Harvest Crusade
Encyclopedia
The Harvest Crusades are evangelical Christian
events held across the United States and in other countries at the invitation of local churches and Christian leaders. Since 1990, they have been attended by over 4 million http://www.harvest.org/crusades/general-information/what-is-a-harvest-crusade.html people in stadiums, amphitheaters, and like venues. Greg Laurie
is the founder and primary speaker. These events also feature performances from Christian
musical artists such as Crystal Lewis
, Dennis Agajanian
, Jars of Clay
, Delirious?
, The Katinas
, Jeremy Camp
, Toby Mac, Kutless
, P.O.D.
, Skillet
, Switchfoot
, Revive
, MercyMe
, and Steven Curtis Chapman
.
ns with the intent to preach the gospel
of
Jesus Christ in a non-traditional, non-church environment. With limited resources, the group pursued a strategy of presenting their interpretation of Christ's message in a contemporary format featuring a casual atmosphere, upbeat music, worship, and a clear presentation of biblical messages.
At the time, many in America were questioning the effectiveness and the future of modern crusade evangelism. Nevertheless, Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
, and Greg Laurie
, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship
in Riverside (currently one of the 12 largest churches in America) believed that the Harvest Crusades had great potential to reach younger Americans. The format was therefore open to all but designed to appeal particularly to youth.
The two preachers rented the Pacific Amphitheatre
in Costa Mesa, CA for several nights in the summer of 1990, not knowing how many people would show up for the event. More than 90,000 people attended what was to be the first Harvest Crusade, featuring Greg Laurie
as the evangelist. Laurie interpreted this as confirmation of his belief that people are still interested in hearing straight talk about life's challenges and problems.
, Harvest Crusades are also held in venues as far from California as Australia
and New Zealand
. The events have cumulatively drawn several million attendees since 1990. These attendees are presented with a simple gospel message and given an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Over 300,000 people have responded to this call during these events and come forward to pray and profess their faith in Christ.
A typical Harvest Crusade begins with worship—a foundation that Laurie believes to be very important. After opening worship, songs from the Harvest Crusade Band (or local "praise teams" depending on the venue) and featured guest musicians perform and share stories of how they believe God has changed their lives. Since all Harvest Crusades are held at the invitation of local churches, it is not uncommon for local pastors and other special guests to offer prayers between musical performances. After the music is finished, Laurie makes a evangelical
presentation of the gospel from the Bible
, often advertised as a "down to earth talk about heaven." This is the cornerstone of the event. At the end of this message, Laurie invites the attendees to come forward toward the stage and publicly repent from their sins, profess their trust in Jesus Christ, and ask for salvation. After coming forward, each individual is greeted by a trained volunteer "decision follow-up counselor" from a local church. These counselors pray with the supplicants, answer questions, and provide them with free materials including a Bible.
Harvest Crusades are always free and open to the public. Some venues the organization has used charge for parking, but Harvest Crusades receives no compensation from these venues. Instead, the organization is supported by private donations.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
events held across the United States and in other countries at the invitation of local churches and Christian leaders. Since 1990, they have been attended by over 4 million http://www.harvest.org/crusades/general-information/what-is-a-harvest-crusade.html people in stadiums, amphitheaters, and like venues. Greg Laurie
Greg Laurie
Greg Laurie serves as the Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California.-Ministry:Laurie, who was born in Long Beach, California, became a Christian under the ministry of Pentecostal evangelist Lonnie Frisbee...
is the founder and primary speaker. These events also feature performances from Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
musical artists such as Crystal Lewis
Crystal Lewis
Crystal Lewis is an American contemporary Christian/Gospel vocalist, songwriter and author.-Early years:Lewis grew up singing in her father's church...
, Dennis Agajanian
Dennis Agajanian
Dennis Agajanian is a Christian musician. Agajanian has played at countless churches across the world, plus he has been featured at the Harvest Crusades and Billy Graham's crusades. He is of Armenian origin. Dennis is a five time Musician of the year, and a three time Entertainer of the year CCMA...
, Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
, Delirious?
Delirious?
Delirious? were an English Christian rock and worship band. For the majority of their career, the lineup featured Martin Smith on vocals and guitar, Stu G on guitar and backing vocals, Jon Thatcher on bass guitar, Tim Jupp on keys and piano, and Stew Smith on drums and percussion...
, The Katinas
The Katinas
The Katinas are a Contemporary Christian music group. The family of five brothers hails from American Samoa, and moved to Washington, USA after the death of their mother in 1988. The group's members sang in church as children, and began playing fairs, soon moving up to nationwide slots opening for...
, Jeremy Camp
Jeremy Camp
Jeremy Thomas Camp is a contemporary Christian musician from Lafayette, Indiana. Camp has released seven albums, four of them RIAA-certified as Gold and two are live albums, and 17 number-one hit songs...
, Toby Mac, Kutless
Kutless
Kutless is a Christian rock band from Portland, Oregon formed in 1999. Since their formation, they have released six studio albums including their latest, It Is Well. The band has also released a live album, Live from Portland. Currently, they have sold almost 2 million records.-Biography:Formed in...
, P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
, Skillet
Skillet (band)
Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife John and Korey Cooper , along with Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison. The band has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose...
, Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
, Revive
Revive (band)
Revive was a Christian rock band based out of Atlanta, Georgia, which consisted of Davette Hanbury, AJ Cheek, Richie Thompson and Michael Wright. Formed in 2004, they had success throughout Australia, releasing two albums, as well as supporting Third Day on a national tour in January 2007...
, MercyMe
MercyMe
MercyMe is an American Christian rock band founded in Greenville, Texas. The band consists of vocalist Bart Millard, keyboardist James Bryson, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul....
, and Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist.After starting his career in the late 1980s as a singer/songwriter of contemporary Christian music, Chapman has since been recognized as one of the most prolific singers in the genre,...
.
Origin
The group was founded in 1990 by a group of Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
ns with the intent to preach the gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
of
Jesus Christ in a non-traditional, non-church environment. With limited resources, the group pursued a strategy of presenting their interpretation of Christ's message in a contemporary format featuring a casual atmosphere, upbeat music, worship, and a clear presentation of biblical messages.
At the time, many in America were questioning the effectiveness and the future of modern crusade evangelism. Nevertheless, Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa is a Christian church located near the boundary between the cities of Costa Mesa and Santa Ana in Orange County. It is the original Calvary Chapel, having grown since 1965 from a handful of people led by Chuck Smith to become the "mother church" of over one thousand...
, and Greg Laurie
Greg Laurie
Greg Laurie serves as the Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California.-Ministry:Laurie, who was born in Long Beach, California, became a Christian under the ministry of Pentecostal evangelist Lonnie Frisbee...
, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship
Harvest Christian Fellowship
Harvest Christian Fellowship was founded in 1979 by Greg Laurie in Riverside, CA. Laurie is currently the senior pastor of thirty years. Harvest is a megachurch with a congregation of 15,000 and growing. The eighth largest church in America and third largest in California, they are currently...
in Riverside (currently one of the 12 largest churches in America) believed that the Harvest Crusades had great potential to reach younger Americans. The format was therefore open to all but designed to appeal particularly to youth.
The two preachers rented the Pacific Amphitheatre
Pacific Amphitheatre
The Pacific Amphitheatre is an amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, Orange County, California, USA. The amphitheatre is located on the grounds of the OC Fair & Event Center....
in Costa Mesa, CA for several nights in the summer of 1990, not knowing how many people would show up for the event. More than 90,000 people attended what was to be the first Harvest Crusade, featuring Greg Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
as the evangelist. Laurie interpreted this as confirmation of his belief that people are still interested in hearing straight talk about life's challenges and problems.
General
In addition to the yearly Southern California event, now held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CaliforniaAnaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, Harvest Crusades are also held in venues as far from California as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The events have cumulatively drawn several million attendees since 1990. These attendees are presented with a simple gospel message and given an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Over 300,000 people have responded to this call during these events and come forward to pray and profess their faith in Christ.
A typical Harvest Crusade begins with worship—a foundation that Laurie believes to be very important. After opening worship, songs from the Harvest Crusade Band (or local "praise teams" depending on the venue) and featured guest musicians perform and share stories of how they believe God has changed their lives. Since all Harvest Crusades are held at the invitation of local churches, it is not uncommon for local pastors and other special guests to offer prayers between musical performances. After the music is finished, Laurie makes a evangelical
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
presentation of the gospel from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, often advertised as a "down to earth talk about heaven." This is the cornerstone of the event. At the end of this message, Laurie invites the attendees to come forward toward the stage and publicly repent from their sins, profess their trust in Jesus Christ, and ask for salvation. After coming forward, each individual is greeted by a trained volunteer "decision follow-up counselor" from a local church. These counselors pray with the supplicants, answer questions, and provide them with free materials including a Bible.
Harvest Crusades are always free and open to the public. Some venues the organization has used charge for parking, but Harvest Crusades receives no compensation from these venues. Instead, the organization is supported by private donations.
2011
- Southern California (Los Angeles), California- September 10 http://uoem.com/september-10-dodger-stadium-outreach-will-focus-on-finding-hope-in-tragedy/1609/
- Dodger Stadium
- Southern California (Anaheim), California - August 12–14 http://uoem.com/weekend-harvest-crusade-draws-115000-people-to-angel-stadium-of-anaheim-for-22nd-annual-outreach/1566/
- Angel Stadium
2009
- Southern California (Anaheim) - August 14–16 http://harvest.org/crusades/2009/anaheim/
- Angel Stadium
- Black Hills, South Dakota - May 15–17 http://harvest.org/crusades/2009/black-hills/
- Plaza Civic Center
- Long Island, New York- June 13–14 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2009/long-island/
- Jones Beach Theater
2008
- Southern California (Anaheim) - August 15–17 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2008/anaheim/
- Angel Stadium
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - October 3–5 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2008/philadelphia/
- Wachovia Center
- New York, New York - October 19 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2008/newyork/
- Madison Square Garden
2007
- Raleigh, North Carolina - June 22–24 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/raleigh/
- RBC Center
- Anaheim, California - August 3–5 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/anaheim/
- Angel Stadium
- Central Valley, California - August 24–26 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/central-valley/
- CSU Stanislaus
- New York, New York - September 23 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/newyork/
- WaMu Theater @ Madison Square Garden
- Wellington, New Zealand - October 26–28 http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/wellington/
- TSB Bank Arena
2006
- San Jose, California
- HP Pavilion
- Anaheim, California
- Angel Stadium
- Christchurch, New Zealand
- Westpac Centre
2005
- Christchurch, New Zealand
- Christchurch Town Hall
- Newcastle, Australia
- Newcastle Entertainment Centre
- Anaheim, California
- Angel Stadium
- Santa Monica, California
- Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
- Augusta & Athens, Georgia
- Augusta Civic Center & Stegeman Coliseum
2003
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Logan Campbell Centre
- Newcastle, Australia
- Newcastle Entertainment Centre
- Anaheim, California
- Edison Field
- Waikiki, Hawaii
- Waikiki Shell