Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie (born December 10, 1952) is an American Evangelical Baptist author and pastor who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship based in Riverside. He also is an Evangelist for Harvest Crusades.

Pastor

Greg Laurie
Laurie in 2019
Born (1952-12-10) December 10, 1952
Long Beach, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Christian pastor, evangelist, author
EmployerHarvest Christian Fellowship
Known forHarvest Crusades
TitleSenior Pastor
SpouseCathy Martin (m. 1974)
Children2
Websitewww.harvest.org

He has written a book, Jesus Revolution,” about his experiences from that great American spiritual awakening.[1] Greg’s story along with his wife Cathe's, will be told in the new film, Jesus Revolution from Kingdom Story Company[2] will be released in theaters nationwide on February 24, 2023.[3]

Early life and education

Greg Laurie was born in Long Beach, California. He was raised by a single mother who had seven marriages, often moving to vastly different locations such as New Jersey and Hawaii.[4] Working as a newspaper delivery man for the Daily Pilot in Los Angeles, CA was Greg Laurie's first job.[5] 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 at Newport Harbor High School under the ministry of evangelist Lonnie Frisbee, as the Jesus Movement was exploding in Southern California.[6][5]

Ministry

In 1973, at the age of 19, under the ministry of Calvary Chapel Pastor Chuck Smith, he was given the opportunity to lead a Bible study of 30 people.[7] The church that formed from this group, Harvest Christian Fellowship, has grown to become one of the largest churches in the United States.

In 1990, he founded the evangelistic events Harvest Crusades. [8]

He serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association[9] He is also a chaplain for the Newport Beach Police Department.[5] In 2013, Laurie served as the Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

President Donald Trump selected Pastor Laurie as one of several evangelical church leaders to participate in the National Prayer Service hosted at the Washington National Cathedral following the Presidential Inauguration of 2017.[10]

In 2017, Greg Laurie organized a movement entitled "The Year of Good News." Multiple church leaders signed the letter he penned to initiate the movement.[11] One of the paragraphs 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."[12]

In 2017, his church became a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, after a request from Laurie, because of the important programs of national and international evangelization of the latter.[13]

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 in the "Christian ministry" category in 2000.[14]

Laurie is host of the syndicated radio program A New Beginning,[15] which is broadcast on over 1100 radio stations worldwide.[16] A New Beginning is also featured as a Christian podcast available on iTunes.[17] He is also a guest commentator at WorldNetDaily and appears regularly in a weekly television program called GregLaurie.tv on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).[18]

Films

Greg Laurie has produced or written 6 films:

  • Lost Boy [19]
  • Hope For Hurting Hearts [20]
  • A Rush Of Hope [21]
  • Steve McQueen: American Icon [22]
  • Johnny Cash: The Redemption Of An American Icon [23]
  • Jesus Revolution [24]

He is working on a 7th documentary about Fame and Faith.

Personal life

Laurie resides in Newport Beach with his wife, Catherine. The couple had two sons, Christopher and Jonathan, as well as 5 grandchildren.[25] On July 24, 2008, Christopher was killed at the scene of a 9 a.m. car accident on the eastbound Riverside Freeway west of Serfas Club Drive in Corona, California. He was 33 years old.

Recognition

Laurie holds two honorary doctorates from Biola University and Azusa Pacific University.[26]

Publications
  • The Seeker's Bible: New Testament: New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers. 2000. ISBN 0-8423-3928-0.
  • Every Day with Jesus: First Steps for New Believers. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers. 2004. ISBN 1-4143-0075-1.
  • Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners: How to Finish Strong in the Spiritual Race. New York: Warner Faith. 2005. ISBN 0-446-50015-1.
  • Wrestling with God. S.l: Multnomah Pub. 2006. ISBN 1-59052-894-8.
  • Lost Boy: My Story. Allen David / Kerygma;b. 2008. ISBN 1-9420-9021-8.
  • Let God Change Your Life: How to Know and Follow Jesus. U.K.: David C. Cook. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4347-0207-4.
  • Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon. American Icon Press. 2017. ISBN 1-9468-9105-3.
  • Jesus Revolution: How God transformed an unlikely generation and how he can do it again today. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books. 2018. ISBN 978-0801075940.
  • Johnny Cash: The Redemption of An American Icon. Terrill Marshall,. Washington, DC: Salem Books. 2019. ISBN 978-1-62157-974-8.
  • 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. ISBN 978-0-8010-7595-7.
  • Lennon, Dylan, Alice and Jesus. 2022.

References
  1. Martin, Stephanie (2019-03-29). "Greg Laurie: Pray for a Millennial Jesus Movement". ChurchLeaders. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  2. "Erwin Bros., Lionsgate to release film 'Jesus Revolution' based on 1970s spiritual awakening". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  3. "From the creators of I CAN ONLY IMAGINE". Facebook post. Jesus Revolution Facebook page. 2002-09-01. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  4. "Harvest Church - Greg's Blog: About Me". Harvest.org. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  5. Kandil, Caitlin Yoshiko (2016-08-12). "'A delivery boy' for God: Greg Laurie and his Harvest Crusade are back for a 27th year". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  6. Frisbee, Lonnie; Sachs, Roger (2012). Not By Might Nor By Power. Santa Maria, CA: Freedom Publications. pp. 125–126. ISBN 0978543319.
  7. Alex Murashko, Greg Laurie, Harvest to Celebrate 40 Years of 'Knowing God and Making Him Known', christianpost.com, USA, March 14, 2013
  8. David Olson, Harvest Crusades: Thousands pack Angel Stadium to hear the good word – and pass it on, ocregister.com, USA, August 16, 2014
  9. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. 2006 Annual Report Archived 2007-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, p. 18
  10. "Trump Stacks Prayer Service Lineup with Evangelicals". Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  11. "Evangelical Leaders: Make 2017 'The Year of Good News'". CBN.com (beta). Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  12. "The Year of Good News". Harvest: Greg Laurie. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  13. Samuel Smith, Greg Laurie's Calif. Megachurch Joins Southern Baptist Convention, christianpost.com, USA, June 13, 2017
  14. Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2000 Gold Medallion Book Awards Winners
  15. "Oneplace.com". Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  16. "Broadcast Listings". Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  17. "RightNow Media". RightNow Media. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  18. "GregLaurie.tv on TBN". Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  19. Thompson, Dwight (2009-11-05), Lost Boy (Documentary), New Revolution Entertainment, retrieved 2023-01-11
  20. Thompson, Dwight, Hope for Hurting Hearts (Documentary, Drama, Family), retrieved 2023-01-11
  21. Smallbone, Ben (2020-09-04), A Rush of Hope: Find Answers to Life's Questions (Biography), Kingdom Story Company, retrieved 2023-01-11
  22. Erwin, Jon; Smallbone, Ben (2017-09-28), Steve McQueen: American Icon (Documentary, Biography), American Icon Films, retrieved 2023-01-11
  23. Smallbone, Ben (2022-12-05), Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon (Documentary, Biography, Music), Harvest Ministries, Kingdom Story Company, Radiate Films, retrieved 2023-01-11
  24. Erwin, Jon; McCorkle, Brent (2023-02-24), Jesus Revolution (Drama), Kingdom Story Company, Lionsgate, retrieved 2023-01-11
  25. "Harvest Church - Greg Laurie Biography". Harvest Church. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  26. Harvest Christian Fellowship, About Greg Laurie, harvest.org, USA, retrieved January 16, 2023
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