Harvest Crusade, a large-scale evangelistic event that is held in the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Southern California every year, has modified its tradition for the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead of the grandeur in-person stadium event, Harvest Crusades is expected to be streamed as a cinematic film titled "A Rush of Hope." The film is scheduled to be released on Labor Day weekend on social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Roku, and Apple TV Channels.
The Harvest Crusade, founded by Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Greg Laurie and late pastor Chuck Smith, has maintained its tradition for more than 3 decades and was even acknowledged as the last of the big Billy Graham-style crusades in the U.S. in which thousands of people accept Christ each year.
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown mandate that prohibits in-person gatherings of more than 60 people in an outdoor setting required the Harvest Crusade tradition to be administered differently this year.
Pastor Greg Laurie's narration starts off the film trailer, "Our life is like a movie. It has a beginning, middle, and end. Full of surprises, with twists and turns."
"We all have questions about this movie that we're in. Is this movie a tragedy? Is it a love story? Or 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," Laurie narrates.
In an interview with Religion News Service, Laurie shared that the film is a "part movie, part evangelist event."
Laurie expressed the effect of the coronavirus pandemic had on the initial Harvest Crusades event. "It just seemed this was not the right time to do a stadium event. Now, looking back, I realize it was the right decision, and therefore we pivoted and started putting our energy and creativity into something different."
"When we can meet in person again, then we'll do that. In the meantime, we're not going to sit around and twiddle our thumbs," Laurie said.
