Encore : Cinematic Crusade: 'A Rush of Hope'

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry.

Pastor Greg? I wanted to say a special word of thanks to the Harvest Partners who make this ministry possible. Next time you're online, check out Pastor Greg's personal blog at blog.GregLaurie.com. We're glad you're along today for a special edition of A New Beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie is in the studio with us today and we're setting aside what we had originally planned for today because of some important information we want to pass along. Pastor Greg, it concerns the Harvest Crusades. Now, for over 30 years straight, the Harvest Crusades have been a summertime event here in Southern California and also reaching the rest of the country. But everything's different during the pandemic and yet God calls us to share Christ even in the midst of challenges like this.

And really, the venue is secondary, isn't it? It really is. You know, the Bible says when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Oh, actually, that's not in the Bible. But I think the idea of it is fairly true.

I'll say Romans 8, 28, God calls us all things to work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Okay, so here's the bad news. We're not able to go to Angel Stadium this year for the first time in 31 years.

We would normally reach 100,000 people over a Crusade weekend with around 10,000 people making a profession of faith. That's the bad news. Here's the good news. We decided to paint on a different canvas, to pivot, if you will. And I thought, well, everybody's looking at screens right now. Screen usage time is through the ceiling.

People are looking more at their TVs, obviously watching Netflix, binge watching, looking at their phones more. And I thought, let's go to their screen with something like they've never seen before. So we came up with the idea of a cinematic Crusade.

So what does that mean? It means that we do something custom for the screen that has the elements of a Harvest Crusade but adapted to this format. So in a Harvest Crusade we might have two or even three artists do a bunch of music and then I do a message and people walk forward on the field and accept Christ. Instead of doing that, and we'll have elements of that still because we will have musical performances from Fort King and Country, Mercy Me, Jeremy Camp, and some other surprises. But then we're going to weave some scenes from some films into this narrative.

I don't just mean showing film clips. I've written a narrative taking what I think are key moments from three films produced by the Irwin brothers, John and Andy Irwin, and the films are Woodlawn, I Can Only Imagine, and I Still Believe. So Woodlawn is a story of racial conflict in Alabama in the early 70s. Riots were happening because of forced segregation, but God stepped in and a spiritual awakening took place that changed the campus, the school, Woodlawn, and changed many people's lives.

We're black and white. We're coming together and being reconciled. So it's a story of reconciliation. I'm going to bring an element of that film into this cinematic Crusade.

And then we transition over to I Can Only Imagine. Young Bart Millard had a horrible childhood. His mother basically walked out on him.

His father, Arthur, was very abusive, beat young Bart, and Bart had just such a sad childhood. But God stepped in and Bart came to faith and ultimately his father came to faith and they were reconciled. And then finally we'll look at some scenes from that powerful new film called I Still Believe. Jeremy and Melissa Kemp were in love, beautiful love story.

They were newlyweds, and then the tragic news that Melissa had cancer. And facing the worst case scenario of losing his wife, we see how faith and hope work together. So I'm going to take these stories and weave in musical elements between them, and then I'm going to give a straightforward gospel presentation. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be art.

I like to call it weaponized art, where it's something that will be really fantastic to watch, but yet it will not in any way have a diminished message. In fact, I'm hoping at least two times in this hour-long program or so to present the gospel and give an invitation. And it's my hope, Dave, that we'll have more, not less people come to Christ as a result of watching this than we would have had at the SoCal Harvest at Angel Stadium. And we're calling it a rush of hope. And I think, you know, a phrase like that needs some sound effects.

It needs to be, I'm thinking echo and something else. So here it is, a rush of hope. Well, Pastor Greg, in thinking of an online event, you've had some tremendous success with your home church's online services each week called Harvest at Home, haven't you? I mean, you've seen a lot of success. A lot of people are tuning in each week, aren't they?

I would say unprecedented success. You know, since we went online, you know, we had to shut our church down for a number of months, and we were exclusively online. Now our church buildings are open in Riverside and Orange County and Southern California and also on the island of Maui. But online, this audience has grown to be very large.

There are people that watch us from all around the United States and even abroad. And so in each of these services, I'll give a Bible study, and then I give an invitation for people to come to Christ. And to date, we have seen over 85,000 people make a Profession of Faith. This is a very important number.

Number one, it's a big number, so we give God thanks for that. But secondly, it's interesting, at the beginning of 2020, we set a very lofty goal for our ministry. Our goal was to see 100,000 people come to Christ before the year was over. We planned on doing that through the so-called Harvest. We planned on doing it through a big stadium event we were holding in Los Angeles, as well as the Jesus Revolution movie.

Well, along comes coronavirus. So all of a sudden, we're not meeting at the Angel Stadium, we're not meeting at the LA Stadium, and the production on the Jesus Revolution film is shut down. So we go exclusively online, and we just start throwing the net after each service, and we're going to hit this 100,000 mark before we know it.

And I'll tell you what, the Lord inspired us, I think, to set that goal, but he wanted to accomplish it in a different way. So we're seeing what can happen online. We're seeing what can happen through the visual viewing experience.

So we're going to take this to the next level and beyond in the Cinematic Crusade. And I believe this is something you will want to show to people. You'll want to invite them over to your home and have a viewing party. You'll want to send a link to them and say, watch this.

They could be in the other side of the country, and they watch it, and you watch it, then you talk about it afterwards. And I believe God could use this to bring thousands and thousands of people into the kingdom. I don't know of anything like this that has ever been put out there before, and I think you'll agree with me when you see it. Again, it's called A Rush of Hope. It's a Cinematic Crusade.

And it's coming your way Labor Day weekend for four days, September 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. And we'll be explaining how you can be involved in this campaign. And it's important to point out that we're all called to share Christ with those around us.

And we constantly hear the reports of people who are doing just that. In fact, take a listen to this. Pastor Greg, through your ministry, I came to Christ. And because of that decision, I have dedicated everything to God. Today, I have the extreme honor of praying with my 13-year-old son as he accepted Christ for himself. What a big day, and I give glory and praise to the Lord. And Pastor Greg, I pray you are blessed because Christ used you to save me. Now my son is saved, and I couldn't be more blessed.

Wow. I love it when the gospel is passed on from generation to generation. And who knows that that young boy, when he becomes older, will not also pass it on to his children.

And even after that. So this is the power of the gospel. And, you know, I sort of see the gospel like a relay race. We're all given the baton. And we run with it for a while, and we pass it on.

And they run for a while, and they pass it on. And we just pass this on from generation to generation. You know, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, Peter preached the gospel. And he said, this promises to you, to your children, to your children's children, and all that are far off, and as many as the Lord our God shall call. So this message we bring is for every generation. But I'm so thankful to hear that story of that father being able to lead his son to Christ. Yeah, yeah. And we all have that privilege and responsibility of bringing people into the kingdom.

That's right. This is going to be such a powerful evangelistic opportunity for you to do just that. Once again, it's A Rush of Hope, Labor Day weekend, September 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th, with music guests for King & Country, MercyMe, Jeremy Camp. And I think you indicated a little bit ago that there may be some surprises, too. But with an evangelistic outrage such as this online, how can people bring their friends into this experience? Well, here's the cool thing. You can bring the experience to them as well as bring them into the experience.

Let me explain. So you could say, I'm going to have a watching party at my home. Come over to my home for what is sort of like a drive-in movie. That's kind of the vibe of it. If you've seen our trailer, of course, we're on radio, so we can't show them the trailer.

But maybe we could play a little bit of the audio from the trailer. And let me sort of set it up visually for you and see if you can imagine this for a moment. So I'm driving down a dusty little road in Colorado. The sun is setting, and I'm behind the wheel of an early 70s Ford Bronco, kind of a bright blue color. And as I'm driving along, I'm coming towards some storm clouds, and you'll hear them for a moment. And I'm asking some very important questions. Then I drive into this old drive-in theater, and I park the Bronco. And I look up at the screen.

Listen to this. Our life feels like a movie. It has a beginning, middle, and end. Full of surprises. Twists and turns. Storm clouds and darkness.

But beauty and light still exist. We all have questions about this movie that we're in. Is this movie a tragedy? Is it a love story?

Is it a comedy even? Do we win in the end? Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life? And what happens after I die?

There are answers to these questions. We can all use a rush of hope. A rush of hope coming to a screen near you Labor Day weekend. With music from Jeremy Camp. Cause I still believe. Mercy me. I can only imagine.

And for King & Country. When we rise. We will rise together. A rush of hope coming to a screen near you Labor Day weekend. Details at Harvest.org. So that's it.

That's a rush of hope. A cinematic crusade. So you invite people over to your home. You watch it with them. Or you send a link to someone.

Watch this right now. Post it on your social media. Tweet it. Put it on your Instagram page. Put it on Facebook. Let people know. Let as many people as know as possible that it's happening. In fact, you can even broadcast it simultaneously on your Facebook pages. We're broadcasting it as well. And get the word out.

But here's the key. After that person you've sent the link to has seen it. Or after they've viewed it maybe in your home.

Or wherever it is you're doing it. Then say, so what did you think? Did you pray and ask Christ to come into your life? And you can follow up on them. And help them get established in the faith. If they've made a commitment to Christ.

And if not, well, just water that seed that's been sown. Absolutely. Do you think maybe that the connection that you'll be making with each person might even be more personal and significant since it's one-on-one and not subject to the, you know, all the dynamics of a live stadium event. You know, in a stadium, you know, there's distractions. And friends are sitting right next to them that might be influencing them. But online it's just you and them. It really is. You know, it's a very intimate medium.

And here's a big difference. When I'm doing something like A Rush of Hope or Harvest at Home, I talk to the camera. Because I know when I talk to the camera I'm talking to a person. And so I treat that camera like a person I'm speaking to because I'm speaking to many people in many settings facing many challenges.

And many of them don't know Christ. And so it is kind of a personal medium. And in some ways you listen and watch differently when you're doing it alone or in a small setting than you do, as you just said, in a large stadium with all of the distractions. So I think it's a great way to reach people. And, you know, I think what's going to happen is with this music and these beautiful scenes from these films is it sort of disarms folks a little bit. They get caught up in the story. And these are true stories. Every one of these films is based on a true story. And they're powerfully done with first great actors in the roles. You know, you have Jon Voight and Sean Astin and KJ Apa and Britt Robertson. And the list just goes on.

Gary Sinise, Shania Twain, they're all featured in these films delivering powerful performances. But at the same time there's a message to everything that we're doing. And ultimately I'm going to just present the gospel in a straightforward way to the person who's watching.

Tell them who Jesus is, how to come into a relationship with him. And I'm going to answer those big questions of life such as why am I here? What is the meaning of my life?

What happens after I die? And who let the dogs out? No, I won't answer that question.

I don't care who let the dogs out. Remember that song? Okay, no. But I will answer those other three questions because the Bible has answers to those questions and more. Well, once again we're talking about a rush of hope, a cinematic harvest crusade.

It's coming up online the weekend of Labor Day, September 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. And, you know, we can't lose track of the fact that lives are changing one heart at a time. You know, for some people this will be the moment they mark as the day their names were written in the book of life. It's the most important day of their life.

And we can't forget that God can save people that we may think are too far gone. This man wrote to us with a moving story of how Pastor Greg's teaching from God's Word changed his life. I'm a 50-year-old man who drank terribly yesterday, had a horrible mouth yesterday, and despised people yesterday. But today I woke up with a genuine great regard for people. I like people.

I don't have any desire to drink. I don't have a nasty mouth anymore. And I just feel hope for the first time in as long as I can recall. I can't say thank you enough. God bless you, Greg, and everybody on staff. You have no idea what an impact you've made in at least this man's life.

Wow. You know, it's interesting, Dave, the story of a man by his own admission who had a foul mouth, and was not walking with the Lord, and his life was impacted by the Gospel and the Word of God. And it's also interesting that we play two back-to-back recordings of men who were impacted by the Gospel. As you know, the listenership of Christian radio is primarily female. Am I right on that? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. I think you told me it was two-to-one female over men.

Yeah, about two-to-one. Now, men are listening, but more ladies are listening, and that's of course because ladies are smarter than guys, and you're more insightful spiritually generally, and we acknowledge that. But here's my point in bringing that up. Isn't it exciting that these guys are listening and coming to Christ? So ladies, tell your husbands to listen to a new beginning.

Tell your sons to listen, as well as your daughters and husbands telling their wives. I mean, get the guys tuned in, because guys are searching for truth, and guys want to know God. And I'm so thankful we can reach men and women, boys and girls. Amen. Well, would you like to hear from a woman? Yes, I think it's time to hear from a lady now.

Enough of the dudes. Well, I was just struck by this lady who really knows how to reach out and impact her world with the gospel. Take a listen to this. Dear Greg, thank you for all your wonderful teachings. I listen to you on the radio in northern New York and have passed on your messages to all my friends and family. God has put me in an arena of influence because he knows that I'm not ashamed of the gospel or of the name of Jesus Christ. Your messages have given me great insight on how to speak the truth in such an interesting way that people begin to ask me questions. How fun and how wonderful is our Savior? I've ordered 20 of your books to place in my healthcare professional's libraries and also as an encouragement for folks who are scared in this season. God bless you.

OK, the woman just blew the men out of the water. Wow, this lady, I have great admiration for her and I want to say to her, thank you for using your influence for God's kingdom. What a difference it is making. Amen. Well, we're talking about A Rush of Hope. It's coming up in just days.

Labor Day weekend, September 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th online. It's a cinematic harvest crusade. It's beautifully photographed. It's cinematic.

It's a cinematic masterpiece. But more than that, it's a great way for you to reach out and impact the lives of those friends you know that haven't yet made a decision for the Lord. So we hope you'll get involved and if you'd like to know more, you can go to harvest.org right now and there will be a link there.

You can find out all about A Rush of Hope. Pastor Greg, let me just ask you outright, how is an outreach like this funded? You know, there have to be costs involved in making this possible. How is it paid for?

Yeah, there are costs involved. Think about this. Okay, we'll go and see a wonderful Christian film like I Still Believe or I Can Only Imagine or War Room or God's Not Dead, all these great films. And you'll be moved by the story.

And then you might watch a preacher on television preaching and giving the gospel. There are two separate mediums. One is a medium of entertainment, storytelling. The other is a medium of communication and preaching.

We've married these two mediums together in something that is unique. So it's cinematic, it's storytelling, it's powerfully and beautifully done and very professionally done with a straightforward gospel presentation. I like to think of this, as I said earlier, as weaponized art.

And I mean weaponized in the best way. It has gospel hooks in it. So yes, it'll be a great story. You'll be moved. It'll have special music that's been scored for this project and amazing performances and all the rest. But then we'll present the gospel. But even more, we'll give people an opportunity to accept Christ right there on the spot. I don't think you've seen anything quite like this before because, frankly, I don't think there's ever been anything quite like this before.

And again, as Dave said, it's a rush of hope. Well, needless to say, there's expense involved. Quite a bit of expense in putting it together. Also, there's expense in buying airtime and showing it. Because our hope is to first show it over the Labor Day weekend on social media platforms primarily. It'll probably be on television as well. But then ultimately, to go out into some major markets, major media markets around the United States and buy time on what we would call secular television.

We'll go into a main channel, hopefully in an area where you live, and show a rush of hope. So listen, if this is something you believe is important, if you think people in America could use a rush of hope, if you think people need to hear the gospel, you can invest in this financially. And we will take the gifts and resources you send us and invest them in purchasing airtime to reach even more people with the gospel. And the result is you will lay it for yourself, treasure, and heaven. It's fruit to your account, as Paul put it in his writing in the book of Corinthians. And God wants to add spiritual fruit to your account. You know, summer's here, and Dave, I love summer fruit more than any other kind of fruit.

I love nectarines, and I love plums and cherries and all those things. And you want to have spiritual fruit right now, you can have it by investing in the work of the kingdom. So I would not just ask you, I would urge you to invest in this project. Because I believe that we will reach more people with the gospel than we have ever reached out to before. I think we can make history with this outreach, but I can't do it alone. I'm depending on you, so please support this and let's see what God will do. Well, God can move in big ways in spite of a pandemic.

In fact, we've seen evidences of that all this year. Pastor Greg, maybe the most appropriate way to end our discussion would be to ask you to pray for this event. Pray that God goes before us and prepares the hearts of the people that will be seeing this and hearing it. And pray that our listeners sort of catch the vision and invite their friends to tune in for this epic event.

Very good. Let's pray. Father, you told us to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into the harvest. And how can we pray for that if we ourselves are not willing to be one of those laborers?

Your word is going to be sown in a lot of soil over Labor Day weekend. And you've promised in scripture in Isaiah 55 that your word will not return void, but it will prosper in the place where you have sent it. Our job is not to convert people. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. But our job, our calling as Christians, is to sow the seed.

In fact, the word broadcast means sow seed. So as we broadcast this cinematic crusade, we pray that seed will be sown. And we pray that seed will take root and break ground.

And that we will see thousands and thousands and thousands of people come to believe in Jesus. We pray, Lord, that you will provide the finances that are necessary. We pray, Lord, that you would inspire us to share the word and be used by you to bring other people into the kingdom. So we commit this project called A Rush of Hope to you. We ask your blessing on it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Well, just to recap, A Rush of Hope is coming your way this weekend, today, tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday. This is the most important time of the year to reach out to that friend who needs to hear the hope of the gospel. Don't let this opportunity slip by.

Invite them to watch when you do, and then ask what they thought of it. It's an online event coming to a screen near you. For all the details on this cinematic online harvest crusade, go to harvest.org. And again, your investment right now will help us reach further with the life-changing message of the gospel. It's a time when people are worried. They're looking for answers.

They're looking for hope. And we want to meet them right where they are with the life-saving message of God's love. Your help couldn't come at a better time.

And we'll thank you for your investment right now with Pastor Greg's new book, World Changers, about the heroes of the faith, regular men and women who turn their world upside down. Write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or just go online to harvest.org. Well, next time Pastor Greg brings important counsel on walking successfully with the Lord each day.

There's a study called How to Never Stumble or Fall. Join us here on A New Beginning. This is the day, the day when life begins The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at harvest.org.