An over-flowing crowd of 40,000 packed Angel Stadium in Anaheim Sunday evening to hear Riverside Pastor and Evangelist Greg Laurie speak.
Laurie’s message was simple but poignant: “Come home – come home before dark.”
An over-flowing crowd of 40,000 packed Angel Stadium in Anaheim Sunday evening to hear Riverside Pastor and Evangelist Greg Laurie speak.
Laurie’s message was simple but poignant: “Come home – come home before dark.”
He related the story of the Prodigal Son in the Bible; the son who wanted his inheritance “now” and wanted to sow his wild oats, which he did and then he saw the error of his ways and returned home to a loving father who accepted him with open arms – likening that story to those in the audience whose lives were currently in disrepair – that a loving Father in Heaven – God – would also accept them as they are, if they accept Christ into their lives and work to change their ways.
“God doesn’t expect you to be perfect; he’ll accept you as you are,” Laurie told the crowd. “Christ died for our sins.”
Tears were in the eyes of many in the audience, both men and women, as the message touched their hearts. Michele Gulland from Los Angeles said this was her first time attending the Harvest Crusade. “I love hearing Greg Laurie because he always has the perfect thing to say and what he says speaks to me and of course I love the music of Jeremy Camp.”
Tamara Mitchin, of Los Angeles , has attended the Harvest Crusade four times.
“I love the Christian music and I love to see and hear Greg Laurie speak and see the people go onto the field to receive Christ. It makes me happy.”
Jesus Pena, from Lake Forest , said that a friend had invited him to the Harvest Crusade. “I’m taking it in baby steps at my own pace, but this has made me become more aware of the sacrifices Christ made for us; I don’t go to church very often but maybe this will open a door for me and help me make that transition,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it more lately and this is another opportunity to see what’s out there and see what God has to offer me.”
Laurie acknowledged that he had made mistakes in his own life but that he is a “new creation” of a person today. In a riveting interview at the podium, Laurie spoke with WWII prisoner of war survivor Louis Zamperini, 94, a former American Olympic long-distance runner who competed in 1936 in Berlin , Germany.
Zamperini told of how he came back from the war a very angry person and married his sweetheart who later almost divorced him because of his angry behavior that was caused by post traumatic stress disorder.
After Zamperini’s wife became a Christian, she told Zamperini that she wasn’t going to divorce him, but that he would need to go hear a Christian speaker, which turned out to be Billy Graham, if he wanted to save their marriage.
Suffering with PTSD, Zamperini had become an alcoholic, but after hearing Graham speak, he said he felt “instantly released of alcoholism.”
He said he was then able to read the Bible and understand it for the first time and that he felt total forgiveness toward those who had hurt and tortured him in the Japanese prison camps.
In 1950, Zamperini went to Japan and visited many of the guards from his POW days to let them know that he had forgiven them and shared his testimony with them through an interpreter missionary, Fred Jarvis.
The colonel in charge of the prison encouraged the prisoners who recognized Zamperini to meet him again; Zamperini threw his arms around each of them and explained the Christian Gospel of forgiveness.
The prisoners were surprised by Zamperini's genuine affection for those who had once treated him poorly and most of the prisoners accepted copies of the New Testament that the Gideons had given them.
Zamperini was held in captivity and severely tortured until the end of the war. His family assumed he had been killed in action. When he eventually returned home he received a hero's welcome.
His parents had received $10,000 because he was assumed dead, but when he returned alive, his parents returned the money only to have the government give them back the money.
Zamperini was held in a Japanese navy camp at Ofuna for captives who were not labeled as prisoners of war. For his 81st birthday in January 1998, Zamperini ran a leg in the Olympic Torch relay for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
In March 2005 he returned to Germany to visit the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the first time since he competed there.
In Zamperini’s honor, Torrance High School 's home football, soccer, and track stadium have been named Zamperini Stadium, and the entrance plaza at USC's track and field stadium was named Louis Zamperini Plaza in 2004. Zamperini continues to attend USC football games.
In October 2008, Zamperini was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago, Ill., his original home state.
In April of this year, Zamperini received an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters from Azusa Pacific University and in May, he delivered Bryant University's 2011 baccalaureate address and received Bryant's inaugural Distinguished Character Award. The following day, Bryant presented Zamperini with an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters and the next day he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Red Sox-Cubs game at Fenway Park in Boston .
Zamperini, who currently lives in Hollywood, was honored in the 1960s by having the Torrance airport named the Zamperini Field.
This is the 22nd year the event has been held in Orange County and it’s now going to also be held in Los Angeles County at Dodger Stadium in a few weeks.
The Harvest Crusade is being hosted by more than 145 churches from Irvine to Riverside and Temecula, utilizing 7,000 volunteers.
The entire Harvest weekend has been recorded and is available at www.harvestcrusades.org, blog.greglaurie.com and twitter.com/greglaurie.
All events will be interpreted in Spanish, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese and American Signing for the deaf is being provided.
For Harvest Crusades information, visit Anaheim.Harvest.Org.
Loreen Berlin can be reached at loreenberlin@verizon.net
