50,000 People Pray “Sinner’s Prayer” at Angel Stadium With Evangelist Greg Laurie
After 35 years of evangelistic outreach in Southern California, there’s still nothing like a Harvest Crusade. And this year, God moved in such a mighty way, packing out the stadium and transforming lives the same way He’s always done—through the proclamation of the gospel message.
This year, you kept the Harvest Crusade the most significant evangelistic event of the year with an amazing night of community, fun, and hope. In all, we saw over 250,000 people participate in this year’s event—50,000 in the stadium and 200,000 online—with over 5,000 people making professions of faith in Jesus Christ. To God be the glory!
America’s Worship Night
This year’s crusade featured powerful performances from renowned Christian artists Chris Tomlin, Phil Wickham, Brooke Ligertwood, and Harvest Worship—who performed their compelling new release, “Have You Met My Jesus.”
The stadium was so full the Fire Marshal closed the doors on some attendees—but that didn’t stop them from worshiping! Rather, they amazingly joined in from outside the stadium.
What’s more, also joining in the praise were none other than Ben Born Again himself and his pal, YellowDog!
“I wouldn’t probably have gone to a church had someone invited me to church.”
In between it all, Pastor Greg Laurie spoke with actor Dennis Quaid on his faith and his upcoming film, Reagan, premiering in theaters next month.
One of the most resonant moments was a conversation with Pastor Jonathan Laurie and Cathe Laurie, speaking frankly as son and mother about why we do crusades and giving credit to those who have captured the vision and volunteer, give of their talents, and remain generous with their support to keep the event free for all. Hearts surely related and warmed as Cathe recalled hearing the gospel for the first time at a Christian rock concert (the same night she opened her heart to receive Jesus Christ).
“In the years that have passed. . . I think about the person who had the vision to hold that. . . I wouldn’t probably have gone to a church had someone invited me to church,” she said. “Someone had taken the time to book the [location], had invited a group of musicians to come out. . . and people were there to follow up with those of us that made professions of faith and even gave us some follow up material. . . I have never met any of those people since that night, but I’ve often reflected back on the investment that they made.”
All About the Gospel
The core of the night was Pastor Greg’s special message for the evening, titled “The Sinner’s Prayer.” Appropriately enough, the night was capped with an invitation as Pastor Greg invited people down onto the field—to walk in the footsteps of hundreds of thousands that have made the same decision—and publicly pray a prayer to accept Christ.
50,000 prayers were lifted up to God, as Pastor Greg encouraged all attendees to pray along with those on the field as a show of affirmation.
The night capped off with a celebration concert, as Phil Wickham took to the stage and led over a quarter of a million people—in Southern California and across the world—in songs of praise, accompanied by fireworks as so many in the outfield took in a glimpse of their new eternal destination and their new family. In short, they were welcomed into the family of God.
A lot of people have written California off. It seems like the #1 export of California is Californians! But I have hope for our great state. I pray what happened here tonight at Angel Stadium may spark Christians to pray for a spiritual awakening in our state and nation. With all the uncertainty in America in this political season, we need to look to God. The last great spiritual awakening in America happened in California. TIME magazine dubbed it “The Jesus Revolution.” We need to pray, “Do it again, Lord!” —Pastor Greg Laurie
The Demand for Hope
If anything, Saturday night was an express desire for that most precious thing—hope. And we’re so thankful for the over 5,000 who found hope in Jesus Christ. But we’re not done yet. In response to those who have made this public profession of faith, we are challenging them to take the next step and get baptized. To that end, we’re hosting our 2nd Annual Jesus Revolution Baptism at Pirate’s Cove, where we saw over 4,500 people baptized in 2023.
None of this would be possible without the generosity of our donors and Harvest Partners. You are the ones who have sowed the seeds of the gospel for over 35 years through these large scale evangelistic efforts. The Great Commission is a team effort, and we’re so glad that you’ve teamed up with Harvest Ministries for this amazing work.
If you’ve never financially supported the work of Harvest Ministries, know that your gift today will create even more opportunities for people to come to Christ all around the world through live events, relief efforts, media outreach, and online discipleship. Your gift, no matter the size, helps shape future outreach events. Thank you for your heartfelt support.
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