Greg Laurie

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Greg Laurie
Born (1952-12-10) December 10, 1952 (age 68)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationChristian pastor, evangelist, author
EmployerHarvest Christian Fellowship
Known forHarvest Crusades
TitleSenior Pastor
Spouse(s)Catherine (m. 1974)[1]
Children2
Websitewww.harvest.org

Greg Laurie (born December 10, 1952) is an American author and pastor who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship with campuses in Riverside, Orange County and Maui.[2]

Laurie came to faith at the age of 17 as the Jesus Movement was exploding in Southern California. He has written a book, “Jesus Revolution,” about his experiences from that great American spiritual awakening.[3] Greg’s story along with his wife Cathe, will be told in the new film, Jesus Revolution from Kingdom Story Company to be released next year.[4]

Laurie holds two honorary doctorates from Biola University and Azusa Pacific University.[5] He serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.[6] He also is the Evangelist for Harvest Crusades and is featured on over 1500 radio and TV stations across the nation. Laurie has produced 2 films: Steve McQueen: American Idol and A Rush Of Hope. He is working on a third.[7] Laurie is also the author of 70 books, including Hope For Hurting Hearts, Steve McQueen: The Salvation of An American Icon, Johnny Cash: The Redemption Of An American Icon and his latest, Billy Graham: The Man I Knew.[5]

Life and ministry[]

Greg Laurie was born in Long Beach, California. He was raised by a single mother who had seven marriages, often moving to vastly different locations such as New Jersey and Hawaii.[8] Working as a newspaper delivery man for the Daily Pilot in Los Angeles, CA was Greg Laurie's first job.[9] Laurie was not raised in the Christian faith or a church environment. In 1970, when Laurie was 17 years old, he became a devout Christian at Newport Harbor High School under the ministry of evangelist Lonnie Frisbee.[10][9]

At the age of 19, under the ministry of Calvary Chapel Pastor Chuck Smith, he was given the opportunity to lead a Bible study of 30 people. The church that formed from this group, Harvest Christian Fellowship, has grown to become one of the largest churches in the United States.[11] In 2013, Harvest Christian Fellowship celebrated its 40th anniversary.[12] The church has another dedicated campus in Irvine as well as a satellite campus in Lahaina, Hawaii.[13] They have a congregation of approximately 5,000 people with a weekend viewing audience for their online service of over 250,000 people. The church also houses more than 80 ministries. Harvest recently merged with Kumulani Chapel in Maui, Hawaii, and that church is now called Harvest Kumulani.[14]

Laurie holds two honorary doctorates from Biola University and Azusa Pacific University. He serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association[15] He is also a chaplain for the Newport Beach Police Department.[9] In 2013, Laurie served as the Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

President Donald Trump selected Pastor Laurie as one of several evangelical church leaders to participate in the National Prayer Service hosted at the Washington National Cathedral following the Presidential Inauguration of 2017.[16]

In 2017, Greg Laurie organized a movement entitled "The Year of Good News." Multiple church leaders signed the letter he penned to initiate the movement.[17] One of the paragraphs of the letter reads, "In a time of fake news, distracting news, divisive news, disorderly news, and, sometimes, depressing news, we—as Christians and as leaders—want to recommit ourselves to making sure that the Good News of Jesus cuts through it all. We call upon Christians in America to make 2017 "The Year of Good News."[18]

Publishing and media[]

Laurie has written more than 70 books, including The Upside-Down Church (1999, co-authored with David Kopp): this book won a Gold Medallion Book Award in the "Christian ministry" category in 2000.[19] Laurie has written study notes for The New Believer's Bible and The Seeker's Bible. He also wrote the notes for the Start! Bible in the New King James Version, published by Thomas Nelson. Another more recent book is a commentary on the book of Revelation.

His autobiographical documentary film Lost Boy: The Next Chapter has won eight awards at international film festivals in the best documentary category.[20] Laurie's film released in 2013, Hope for Hurting Hearts, includes the stories of Jeremy Camp and Nick Vujicic. The film has been a finalist at 15 different film festivals.[21]

Laurie is host of the syndicated radio program A New Beginning,[22] which is broadcast on over 800 radio stations worldwide.[21] A New Beginning is also featured as a Christian podcast available on iTunes.[23] Laurie has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. He is also a guest commentator at WorldNetDaily and appears regularly in a weekly television program called GregLaurie.tv on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).[24] The television program is also featured every week on American Forces Network TV.[21]

Laurie is a speaker for public evangelistic events called Harvest Crusades, founded in 1990. They are large-scale evangelistic outreach projects which local churches organize nationally and internationally. Over 5.6 million attendees have participated in Harvest Crusades since they began in 1990. In addition, 1.8 million have reportedly watched the events online.[9] Harvest Crusades have been held in California, Chicago, Seattle, Oregon, Philadelphia, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, New Zealand[25] and Australia.[26] Events have been held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA, Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA, and Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.[27] In 2017, Harvest Crusades will include Christian musicians and bands such as Phil Wickham, Switchfoot, Chris Tomlin, and TobyMac.[9]

In 2012, Harvest Crusades launched Harvest America a nationwide simulcast from one location to about 2,400 venues. In 2016 Harvest America happened at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A total of 82,000 attended the event. Another 180,000 participated at over 7,000 host locations around the country.

Over 400,000 individuals have made public professions of faith at the events since Harvest Crusades began.[27]

Personal life[]

Laurie resides in Newport Beach with his wife, Catherine. The couple had two sons, Christopher and Jonathan, as well as 5 grandchildren.[1][28] On July 24, 2008, Christopher was killed at the scene of a 9 a.m. car accident on the eastbound Riverside Freeway west of Serfas Club Drive in Corona, California. He was 33 years old.

In October 2020, Laurie contracted COVID-19. On October 5, 2020, Laurie announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. In a video posted on social media, Laurie said, “I just wish that at a time like this we could not politicize this and show compassion to people that are struggling with this. It's real," the pastor said. "It really is a pandemic that's swept our nation and even the world."[29] It is unknown where Laurie contracted the virus, though reports suggest it may have been at a White House event.[30] On October 9, Laurie reported he “was feeling really good” and that he had completed quarantine and was planning on returning to preaching.[31]

Publications[]

  • The Seeker's Bible : New Testament : New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers. 2000. ISBN 0-8423-3928-0.
  • Every Day with Jesus : First Steps for New Believers. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers. 2004. ISBN 1-4143-0075-1.
  • Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners : How to Finish Strong in the Spiritual Race. New York: Warner Faith. 2005. ISBN 0-446-50015-1.
  • Wrestling with God. S.l: Multnomah Pub. 2006. ISBN 1-59052-894-8.
  • Lost Boy: My Story. Allen David / Kerygma;b. 2008. ISBN 1-9420-9021-8.
  • Let God Change Your Life: How to Know and Follow Jesus. U.K.: David C. Cook. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4347-0207-4.
  • Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon. American Icon Press. 2017. ISBN 1-9468-9105-3.
  • Johnny Cash: The Redemption of An American Icon. Terrill Marshall,. Washington, DC : Salem Books. 2019. ISBN 978-1-62157-974-8.
  • World Changers: How God Uses Ordinary People to do Extraordinary Things. Larry Libby,. Grand Rapids, Michigan : Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. 2020. ISBN 978-0-8010-7595-7.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Greg Laurie's Biography — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at Last.fm". www.last.fm. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  2. ^ "Greg Laurie". Focus on the Family. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  3. ^ Martin, Stephanie (2019-03-29). "Greg Laurie: Pray for a Millennial Jesus Movement". ChurchLeaders. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  4. ^ "Erwin Bros., Lionsgate to release film 'Jesus Revolution' based on 1970s spiritual awakening". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "A New Beginning with Greg Laurie". www.klmp.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  6. ^ "Board of Directors & Key Employees". Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  7. ^ "Greg Laurie - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  8. ^ "Harvest Church - Greg's Blog: About Me". Harvest.org. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Kandil, Caitlin Yoshiko (2016-08-12). "'A delivery boy' for God: Greg Laurie and his Harvest Crusade are back for a 27th year". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  10. ^ Frisbee, Lonnie; Sachs, Roger (2012). Not By Might Nor By Power. Santa Maria, CA: Freedom Publications. pp. 125–126. ISBN 0978543319.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Largest Churches (2008)". Outreach Magazine 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-03. or "The 2010 Outreach 100 Listings of America's Largest and Fastest-Growing Churches". Outreach Magazine / LifeWay Research. Archived from the original on 2011-05-12. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  12. ^ christianpost.com. [1] "Greg Laurie, Harvest to Celebrate 40 Years of 'Knowing God and Making Him Known'"
  13. ^ "Service Times & Locations". Harvest Christian Fellowship. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  14. ^ "The Harvest Family Is Expanding!". Harvest Christian Fellowship. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  15. ^ Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. 2006 Annual Report Archived 2007-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, p. 18
  16. ^ "Trump Stacks Prayer Service Lineup with Evangelicals". Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  17. ^ "Evangelical Leaders: Make 2017 'The Year of Good News'". CBN.com (beta). Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  18. ^ "The Year of Good News". Harvest: Greg Laurie. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  19. ^ Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2000 Gold Medallion Book Awards Winners
  20. ^ "A New Beginning with Greg Laurie". www.klmp.com. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The Gathering | A Solemn Assembly Simulcast". thegathering2016.com. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  22. ^ "Oneplace.com". Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  23. ^ "RightNow Media". RightNow Media. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  24. ^ "GregLaurie.tv on TBN". Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  25. ^ "US pastor to reap NZ crop". stuff.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  26. ^ "Greg Laurie Seeks Churches, Venues to Host Harvest America Event". christianpost.com. 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b "A New Beginning with Greg Laurie on Faith Radio". Faith Radio. 2013-02-28. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  28. ^ "Harvest Church - Greg Laurie Biography". Harvest Church. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  29. ^ "'With God's Help and Your Prayers, I Expect to Get Through This': Greg Laurie Announces He Has COVID". CBN News. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  30. ^ "Harvest Crusade pastor Greg Laurie says he has COVID-19 after White House visit". Los Angeles Times. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  31. ^ "Greg Laurie Returning to Church Sunday, Credits Power of Prayer for His COVID Recovery". CBN News. 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-10-14.

External links[]

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