"It’s time for America to turn back to God.”
These are the words of renowned California pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie and the sentiments of countless other pastors and Christians across the country. To usher in this restoration and bring revival to churches and communities across the country, three Alabama Baptist churches are joining more than 1,500 congregations nationwide in Harvest America, a simulcast evangelistic crusade to be held Aug. 26. Joining the movement will be Northpark Baptist Church, Trussville, in Birmingham Baptist Association; Central Baptist Church, Decatur, in Morgan Baptist Association; and Corinth Heights Baptist Church, Haleyville, in Winston Baptist Association.
The crusade, which will be broadcast from Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., is one of two multiple-day evangelistic events presented by Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in Riverside, Calif., and will feature performances by well-known Christian artists like Third Day, Gungor, David Crowder, Jeremy Camp and MercyMe. However, many involved churches will present their own praise and worship music.
“We will monitor the simulcast in California,” said John Herring, executive pastor of Northpark Baptist. “When they get ready to present the message, we will join their broadcast. … We hope that it’s the beginning of revival in America and that it starts in our backyard.”
Rob Jackson, pastor of Central Baptist, said he is asking his members to invite five people that they have been praying for to the broadcast at his church.
“We started praying 21 days out reminding people to pray for Harvest America,” he said. “We asked them to start praying for five people and we asked that they would invite these five to come to Harvest America as their guests. This is a time for those who have been thinking about walking with Jesus Christ to come and clearly hear the gospel.”
Jackson also said his church would undergo a witness training revival called “Every Believer a Witness” by Dennis Nunn on Aug. 19–22 before the crusade.
“We will be training the church in evangelism and reaching outside the four walls of the church to see who needs to know Jesus Christ,” he noted.
“I see a broader purpose, not (just) about what happens at Central Baptist. … Our purpose is that a revival will break out in America. Harvest America is an ecumenical movement. So my prayer is that the churches across America will join hands and realize that we’ve got to put down our disagreements over petty things and understand that we need to be united with the gospel of Jesus Christ reaching this nation and this world.”
Similarly, Herring said there is a lot of excitement at Northpark regarding this crusade.
“They (Harvest) hope they will be able to see God do another great movement in America again,” he said.
“They have been doing a crusade ministry for years, but this is the first time for nationwide simulcast with it.”
Over the past 22 years these crusades have been successfully reaching unbelievers. According to the Harvest America website, “More than 4,405,000 people have attended Harvest Crusades in person, and more than 1,319,400 have viewed the live webcasts. Most importantly, more than 370,900 people have registered decisions of faith in Jesus Christ.”
With the help of LifeWay Christian Resources; NavPress, the publishing arm of The Navigators; and Global Media Outreach, along with many others, the California church hopes to reach even more people through simulcasts into churches and other venues nationwide. New believers receive a “Start! to Follow: How to Be a Successful Follower of Jesus Christ” book, which was written by Life Bible Study, where Herring serves as president.
He encourages others to become involved with the movement.
“It’s not too late for other churches and other groups — home groups and small groups — to be a part of it,” he said. “It’s free over the Internet to anyone who wants to watch it.”
According to the Harvest America website, Laurie and his church hope to “partner with churches throughout the nation to create settings where community churches can join together and invite their friends and relatives to comfortably come and hear a clear and precise presentation of the gospel, respond to its message, and be given direction and materials to assist in their new faith.”
For more information on Harvest America or to become a host church or home, visit www.harvestamerica.com.
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