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Greg Laurie (born December 10, 1952) is an American
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
pastor, evangelist, and Christian author who serves as the senior pastor of
Harvest Christian Fellowship Harvest Christian Fellowship is a Non-denominational Evangelical multi-site church based in Riverside, California, affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association. History Harvest Christian Fellowship was founded in 1973 by Greg Laurie, who has b ...
, based in
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...
. He also is the founder of
Harvest Crusades Harvest Crusades is an Evangelical Christian organization based in Los Angeles, United States, that organizes evangelistic conferences. History The conference has its origins in a public evangelistic event in Los Angeles founded in 1990, by th ...
. Laurie is also the subject of the 2023 film ''
Jesus Revolution ''Jesus Revolution'' is a 2023 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle. Based on the autobiographical book of the same name co-written by Greg Laurie, the film follows the teenage Laurie ( Joel Courtney), Christia ...
'', which tells the story of how he converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
and got his start in ministry in the midst of the
Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement that began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, Central America, Australia and New Zealand, befo ...
.


Early life and education

Greg Laurie was born in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. He was raised by a single mother married seven times total; they moved often, sometimes to vastly different locations such as New Jersey and Hawaii. He worked as a newspaper boy for the ''Daily Pilot'' in Orange County, California. 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 while attending
Newport Harbor High School Newport Harbor High School is a public high school in Newport Beach, California, Newport Beach, in Orange County, California, in the United States. It is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The school primarily serves students in we ...
under the ministry of evangelist
Lonnie Frisbee Lonnie Ray Frisbee (June 6, 1949 – March 12, 1993) was an American Charismatic evangelist in the late 1960s and in the 1970s; he was a self-described "seeing prophet". He was known for his hippie appearance. He was notable as a minister and e ...
, as the
Jesus Movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement that began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, Central America, Australia and New Zealand, befo ...
was exploding in Southern California.


Ministry

In 1973, at the age of 20, under the mentorship of
Calvary Chapel Calvary Chapel is an international association of charismatic evangelical churches, with origins in Pentecostalism. It maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs. Beg ...
pastor Chuck Smith, Laurie was given the opportunity to lead a Bible study of 30 people in
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...
.Alex Murashko
Greg Laurie, Harvest to Celebrate 40 Years of 'Knowing God and Making Him Known'
christianpost.com, USA, March 14, 2013
The group quickly grew in size, and that same year, Laurie founded the
Harvest Christian Fellowship Harvest Christian Fellowship is a Non-denominational Evangelical multi-site church based in Riverside, California, affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association. History Harvest Christian Fellowship was founded in 1973 by Greg Laurie, who has b ...
in Riverside, where he still serves as senior pastor. In 1990, Laurie founded the
Harvest Crusades Harvest Crusades is an Evangelical Christian organization based in Los Angeles, United States, that organizes evangelistic conferences. History The conference has its origins in a public evangelistic event in Los Angeles founded in 1990, by th ...
, an organization that hosts large-scale
evangelistic Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...
events around the U.S. Laurie serves on the board of directors for the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response. The BGEA operates the Billy Graham Train ...
. He is also a chaplain for the Newport Beach Police Department. In 2013, Laurie served as the Honorary Chairman of the
National Day of Prayer Task Force National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
selected Pastor Laurie as one of several evangelical church leaders to participate in the National Prayer Service hosted at the
Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Episcopal Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Wa ...
following the presidential inauguration of 2017. In 2017, Greg Laurie organized a movement titled "The Year of Good News". Multiple church leaders signed the letter he penned to initiate the movement. One paragraph 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.'" In 2017, Harvest Christian Fellowship became a member of the
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
, at the request of Laurie, who considered that the latter has important national and international evangelistic programs. The church maintains its ties with Calvary Chapel.


Harvest at Home and COVID-19

When all California churches were forced temporarily to shut their doors because of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, Harvest Christian Fellowship and Greg Laurie started the online church program "Harvest at Home", which swiftly became one of the most-watched internet worship services in America, averaging over 200,000 viewers weekly during the pandemic. On Palm Sunday 2020, then-president Trump tweeted that he would be watching Harvest at Home, and the webcast saw record viewership that week, with over 1,300,000 people tuning in to watch. On October 5, 2020, Laurie revealed that he had contracted COVID-19, and released a statement saying, "Unfortunately, the coronavirus has become very politicized. I wish we could all set aside our partisan ideas and pull together to do everything we can to defeat this virus and bring our nation back." Harvest at Home continues to be one of the most widely watched online church services in America since the pandemic, with average viewership of over 100,000 in 2023.


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 The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres ...
in the "Christian ministry" category in 2000. Laurie's sermons are featured on the syndicated half-hour daily program ''A New Beginning'', broadcast on over 1,100 radio stations worldwide. ''A New Beginning'' is also featured as a Christian podcast, available on iTunes. Laurie is also a guest commentator at
WorldNetDaily WND (formerly WorldNetDaily) is an Radical right (United States), American far-right news and opinion website. It is known for promoting fake news and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama Barack Obama ...
and appears regularly in a weekly television program called ''GregLaurie.tv'' on the
Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN; legally Trinity Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN solicits donations on its Web site, a ...
(TBN). In 2018, he published the autobiographical book ''Jesus Revolution'', which was adapted for the cinema in 2023. The film, also titled ''
Jesus Revolution ''Jesus Revolution'' is a 2023 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle. Based on the autobiographical book of the same name co-written by Greg Laurie, the film follows the teenage Laurie ( Joel Courtney), Christia ...
'', is produced by Kingdom Story Company and
Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...
. It depicts the story of how Laurie and his wife Cathe came to faith during the
Jesus Movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement that began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, Central America, Australia and New Zealand, befo ...
in Southern California.


Personal life

Laurie resides in
Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...
with his wife, Catherine (Cathe). The couple had two sons, Christopher and Jonathan, as well as five grandchildren. On July 24, 2008, Christopher was killed at the scene of a 9 a.m.
car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...
on the eastbound Riverside Freeway west of Serfas Club Drive in
Corona, California Corona (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crown") is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States, directly bordering Orange County, California, Orange and San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino counties. Its curre ...
. He was 33 years old.


Recognition

Laurie holds two honorary doctorates, from
Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...
and from
Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...
.


Films

Greg Laurie has produced or written six films: * ''Lost Boy'' * ''Hope for Hurting Hearts'' * ''A Rush of Hope'' * ''Steve McQueen: American Icon'' * ''
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
: The Redemption of an American Icon'' * ''
Jesus Revolution ''Jesus Revolution'' is a 2023 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle. Based on the autobiographical book of the same name co-written by Greg Laurie, the film follows the teenage Laurie ( Joel Courtney), Christia ...
'' (2023) He is working on a seventh documentary, about fame and faith.


Publications

* * * * * * *''As It Is in Heaven: How Eternity Brings Focus to What Really Matters.'' 2014 * * *''Johnny Cash: The Redemption of An American Icon''. Terrill Marshall. Washington, DC: Salem Books. 2019. . *''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. . *''Lennon, Dylan, Alice and Jesus''. 2022. *''Heaven's Light Breaking: A 25 Day Advent Devotional.'' K-Love Books (2023) ''ISBN 1-397-81954-201484''


References


External links


Harvest.org

Harvest Christian Fellowship

Greg Laurie bio



Article: Harvest America: Christians Celebrate Changed Lives at History-Making Event

Harvest Crusades: New app for nationwide event
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurie, Greg 1952 births Living people 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States 21st-century evangelicals American anti-abortion activists American Christian creationists American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Baptist writers Christian nationalists Charismatics pastors Jesus movement Members of the Calvary Chapel Newport Harbor High School alumni People from Long Beach, California Southern Baptist ministers Trinity Broadcasting Network people