![]() Now in its 29th year, the event is expected to feature music from leading Christian artists, as well as a Gospel message by Laurie, who will tackle questions such as "What is the meaning of life?" and "What happens when we die?" The annual SoCal Harvest is a free, three-night event that will take place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Aug. He noted that the Bible depicted in the image on the billboards did not have a cross, religious symbols, or even the word "Bible" on it. "There was nothing overtly religious about it (billboard image)," John Collins, Harvest executive director, said in a CBN News report. | (Photo: Facebook)Įvangelist Greg Laurie, who leads the multi-campus Harvest Christian Fellowship, was recently forced to remove billboards promoting his annual SoCal Harvest event from two popular malls in Southern California because they featured him holding a nondescript Bible in his hand that some people found offensive.Įven after the evangelist and his team adjusted the artwork for the billboard to use innocuous photos to promote the event, however, the company they contracted to advertise the event nixed their promotion. The billboards advertised his upcoming "Harvest" outreach. In September 2020, nearly 1,000 people were baptized at Newport Beach's Corona Del Mar State Beach at an event sponsored by Calvary Chapel of Chino Hills.Evangelist Greg Laurie was forced to take down a series of billboards showing him holding a Bible, as seen in this image. "It is a significant place, historically, for the Church because that was sort of the epicenter of the Jesus Revolution, as reported on by Time magazine and others. In fact, that is where I was baptized and my wife, Cathe, was baptized there as well," Laurie told CP at the time. "Back over 40 years ago, during the Jesus Movement, we used to do baptisms down at Pirates Cove Beach. In 2018, over 550 people were baptized during a baptism event at Pirates Cove led by Laurie. Greg Laurie, an evangelist and senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, has held baptism events at Pirates Cove over the years. "We want to plant a Gospel seed in every Gen Z in California, so I hope to be involved next year and help mobilize Gen Z students to attend this historic baptism spot and pass it on to the future in California," he added.Ĭalifornia's beaches are no stranger to mass baptisms in the recent past, especially Pirates Cove. McCauley, who heads the California Southern Baptist Convention organization CSBC Youth, told CP that there are plans to return to Pirates Cove for Pentecost 2024. "We want a Jesus Revolution to truly happen in our state and among the youth, so this is a beautiful event that helps accomplish that goal." There was live worship, prayer, and thousands of people cheering on those who were getting baptized," said McCauley. "In our times of cultural darkness, there was a bright light shining throughout the event on Pentecost Sunday. McCauley, pastor of student ministries at Magnolia Church of Riverside and an attendee of the mass baptism, told CP that it was a "beautiful event." While his church has previously hosted baptism events at local beaches, including Pirates Cove Beach, before, Francey said, "We have never seen a crowd like that for baptisms." Thousands of people attend a baptism event sponsored by several churches at Pirates Cove, California, on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023. My mentors taught me it's as simple as praying, obeying, then acting," said Francey. "As believers, we always want to be obedient to what Jesus asks us to do. Pastor Mark Francey, one of the lead pastors of California-based Oceans Church and one of the people behind the event, told The Christian Post that God gave him the vision to do the event during "a prayer time back in May of 2022." On May 28, around 300 churches came to Pirates Cove Beach under the banner of the event " Baptize SoCal," with a recorded number of 4,166 people being baptized. More than 4,000 people were baptized off the beaches of Southern California on Pentecost Sunday as part of a revival event organized by several congregations. Thousands of people attend a baptism event sponsored by several churches at Pirates Cove, California, on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023.
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