As Harvest America 2018 Approaches, Pastor Greg Laurie Reflects on Evangelistic Work of Billy Graham
No one can take the place of late evangelist Bill Graham, said pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Irvine and Riverdale.
Laurie said this week that Graham was a great influence on him. Graham died in February at 99.
Laurie said “there will never be another Billy Graham.”
“He always encouraged me personally, once telling me he thought I should go into evangelism full-time. I responded, ‘Billy, when you tell me what I ought to do it’s like Moses speaking! But I feel led to pastor and preach the Gospel!’ Billy smiled and agreed,” he said.
“Once, after having lunch in his home, I asked Billy what an older version of himself would say to a younger version about preaching, after all his years of experience in bringing the Gospel in stadiums around the world. His response was, ‘I would preach more on the cross and blood of Christ. That’s where the power is!’ I never forgot that. That is exactly what I intend to do.”
According to The Christian Post, Harvest America 2018 is one of the largest one-day evangelist events in U.S. history. The event is set for June 10 in Arlington, Texas.
“Our prayer is that a whole new movement of churches would see Harvest America as an opportunity to carry the torch of the Gospel forward in their own backyard and join the thousands of churches already participating in the event,” he added.
The same day as Harvest America 2018, the Southern Baptist Convention will kick off its annual meeting in Dallas. The meeting is slated for June 10-13.
In 2017, Harvest America drew about 82,000 people and more than 180,000 watched the broadcast of the event remotely. Another 90,000 watched the webcast.
Harvest American organizers say the event has been attended live or watched by simulcast by some 7.6 million people.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images
Publication date: April 20, 2018
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