SoCal Harvest, an evangelistic crusade started by pastor, evangelist and bestselling author Greg Laurie, is coming to the Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Aug. 23-25. It will be the 30th year in a row that Laurie hosts the crusade, an event that has become not only a cherished Southern California tradition but also the longest-running evangelistic outreach in the U.S.
“I have to admit, it's pretty surprising,” Laurie told the Christian Post in a recent interview. “I never thought 30 years ago, we would still be doing these, especially on the scale that we're doing them. You know, since we started 30 years ago, we've gone all around the country and around the world, and have seen the power of the Gospel on display.
“But to think that we're still in Southern California 30 years later, in the same basic venue, which is the Angel Stadium … I've never heard of anything like this happening anywhere else.”
SoCal Harvest is a free, three-night event featuring performances by leading Christian artists and an evening message by Laurie. This year, for KING & COUNTRY, Passion, Lecrae, Jeremy Camp, Phil Wickham, Newsboys and Chris Tomlin, along other musical groups, will lead worship. On opening night, Brennley Brown of The Voice will sing “God Bless America” during a military appreciation ceremony that will include the unfurling of an American flag across the stadium’s field.
Laurie, whom Billy Graham called the “evangelist of the future,” has preached the gospel in person to millions of people throughout his life. Looking at the current state of America — recent mass shootings, political polarization and record levels of opioid addiction, depression and suicide — Laurie says people, especially the younger generations, need to hear a message of hope.
“I think there's just a lot of people out there that don't understand why there's still a hole in their heart, even when they've checked all the boxes that they think they should check to be happy. I myself used to drink. I myself used to use drugs. And I know how empty I was. Christ-filled that hole in my heart,” Laurie told the Christian Post.
Since 1990, Harvest Crusades have been held in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. More than 8 million people have attended Laurie’s crusades in person or via broadcast online and on TV, and an estimated 535,736 people have made professions of faith in Christ through Harvest Crusades since 1990.
SoCal Harvest will be streamed online on Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Apple TV,CBN and through various broadcast and streaming services. To learn more about SoCal Harvest, visit https://harvest.org/socal-harvest-2019.