alternate seating was provided for more than 15 percent of those in attendance at the two-night event, Sept. 19 & 20. At the conclusion of the Auckland Harvest event, 651 people indicated decisions to put their faith in Christ. The Auckland Harvest Mission served as the launch event for a three-year, locally led evangelistic effort in Auckland, and was sponsored by more than 100 area churches and organizations representing a wide variety of denominations.

A Powerful Program:

Illustrating his message of God’s sacrificial love for humanity, Harvest Crusade evangelist Greg Laurie introduced a four-minute clip from the upcoming Mel Gibson film, The Passion, during the Anaheim, Newcastle, and Auckland crusades. The film portrayal of Christ’s final twelve hours on earth provided powerful, vivid images of the crucifixion of Christ, leaving audiences in awe. “God loves you and sent His son to make the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind by going to the cross and dying for our sins,” Laurie explained to crowds.

Popular music is a trademark of the Harvest Crusades, and the 2003 crusades did not disappoint, with a variety of artists performing throughout each event. Musical guests at the Harvest Crusades included Switchfoot, Delirious, Audio Adrenaline, and Crystal Lewis, as well as local bands from Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. New in 2003, the Sunday evening program in Anaheim featured “A Night of Worship,” led by Mercy Me, Tommy Walker, Crystal Lewis, Lenny LeBlanc, the Harvest Worship Band, and a 1000-voice community choir. Interspersed with the music, author Max Lucado delivered a five-minute devotional message.

2003 Statistics:

Honolulu, July 19
6,000 attended/600 decisions

Lahaina (Maui), July 20
2,500 attended/300 decisions

Anaheim, Aug. 8-10
126,000 attended/8,018 decisions  19,000 webcast

Australia, Sept. 11-14
26,200 attended/2,437 decisions

New Zealand, Sept. 19-20
6,900 attended/651 decisions

The 2004 Harvest Crusade schedule will be announced in December.

Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif. (the eighth largest church in the U.S.), founded the evangelistic, Southern California-based Harvest Crusades in 1990. Dubbed a “bang-up, new fashioned revival,” (TheOrange County Register, July, 2001), the Harvest Crusades have drawn more than 3 million people to stadiums and arenas across the U.S. Australia, and New Zealand.