Proof that the Great American Revival is here — and has been for some time — continues to pour in. Over the Independence Day weekend, nearly 7,000 souls accepted Jesus Christ as their savior at Pastor Greg Laurie’s two-day Harvest Crusade at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Laurie celebrated on Twitter:
The 2023 Harvest Crusade Welcomed Over 32,000 People to Packed Out Honda Center and 200,000 Online.
Nearly 7,000 made professions of faith in two-day worship experience.
This is the 34th crusade for Laurie, and the largest so far. Laurie made his profession of faith in Christ 40 years ago. His ministry has grown from nothing in 1973 to four campuses now, with more than 14,000 people attending every Sunday morning. Over 250 churches partnered with Laurie for this year’s event.
He launched the Harvest Crusade in the 1990s, and events have been held all over the world, including Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. More than eight million have attended them in person, with more than 700,000 coming to faith in Christ.
The crusade over the weekend is one more proof that the Great American Revival is here. Last October the revival began in the town of Hammond, Louisiana, where it continues to this day. The first night just 125 showed up, but it has now grown to the point where evangelist David Harrison has had to put up a tent capable of seating 2,500 people to handle the crowds.
Harrison said the response caught him totally by surprise. He was invited to preach at the Old Zion Hill Baptist Church and planned to stay for a day or two. But God had other plans. Harrison said:
The awakening in Louisiana has truly been life changing. When God sent me there on October 17, I never would have dreamed we would still be there!
It has been the most supernatural event I’ve ever seen.
Other evangelists also expressed surprise and delight. Said Nick Hall, founder of Pulse Ministries, “I’m just seeing this break out everywhere … it’s a move of God.” Samuel Rodriguez, senior pastor at New Season Church in Sacramento, said “We’ve never seen anything like it … it can’t be a coincidence.”
The revival that began in Louisiana last October spread to Asbury, Kentucky, in February, and then to another 37 college campuses — at almost the same moment the film Jesus Revolution was released and became a box office smash. Initial estimates were that the first weekend would generate a few million in receipts, and perhaps $15 million in total, but the film grossed over $50 million.
On May 28, Pentecost Sunday, more than 4,000 people were baptized in the same place where Laurie was baptized: Pirates Cove Beach in Newport Beach, California. Called “Baptize SoCal,” the event was sponsored and supported by 300 local churches. It was the largest group baptism in California history, and possibly the largest group baptism in American history.
Pastor Mark Francey, one of the lead pastors for the event, said, “We have never seen a crowd like that for baptisms.” This isn’t surprising to believers who note that not only was Pirates Cove Beach where Laurie and his wife, Cathe, were baptized, it was also featured in Jesus Revolution.
There are no coincidences. Pastor Laurie has for months been planning another baptism event at Pirates Cove for this coming weekend, and huge and possibly record-breaking crowds of people seeking the Lord are expected.
In writing about the continuing and growing revival in America, Matt Brown, founder of Think Eternity, said that the revival is in part a reaction to the attack on the culture by atheists and their enablers:
The censorship of big tech, the gaslighting of mainstream media and the tyranny of big government over the last few years have been intense. This has woken many people up and caused many Christians to be desperate for God to do something.
People are desperate for the corrupt elite to face any semblance of justice. People are broken, tired, and weary of the woke attack on American values.
There is an urgency in the air for God to do something in our country, and that spiritual desperation is clearly being met this year.
For believers who know their history and their Bible, none of this is a surprise. God has a long history of bringing calamity to His people in order to wake them up and bring them home to Him.
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