More than 24,000 Turn Out for Good News

More than 24,000 Turn Out for Good News -- Both In-Person and Via the Internet -- At Harvest Georgia Outreach with Greg Laurie

1,052 Change Their “Spiritual Address” During Weekend Harvest Crusade, Sept. 23 - 25

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service

DULUTH, GEORGIA (ANS - Sept. 26, 2016) -- After a year of planning and prayer, more than 200 churches throughout Atlanta and North Georgia united in faith this past weekend, Sept. 23 – 25, 2016, to host Harvest Georgia 2016 at Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Georgia, located just minutes outside of Atlanta.

According to a news release from Laura McGowan Communications (http://www.lauramcgowan.com/), the Harvest Georgia outreach drew more than 24,000 people over the course of the weekend -- both in-person and via the Internet -- with crowds gathering to hear a nightly message of hope from Southern California pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie and music from top Christian artists including Lecrae, Chris Tomlin, THIRD DAY, and Phil Wickham.

Community connections were strong at the Harvest Georgia outreach as a local 500-voice choir comprised of singers from 15 area churches backed up Atlanta local and Grammy Award winning worship leader, Chris Tomlin during the Sunday evening program. Lecrae and THIRD DAY also have ties to Atlanta.

Pastors from the area participated in the three-day Harvest Georgia outreach by leading times of prayer, including Dr. James Merritt of Cross Pointe Church, Sandy Adams of Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain, and Dr. Johnny Hunt of First Baptist Church of Woodstock.

Passion City Church pastor Louie Giglio also took to the stage on Sunday evening to thank Greg Laurie for bringing Harvest Georgia to the state, commenting, “What Greg and his team are doing here is extraordinary…We are living in an amazing time in the history of the world. I’m convinced that we are in the middle of revival and Harvest is at the forefront of that.”

Laurie told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sept. 23, 2016) that the Harvest events were not just for people who go to church every Sunday.

“This event is also for people who may be skeptical or perhaps never darkened the doorway of a church, yet have questions about life and about God,” he said. This was indeed the case at Harvest Georgia as many attendees heeded the call to “bring a friend,” and invited family, neighbors, and co-workers to hear Laurie’s nightly presentation of the Good News of the Gospel.

Laurie’s messages throughout the weekend addressed the big questions in life that many people ask: Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life? What happens when I die? “The statistics on death are pretty impressive, one out of one people dies,” Laurie told crowds gathered at Infinite Energy Arena. “Everyone dies, no matter who you are. But death died when Christ rose.”

Laurie continued, “I’ve been up close and personal with death and if I didn’t have Christ in my life, I don’t know how I would have gotten through it. But I know I will see my son and others on the other side of heaven. I hope you have that hope, as well. Heaven is not the default destination of every person, it is the destination of those who know Christ.”

“Heaven is not for good people, it is for forgiven people,” said Laurie. “The Gospel truth is that God loves you and will forgive you if you will turn from your sin and believe in Him. You can literally change your spiritual address tonight.”

Over three nights, 913 literally did change their “spiritual address” as they walked from the stands onto the floor of the arena to publicly make commitments of faith. Another 139 made decisions of faith via live Internet broadcasts.

All nights of the 2016 SoCal Harvest were broadcast on the Internet, and 11,966 people watched live from 138 countries and all 50 states. In addition, 51,305 viewers participated through Facebook Live. The 2016 SoCal Harvest is archived and available for viewing at www.harvest.org.

Each night of Harvest Georgia 2016 was broadcast live on God TV (god.tv/tunein/us), and JUCE-TV (jucetv.com).

Who is Greg Laurie?

With a trademark ability to present a clear gospel message in a culturally relevant format, drawing on the latest in current events, contemporary Christian music, and technology, Greg Laurie’s Harvest outreaches have drawn more than 5.7 million people to stadiums and arenas around the world since 1990, with another 1.8 million people attending virtually via the Internet.

In addition to founding the Harvest Crusades -- the longest-running annual evangelistic outreach in U.S. history -- Laurie also serves as senior pastor of one of the largest churches in America, Harvest Christian Fellowship, which has campuses in Riverside and Irvine, Calif., and Maui, Hawaii. He serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).

Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie will hold its next outreach, Harvest America 2017, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz. on June 10, 2017.

Media note: For more information about Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie, or to arrange an interview, contact Laura McGowan at (847) 347-5206 or at laura@lauramcgowan.com , or access the Harvest Newsroom at www.newsroom.harvest.org.

Photo captions: 1) Greg Laurie makes a point during Harvest Georgia. 2) Phil Wickham singing. 3) A hug of joy. 4) People crowd to the front to make their commitment to Christ. 5) People being counselled. 6) Dan Wooding interviewing Greg Laurie at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, before the recent SoCal Harvest crusade.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 53 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren, who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He is the author of some 45 books, and has been a full-time journalist since 1968. Dan also has a weekly radio show and two TV shows all based in Southern California. Wooding became a full-time journalist in 1968, working for the Billy Graham-owned UK newspaper, The Christian, and later worked as a writer for Mr. Graham during his overseas crusades in Moscow, Russia; Essen, Germany; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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