Crusade Connection Blog

Pastor Greg and the Harvest Crusades team will be in South Dakota in May 2009 to kick off our 20th year of Harvest Crusades events.

A few days ago, we received a comment on the blog from Becky:

Sorry we missed the NY Harvest. However we thought we heard on the radio that Harvest was coming to South Dakota in “09″ ?!?!?! Just wanted to know if that was true ! ! ! We sure hope so… Thanks from Nebraska :-)

Becky, it is absolutely true. Greg Laurie and the Harvest Crusades team will be coming to Rapid City, South Dakota for Harvest 09 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, May 15-17. This will be the kickoff event for our 20th year of Harvest Crusades events.

This is also the second time that Pastor Greg has been in Rapid City, as he spoke earlier this year at the Hills Alive Festival.

The Harvest Crusades team is already hard at work in the Rapid City area, mobilizing churches and community leaders for this outreach. And for all of you, let’s start praying that God would move mightily in South Dakota!

Pastor Greg speaks to the 1,380 people who came forward at the New York Harvest on Sunday night.

One of the slogans we’ve picked up on this year for the New York Harvest has been “God in the Garden.” It’s a reference to Billy Graham’s legendary crusade meetings at Madison Square Garden in 1957.

Well, God truly was in the Garden on Sunday night as Harvest Crusades closed out its 2008 schedule with a one-night event at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”

A crowd of 12,500 people from around New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere packed into Madison Square Garden to hear the gospel proclaimed. Once there, they enjoyed music from the Katinas, a 300-member interdenominational choir, Relient K, and MercyMe.

Pastor Greg spoke on “How to Change for Good,” sharing about his adoptive father Oscar and his son Christopher, both now in heaven.

The response during the gospel invitation was overwhelming as we had more responders than available counselors. In all, there were an estimated 1,380 people who came forward and prayed with Pastor Greg to receive Christ or to make a recommitment.

What a blessing from God to close out a busy year of Harvest Crusades events!

The band MercyMe has sold thousands of albums and had the opportunity to play lots of large-scale events in their career. But as lead singer Bart Millard shares, playing their first Harvest Crusades event was a bit of an eye-opening experience.

“The first time we were able to do the Harvest Crusade in Anaheim (in 2006), we were kind of taken aback because we weren’t too familiar with Pastor Greg and the whole ministry,” Millard said. “When we got involved, we were blown away at how doctrinally sound it is, and it’s just an amazing ministry.”

Since then, the band has joined Pastor Greg at events in Central Valley, San Diego, Philadelphia, and tonight in New York. And seeing how MercyMe’s music resonates with those in attendance, it’s hard not to imagine they’ll be playing Harvest Crusades for a long time to come.

“The highest compliment I can pay is that, to me, it’s like a Billy Graham for a new generation,” Millard said. “Hopefully, he takes that in a good way when he hears that. That’s about the highest compliment I could pay, and to be a part of something like this is a big honor for us.”

Since last year, the Katinas have been with us at events in the Central Valley, New Zealand, Anaheim, Philadelphia, and now New York City, where the band is onstage right now. That’s a lot of miles, and a lot of opportunities to see the Lord work among people around the world. And that, according to co-lead singer Jesse Katina, makes going out on the road seem like not so much of a chore.

“The main thing that stands out for us is the results each night, just seeing hundreds of people giving their lives to the Lord,” Jesse says. “Greg does an incredible job of preparing a message that is relevant and clear for people to receive and understand. Just to be a part of that is so rewarding for us.

“It¹s not always easy leaving our families behind, but when the results are the way they are at Harvest Crusades, it’s worth it all.”