A crowd of more than 35,000, according to stadium officials, heard a message of hope and faith from evangelist Greg Laurie and a video tribute to the late Billy Graham at Crossover Harvest America, an evangelistic crusade at AT&T Stadium on Sunday night.
"There will never be another Billy Graham, but we must all carry the torch of proclamation evangelism to the next generation," Laurie said. "When Billy Graham was here at the Cotton Bowl 46 years ago, the Jesus Movement was exploding and the world was uprooted. Today, there are more mobile devices than there are people. And because of the explosion of technology, we are the first generation with the ability to fulfill the Great Commission in our lifetime.
"How many of you think America needs a revival?" he asked rhetorically. "There is hope for America tonight; it's not a political solution, it's a spiritual solution—our nation has spiritual roots, regardless of what the revisionists say.
"We need another Jesus Revolution, and I pray it starts here tonight. I pray this gospel message will spread like wildfire across Texas and America," Laurie added.
He shared "the one message that brings hope to a hopeless culture," in the first stadium evangelistic crusade since Graham died in February.
"I'm going to ask you to put aside your biases and preconceptions tonight and listen with your heart," he said. "I'm going to share something with you that can change your life.
"We think today in our culture, 'if only I could be rich and famous, then I will be happy.' This week alone, look at what happened. Two well-known celebrities took their own lives—designer Kate Spade and television personality Anthony Bourdain. Wealth, possessions, all the things the world has to offer—drugs, sex, drinking—will not make you happy," Laurie said.
He said he wanted people to leave the crusade knowing they would go to heaven when they die.
"God will forgive you for whatever you've done," Laurie said. "Don't live another day without Jesus Christ."
Laurie noted that current events seem to mirror biblical prophecy of the end times. "I don't know when the end of the world will come, but the end of my world or your world can come earlier than expected," he said.
Laurie said that being a good person isn't enough. To get into heaven, you must turn away from your sins and accept Christ. "God does not grade on the curve," he said. "He grades on the cross."
More than 2,300 individuals came forward at Laurie's invitation to make a commitment to Christ, filling the field. Each person who responded was given a New Believer's Bible by a trained counselor who said a prayer with them.
The event was broadcast around the world via satellite and the internet, with more than 92,000 individuals viewing online. In addition, this crusade was first opportunity for people to extend the Harvest feed via Facebook Live to their followers. This year also marks the largest live radio broadcast audience of any Harvest event to-date, with more than 800 radio outlets carrying the AT&T Stadium live feed.
The crusade featured music from top Christian artists such as Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Trip Lee, Tedashii, KB and Switchfoot. Admission was free.
This year is the second time that the Harvest Crusades have partnered with Crossover, the evangelistic outreach preceding the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas this year. Another 600 individuals made faith decisions as a result of the Crossover activities.
Three hundred eighty local churches worked on the crusade. Dr. Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church, a member of Harvest America's advisory board of local pastors and ministry leaders, gave the opening prayer during the simulcast portion of the event.
Laurie, who has held crusades in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, serves as senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, based in Riverside, California, which oversees the Harvest Crusades. The ministry exists for the purpose of presenting the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, and to help believers mature in their faith. More information is available at harvestamerica.
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