It started Friday, June 9 — the rumblings of an awakening. More than 700 voices worshipped at North Phoenix Baptist Church, Phoenix, kicking off the weekend’s Crossover Arizona and Harvest America events.
The North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) Crossover Arizona and Greg Laurie’s Harvest America joined forces in a first-time partnership to host a three-day evangelistic outreach involving training, street evangelism and service projects before culminating in Harvest America’s Sunday night crusade.
By the end of that evening, Harvest reported 2,904 salvation decisions at the event with another 494 indicating decisions online. Laurie launched Harvest Crusades in 1990 and more than 7.7 million people have accepted Christ through it since its inception, according to his ministry’s website.
The 2017 events were held in conjunction with this year’s Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Phoenix.
The weekend’s Crossover events came to a crescendo Sunday night as approximately 38,000 gathered to hear the good news of Jesus live at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Another 3,000 host sites joined the crusade event online.
The event started with prayer for the nation and then participants experienced a night of worship with musical artists NEEDTOBREATHE, Trip Lee, MercyMe, Jordin Sparks, Phil Wickham and Brennley Brown. The night wrapped up with a gospel presentation from Laurie, founding pastor of the 15,000-member Harvest Christian Fellowship based in Riverside, California.
In his message, Laurie shared about the anxieties and fears most Americans live with.
“We’re living in a crazy world right now,” Laurie said. “People are scared, worried, in anxiety. But let’s have theology without apology.
People are hungry for that; they’re hungry to have an honest and hopeful conversation.
“The last thing that God wants is any man or woman created in His own image to go to hell. Heaven is His place for all forgiven people and all people can be forgiven at any time if they believe and receive Him into their lives. That’s the message we aimed to share during Crossover Arizona and at Harvest America — a message of hope to the nation.”
Laurie ended the evening by inviting people to the stadium floor if they wanted to begin a relationship with Christ.
“No matter what, come with your sins, come with your questions,” Laurie said. “He will take you as you are.”
The next day Laurie announced his church’s official affiliation with the SBC.
Extending reach
Cooperating with the SBC “does not change our theology, philosophy of ministry or our history,” Laurie said in a June 13 press release. “It merely extends the reach of our fellowship within the Christian world at a time when the vision and mission of Harvest remains — as it has been for 42 years — focused on the teaching of God’s Word and the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“We’ve chosen to partner in total, unrelenting pursuit of our nation’s next great awakening,” Laurie said. “I believe that the time is right to reach across the church and to lock hands in total support of the rapid advance of the gospel in our nation and in our world.”
NAMB is planning a similar Crossover partnership in 2018 when the SBC meets in Dallas. (BP)
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