Posted: 03/09/2016 at 11:38am
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82,000
Attend Harvest America at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
By
Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service
ARLINGTON,
TX (ANS – March 9, 2016) -- It was a full house and overflowing at
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last Sunday (March 6, 2015) as Pastor Greg
Laurie brought a message of hope for 82,000 individuals gathered locally as well
as hundreds of thousands more across the nation, tuning in via radio,
television, Internet stream or remote broadcast at over 7,200 host locations in
123 countries.
According
to a news release, more than 750 local churches cooperated to bring Harvest
America to Texas.
At
a time when the nation is searching and anxious, Laurie addressed the loneliness
and emptiness that exists in every heart, encouraging audiences that true peace
and fulfillment can only be found in Christ.
“Not
a woman, not a man, not a drug, not an experience, not a possession will fill
the emptiness inside you,” Laurie said.
Referencing
research on the top three late-night Internet searches – porn, loneliness and
suicide – he said, “You don't need to go to Google for your answers; God has an
answer for your loneliness and it is Jesus Christ his son.
“Your
religious beliefs are not enough, either; you're not good enough on your own,”
Laurie continued. “Jesus alone is uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between a
holy God and sinful humanity.”
More
than 6,000 of those gathered responded to the evangelist’s invitation to make a
faith commitment. Harvest America organizers hope this event will spark a
revival that will spread across the nation, as many attended from out of state,
and with remote venues participating from all 50 states.
In
a first for Harvest America, a 2,500-voice choir composed of local church
members performed with artists Chris Tomlin and MercyMe, helping to lead the
crowd in worship. They followed the stellar musical line-up of Switchfoot and
Lecrae, providing a variety of musical styles for everyone in attendance.
Another
3,400 volunteer counselors, 1,500 ushers and 350 individuals manning the prayer
room made this the largest volunteer effort ever for Harvest Crusades, which has
been hosting such events since 1990. More than 5.3 million individuals have
attended, with over 450,000 having made a faith decision. In addition, Harvest
Crusades have been webcast online since 1997, and have seen 1.7 million
individuals tune in via live stream. Another 90,000 viewed the most recent
webcast live online Sunday evening.
Local
pastors providing leadership for the effort included Dr. Jack Graham of
Prestonwood Baptist Church, Dr. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas, Dr.
Tony Evans of Fellowship Bible Church, Matt Chandler of The Village and Dr.
Robert Morris of Gateway. All agreed on the potential impact of the event.
“I
am hoping this is a catalyst – not just in the DFW Metroplex, but for churches
across the country to rally in a renewed commitment to evangelism,” Graham
said.
Jeffress
echoed the sentiment, remarking that “it was a tremendous outpouring of the Holy
Spirit of God; I believe every Christian and church will be re-energized in
sharing the Gospel of Christ with as many people as possible.”
About
Harvest Crusades
Besides
conducting evangelistic outreaches, Harvest Ministries produces “A New
Beginning,” an international radio program with messages by Laurie. In addition,
television specials featuring past Harvest Ministries events air internationally
on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), and a weekly television program
greglaurie.tv is available online at www.harvest.org, and airing on both TBN and
the Church Channel, as well as on ROKU and the Harvest app.
Laurie
serves as senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, with campuses in
Riverside and Irvine, California, which oversees Harvest Ministries. The
ministry exists for the sole purpose of presenting the life-changing message of
Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, and to help believers mature in
their faith. More information is available at www.harvest.org.
Note
to Editors: For more information or to schedule an interview with a Harvest
America representative, please contact Melany Ethridge of A. Larry Ross
Communications at 972.267.1111 or via email at melany@alarryross.com
Photo
captions: 1) Great Laurie speaking at the event. (Harvest). 2) Part of the
crowd. (G.J. McCarthy/The Dallas Morning News). 3) Worship during the event
(Harvest). The Harvest America choir (Harvest). 4) Dan Wooding with Greg
Laurie.
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 52 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 ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST
News Service (ANS), and is also the author of some 45 books, the latest of which
is Mary, My Story from Bethlehem to Calvary (http://marythebook.com).
**
You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST
News Service (www.assistnews.net).
Edited by News Room on 03/09/2016 at 11:39am
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