Pastors Need Non-Christian Friends

I have a confession to make. The longer I worked in ministry, the fewer people I led to Christ. Actually, it happened somewhat quickly. I started spending all my time with Christians.BY ANDREW ALESSOAt one point I couldn’t identify any real friends that were in my life who didn’t go to church.Preaching was still a fruitful evangelistic activity for me, but I didn’t like who I had become. I couldn’t even preach with true conviction and empathy about evangelistic disciple making because I wasn’t doing it.I think my preaching became less relatable to the unchurched over time.The truth was that my life in the Christian bubble was a choice to live in sin. And when I moved into a role that required me to preach less often, the weight of this unconfessed guilt wreaked havoc on my soul. For a season, I wasn’t very fun to be around and I didn’t fully love ministry any more. It was no one’s fault but my own.So, when we started Thrive LA Church I just wanted to begin by being friends with as many non-Christians as possible.I wanted to unashamedly invite others to follow Jesus in the context of unconditional friendship. I coached basketball at the park. I started a secular book club on MeetUp and eventually became a city organizer for them. I started inviting the people I met into my life for meals and board games. I wouldn’t say I’ve been awesome at it, but I’ve invited my own friends to church and I’ve been re-acquainted with the joy of praying with friends to accept Christ.I feel like I’m living in obedience to God for the first time in a long time.Here’s the beauty of the vision, but also the challenge: When I do those things I’m not being a pastor, I’m just being a Christian. Ephesians 4 tells us the job of church leaders: To equip the saints for the work of ministry. God calls pastors to mentor a whole church of evangelistic disciple-makers.These two callings go together. You can’t give away something you don’t have. Spending half my time in the community and the other half training leaders to do the same has been the most fulfilling season of ministry in my entire life.But it takes time to lead someone from skeptic to follower of Christ, and from follower of Christ to ministry leader and evangelist.I realize now that I didn’t spend enough time at the beginning recruiting Christians to our team who were already trained and committed to personal outreach.As I manage the growing demands of our church I can feel my commitment to personal evangelism slipping away. I’m in a new season that involves preaching every week, facilitating our leadership pipeline, meeting for weekly discipleship conversations, planning outreach festivals, etc. I feel the strain of more responsibility and relationships than I have time to develop. I need to share the load in our church with mature believers to continue living a full Christian life.I have to do what it takes to keep modeling the mission as I lead our church.Friend, are you a disciple that makes disciples? Are you living in obedience to the great commission? Can you name the people you are leading to Christ and the people you are imparting this lifestyle?You can’t give away something you don’t have, but I can tell you, it’s worth finding.

'Saturate SoCal' To Deliver Jesus Film DVD Pack To 4 Million Homes

ANAHEIM, Calif. — More than 200 Christian leaders learned of a plan to mobilize hundreds of churches and thousands of volunteers to spread the gospel to all the people living in the 364 zip codes found in Los Angeles and Orange counties at a kickoff meeting hosted by Christ for All Peoples on Tuesday.Organizers said “Saturate SoCal” is part of a nationwide strategy (Saturate USA) to deliver a free copy of three Jesus Films on one DVD to 60 million homes in the U.S. (4 million in LA and Orange counties) by 2020. The three films are Magdalena - Through Her Eyes, The Life of Jesus - Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Story of Jesus - Through the Eyes of Children. Leaders said the package which includes the DVD, will be distributed by mostly a door-to-door approach by volunteers.Apologist Josh McDowell, who was the keynote speaker at the gathering, said the Saturate USA initiative is critically needed for the times we live in.McDowell pointed to today’s culture, which he says has redefined the meaning of “truth,” as a reason gospel proclamation is desperately needed. Truth has become more about personal feelings and opinion, he said. The Jesus film DVD package can counter the current anti-truth movement by introducing the gospel.“The Jesus film combines one of the most powerful resources for today’s culture,” he said. “It’s straight out of the text of Luke, but it’s [also] visual with the truth teller telling the story. There’s nothing out there more effective than the text of scripture with the visualization. Text and visual.”A key component to the package will be an insert that includes information on a local church, organizers said.“We are casting out our vision here today,” said Scott Baller, who is Christ for All Peoples’ CFO. He told TogetherLA that the meeting held at the Anaheim Marriott was about launching the idea to leaders and organizations so that by July 6th “we can get this thing going and saturate so we can get all 364 zip codes in LA and Orange County.”“Saturate Orlando” will be the first of the city movements that will make Revival 2020 a reality, organizers say on their website. “It brings together Christian organizations, churches and volunteers in a bond of unity and love with the singular purpose of reaching 750,000 homes in Orlando with the Jesus film DVDs in one month.”More than a half-million homes have already received the DVD package in Orlando where the movement was launched on March 3, according to the Christ for All People Facebook page.The packages are assembled by volunteers organized by churches in the areas for distribution. The “Saturate” process is not complicated, organizers said.“We tend to get really complex with things and as a lay person that’s not a pastor I [sometimes] get overwhelmed with all the things I have to do, including getting trained,” Baller said. “This plan is really simple. You don’t have to be trained. If you want to make it more complex you can” by doing more than simply dropping off packages.The free DVD packages assembled by people from local churches can include whatever the churches decide on, but are only required to include a letter with contact information for the church in the area participating. Christ for All Peoples does not promote its ministry in the material included.“The key is that we are not about an organization,” Baller said. “ We are just willing to partner with other organizations and do this.”Photos: Christ for All Peoples/Saturate USAOn the Web: Saturate SoCal

Saturate USA from Building a Difference on Vimeo.

Engaging Culture Well: How to Share Your Faith Critically and Contextually

In every time period and historical context during which it has been shared, the gospel has confronted culture in one way or another.

By ED STETZER

During the years of Christ’s ministry, it challenged the mistreatment of the poor.During the Reformation, it drove Martin Luther to condemn the selling of indulgences.During the late 1700s, it inspired William Wilberforce to abolish the slave trade.The message of Christ’s redemptive love and free gift of forgiveness for all has been the force behind centuries of social change. Christians who understand the implications of this gospel can’t help but find ways to apply its principals as they live and work in secular society.For obvious reasons, however, cultural engagement brings with it unique challenges and complications. Many find themselves wanting to charge in, speak prophetically, criticize openly, and then expect to wait and watch for meaningful change to occur. But as Christians work to identify issues of concern in communities—either our own or those elsewhere—a posture of respect becomes critical.Ultimately, it’s not about forcing others into agreement or ‘winning’ a debate. It’s about sharing the message of hope that we have and trusting God to change hearts and minds.

Pursue Understanding

When we find ourselves in conversation with individuals from other cultures—particularly, those who don’t see eye to eye with us on spiritual matters—it can be easy to enter into ‘prophetic preacher’ mode. An attitude of superiority and condescension quickly cloud our witness and prevent others from receiving our message.Sometimes, though, the most effective way to share is with our mouths closed.When Paul visited Athens in Acts 17, we know he spent time reasoning with Jews, Greeks, and philosophers alike. But, he didn’t do so without first getting some context; he pursued understanding of these people’s culture before entering into the conversation.We see him remark on observations of Athenians religiosity—he tells an audience of Athenians that he “walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship” reading their inscriptions and considering their philosophies (Acts 17:23).Like Paul, we must practice a certain level of cultural literacy; before offering criticism or commentary, we need to understand who we’re speaking to and where they’re coming from. When we do this, we learn how to share truth in a way that others can recognize and relate to.

Build Relationships

People respond well to the gospel in relational contexts. While I’m confident that God can and does work through a variety of evangelistic efforts, I know from personal experience that the gospel is best shared between two people who’ve established a certain rapport with one another over a period of time.When trust is established, people are generally much more willing to open up and share their story.This is why it’s so important for followers of Christ to enter into community with those who are different from them. When we build relationships with people from other cultures, backgrounds, and belief systems, we build bridges and pave the way for the gospel message to be shared.A relational approach to evangelism requires just as much intentionality as other forms; in many cases, even more. It means being diligent in the development of new friendships, prayer, and generosity with our time among other things. It means being the hands and feet of Christ in ways that take us out of our comfort zone and into a place of dependence on God.

Make the Message Relatable

Often when sharing the gospel with people of different cultural contexts, it’s easy to get caught up in ‘Christianese’ speak.But what would it look like if we made the message of the gospel more relatable and easily understood?There are certain things we all share as human beings; among them a desire to be known, loved, and valued. But so too there are aspects of Christ’s gospel that speak to each of us in different ways. For those living in want, Jesus as the bread and water of life are powerful metaphors. For children who’ve suffered some form of abandonment, the notion of God as a devoted, faithful Father is equally as redemptive.As we desire to deliver the gospel far and wide, we must learn to show the ways that the message speaks to them specifically. How does it fill the empty space in their heart? How does it challenge their preconceived notions of the divine? How does it speak truth into and transform their life?The gospel is powerful, but so too are the ways we deliver it to people. Let’s learn to share it through relationships, with understanding, and accessibility. Check out our latest resource, Our Gospel Story, to help you get started.Ed Stetzer holds the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College, is executive director of the Billy Graham Center, and publishes church leadership resources through Mission Group.This article was republished with permission and originally appeared here.

Broocks: Greatest Social Justice Endeavor is Preaching the Gospel

Of course, all Christians know about the importance of evangelism, and many books have been written to discuss the need for more evangelism and how to go about the work. The Human Right: To Know Jesus Christ and to Make Him Known takes it up a notch.Author Rice Broocks describes preaching the gospel as the greatest justice issue. Failure to bring the good news to the lost constitutes the greatest injustice. Hearing the gospel as a basic human right gives it the preeminence and urgency it deserves, according to the author.Broocks is an up and coming apologist and evangelist who is best known for his breakthrough book, God's Not Dead. His newest book, The Human Right, speaks about the need "to know Jesus Christ and to Make Him Known." It speaks about the importance of evangelism and why all Christians need to do it.It's no secret that there is a conflict in modern evangelicalism between social justice and evangelism as the missionary focus of a church. Some are inclined to fixing the brokenness and injustices of the culture while others are inclined to only preaching a message of redemption within the culture. While not discounting the effectiveness and merit of doing charitable deeds for hurting societies, Broocks underscores the centrality of the gospel as the priority of Christian outreach.Why? Because the gospel is the message that God uses to transform the human heart - which is the seat of all evil and injustice. Using the word, the Lord regenerates a believer, granting him a new heart with new desires. Once this happens, the born again person has the appetite and will to live for the Lord, which leads to a life of righteousness. In other words, the root of the problem is the most important issue to address, which only the gospel can fix.The author contends that since the gospel is verifiable through philosophical and historical confirmation, it is considered "public truth," and not just some private opinion or suggestion. Since it is a universal truth, every person on the planet needs to hear about it. They have a right to hear it. Since all people are made in God's image and are treated with certain graces from God Himself, Christians are called to be the bearer of God's message of eternal life to the world. The right to hear true testimony should not be denied as much as we cannot deny someone the right to bear property and to worship freely.That is why preaching the gospel is the greatest social justice endeavor.The book makes a compelling case that highlights the importance of preaching the gospel to unbelievers. Much of Broocks argument depends on whether the gospel is true, which the author does in convincing fashion by contrasting Christianity with secularism, postmodernism, and other world religions. Chapter 5's discussion of "The Reality of the Soul" is also helpful discussion that describes the reality of life after death and why we are different from other created beings. This bolsters the author's claims about our capacity, as image bearers, to understand God's will and to seek for truth. This is why the saving message of the gospel matters to the world.Of course, one of the disconnects that Christians see in the gospel is its relevance for today, since the gospel deals with afterlife matters. This is one area that Dr. Broocks alludes to at times, but doesn't quite develop as much. For much of the book, we understand the gospel as the instrument that the Holy Spirit uses to revive dead sinners into God worshippers. But yet, what happens to someone who rejects the gospel in this life? An underdeveloped discussion about postmortem judgment and the eternality of hell somewhat enervates the urgency of Jesus' salvation message. The urgency of evangelism is made all the more clear if a discussion on hell is there.Nevertheless, Dr. Broocks makes a compelling case for the transformative effects of the gospel on the human heart that plays out in this life. Addressing source of all injustice is the key to producing a renewed culture where people can love God and love others, which is why the gospel must be the focus of the church's missionary endeavors. For an apologetics book that establishes God's word as truth and can inspire a generation of believers to start evangelizing, The Human Right is an admirable book that all Christians should take to heart. It is a great addition to add to your collection of Great Commission books and a great tool to hand out to Christians who need to hear its message.Steve Cha is the teaching pastor of Grace City LA.

What Evangelism is Not; A Closer Look at Today's Practices

Christians seek to be an influence to others. Church plants pray for revival in the city. Parachurch organizations plan movements that seek to advance the cause of the kingdom in the city. The action begins, and everyone now seems to be doing "evangelism." It might not come as a surprise that everyone does evangelism differently and even have different opinions on what constitutes evangelism.In our day and age, evangelism has become a lost art inside some Christian circles.So what is evangelism? Thankfully, it is not terribly complicated. Theologian Wayne Grudem provides an accurate and simple definition: It is “the proclamation of the gospel to unbelievers (from the Greek word euangelizo, “to announce good news”). In other words, it is the announcing, teaching, or communicating of the good news of the gospel to the unsaved with the hopes that they might come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This is the essence of evangelism. Nothing more and nothing less.We find this definition in two key passages, both defined by Jesus Himself. The first is Luke 24:47, which says that “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” The second key passage is Mark 16:15, which reads, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”Understanding what evangelism is according to Scripture also helps us to discern what evangelism is not. In understanding the difference, we have a clearer focus on our mission as Christians. It also should give us soberness to not pass up good opportunities to speak the gospel to people, especially when we are tempted to replace evangelism with another program or method that we think constitutes true evangelism.Here are ten common practices that can tempt us to believe we have evangelized (especially when these activities are used as a replacement for verbal gospel proclamation):1. Inviting non-Christians to church: This is one of the common practices of Christians today. Christians think that they have done their evangelism job once they have brought the unbelievers into the church gathering. It’s not bad to invite a friend to church, since the assembly of the saints is a good place for unbelievers to see the living testimony of Christ lived out before his eyes. But when using this as a crutch or a substitute for your obedience to evangelism, then it becomes a problem. And is there really any guarantee that your pastor or any church leader will personally evangelize your unbelieving friend on that Sunday?2. Conversions: Another term for this is “the results of evangelism.” This is when you have both proclaimed the gospel to the unbeliever and converted them. Nowhere in Scripture, even in passages like Romans 1:15 and Galatians 4:13 when evangelism is used as a verb, does the word imply that evangelism is successful when we procure conversion. Failure to grasp this concept has lead to unnecessary pressure on evangelists, which in turn leads them to try to get conversions at nearly all costs. When this happens, Christians experiment with unbiblical, pragmatic methods of evangelism that produce manipulated “decisions,” and ultimately spurious conversions.3. Apologetics: This is the art of defending the Christian faith with answers to objections. The problem is that some Christians use apologetics, rather than the gospel, to try to win over unbelievers, thinking that clever arguments, such as kalam cosmological argument, the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery, the DNA structure, and biblical prophecies, will win the day. Other than the fact that commonplace experience shows us that unbelievers are not generally converted by hard data, Scripture even tells us that God does not use solely empirical evidence to draw a sinner to belief in Christ. Instead, the Lord uses the gospel. God has chosen to use the “foolish message” of the cross to be the power of God onto salvation (1 Cor 1:18).4. Praying with unbelievers: This is when you pray with unbelievers. Some people believe this to be evangelism, and have actually replaced evangelizing unbelievers with praying with them. This is a case of the fear-of-persecution syndrome. Let’s face it; it is a lot more “loving” to pray for them than to be “confrontational” by being open with them about the issues of sin, judgment, and the need to repent before a holy God. The problem with this approach is that it clearly does not square with the biblical definition of what evangelism is. Another roadblock is that nowhere in Scripture are Christians exhorted to pray together with unbelievers, as if they have a common saving faith or a common god. Instead, Christians are commanded to pray and intercede for an unbeliever’s salvation (Rom 10:1; 1 Tim 2:1).5. “God loves you” or “Jesus loves you:" You’ve probably been a part of evangelism teams, or have seen groups, that said or held up signs that read, “Jesus loves you!” Yet these evangelists rarely mention sin, heaven, hell, the atonement, the resurrection, or any information that a sinner needs to know in order to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It’s not a bad thing to say “God loves you” to an unbeliever, because it is true. But when proclaimed without any context, it can be misleading. When unbelievers hear this statement, they think that God will accept them eternally, no matter what kind of lifestyle they are living or what they believe.6. “Accept Jesus:” This is very close to evangelism, but not quite. This is when you take a gospel presentation, chop out all the content, and simply call the unbeliever to “accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.” In other words, you don’t actually explain the gospel message to them. There is a problem with this approach. The unbeliever will obviously not desire to believe in Christ because he does not see why he needs to come to Christ, and does not understand why Jesus is the only way for him to be saved from hell. Gospel proclamation, although not an encyclopedia of data, is certainly more than just telling someone to “accept Jesus Christ.”7. Lifestyle evangelism: This is when you live a certain way before your unbelieving friends, relatives, and co-workers, thinking that your actions will impress them, illicit curiosity to your faith, and eventually draw them to salvation in Christ. It is somewhat based on the salt-and-light principle from Matthew 5:13-16. Although this Sermon on the Mount passage does teach us to be living witnesses to unbelievers, it is not identical to evangelism. Evangelism, once again, is the proclamation of the gospel to the person, and “lifestyle evangelism” does not fit that bill. Unbelievers will not understand the gospel just by observing your lifestyle. They can very well see a respectful lifestyle in a moral Buddhist and an atheist. As Romans 10:14 declares, “…How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”8. Personal Testimony: This is when you share your life story with an unbeliever about how you came to Jesus Christ or what he did or is currently doing in your life , with the hopes that this “bait” will attract your prospect to the faith. The problem with personal testimonies is that many of them are devoid of the gospel message. Once again, we must remember that it is not apologetics, clever stories, or arguments that win people to salvation, but the gospel (Rom 1:16). A downfall with personal testimonies is that unbelievers will approach such stories with an attitude of, “That’s good for you. But I have my own path and happiness.” However, the gospel is not relative or optional. It sets one path of salvation, and calls for a response from the sinner.9. Humanitarian or social action: A popular trend among many evangelicals, especially in urban settings, is to spread the Christian influence by doing good deeds for the city, such as feeding the poor, serving in soup kitchens, cleaning up the streets, and tutoring underprivileged children. They call this “servanthood evangelism.” In this pursuit, the gospel is sometimes preached, but other times, it is not. In the latter case, the church becomes no different than the Angelina Jolies of the world who do humanitarian work in the name of “love.” Giving a sandwich to a homeless guy on the street is noble, but what does it profit him if we feed him physically, yet he dies spiritually?10. “Revival” events: These are special events designed to rally Christians up in “worship” of God. They are usually centered on high-tech music designed to stir up the feelings of the attendees so that they can get an emotional high for God. The problem with this approach is that this type of event does not place the preaching of the gospel as its centerpiece. Therefore, it cannot qualify as a “revival” in any way, because the historical outworking of revival is the mass salvation of unbelievers as a result of gospel proclamation, such as the case with the Great Awakening. Emotional feelings for God do not save people; only the gospel can do this, as the Bible teaches.These ten practices should always be kept in perspective. This is not to say that these practices are evil or counterproductive. Most of them can actually be of great benefit to supplement or open opportunities for the preaching of the gospel to non-Christians. This is why if they are done, they should be done to the glory of God and in some sort of partnership with evangelism opportunities. Creative approaches should always serve the cause of biblical evangelism, and not be replacements of it.As defined earlier, evangelism is the proclamation of the good news of Christ to unbelievers with the hope that they might turn to Christ in faith and be reconciled to Him eternally. And the content of that faith should center on God's authority, man's sinfulness, eternal punishment, and the good news of Christ's incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and our need to respond in repentance and faith in order to be saved. That is the successful communication of the gospel. And that message alone has tremendous power, as Paul states, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).Steve Cha is the teaching pastor of Grace City LA.

Love LA Launches To Demonstrate and Proclaim The Gospel 24/7

Editor's Note: Below is an announcement from Love L.A., which is "a week of the citywide church coming together to engage the heart of God in worship and prayer and out of His presence to go forth and engage our culture with acts of love and the proclamation of gospel truth," organizers said.Friends of the gospel and lovers of L.A. -

FINAL LIVE TRAINING

It’s almost here. After nine months of laboring, meeting with pastors and building lifelong relationships, preaching the gospel all over the city and mobilizing the churches, we are excited to announce the FINAL LIVE TRAINING EVENT on Saturday (10/28/17) from 12 - 4 pm at St. James Methodist Church which is located at 2033 East Washington Boulevard in Pasadena, CA. You must complete a training event to participate in outreaches throughout the week. You do not need to complete training before the launch outreach, but you will need to complete training to participate in any other Love L.A. outreaches. Spanish translation will be available (Traduccion en espanol sera disponible).

LAUNCH EVENT

Then we will have dinner and re-gather for the LAUNCH EVENT for LOVE L.A. at the same location on Saturday from 6 pm -12 am. We will be engaging God’s heart with believers from all over Los Angeles and establishing a resting place for the manifest presence of God, and then from that place of corporate encounter, we will be sending worship and outreach teams to 20 different locations. A fragrance to Jesus will rise from all over Los Angeles as we begin to gather in the harvest and demonstrate and proclaim the gospel. Please invite friends to come and be part of the launch event.

ALTERNATIVE TRAINING

For those who are not able to complete the live training event (which is preferred), video training will be available online or on location in the training room at the Love L.A. Firebase.

FIREBASE LOCATION

The Firebase is where we will be doing 24/7 worship and prayer as well as 24/7 outreach. After the launch event, 24/7 worship will continue at the Pasadena International House of Prayer (PIHOP) which is located at 1403 North Lake Avenue in Pasadena, CA. Make sure you check in at the info desk at 1401 North Lake Avenue and then go into the prayer room at 1403 or head to the briefing room to go on outreach.

GIVE

Please give generously to Love LA. Take a minute to pray about donating online now at www.lovela247.com.Burning for Jesus and the Harvest,Love LA  

Behind the Scenes Harvest America and NAMB Unify Christians, Churches

Behind the scenes of Harvest America 2017 in Phoenix on Sunday (June 11), a huge urban outreach partnership between the North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) Crossover Arizona and Greg Laurie’s Harvest America was a success story on many levels.The two organizations joined forces to host a three-day evangelistic outreach in Phoenix that involved training, street evangelism and service projects before culminating in Harvest America’s Sunday night crusade, NAMB reported.“God is faithful to glorify His name! 38,000 people came to #CrossoverArizona with Harvest America, and 42,305 people watched the live stream from 83 different countries,” stated NAMB. “But it gets better—2,904 stepped forward in the stadium and decided to follow Jesus and hundreds more committed online! All glory and thanksgiving to God as we anticipate what He will do next year in Dallas.”NAMB also reported that another 494 indicated that they had made salvation decisions online.Fifty Crossover volunteers gathered on Saturday (June 10) to fix up Arizona homes, Josie Bingham wrote in an article for NAMB. "They repaired plumbing, cleaned houses, painted walls and landscaped yards during the 'Love in Action' service project at several transitional houses owned by Dream City Church and its affiliate, Dream Center.TogetherLA.net spoke with Joel Southerland, who is the Director of Evangelism with North American Mission Board, backstage at Harvest America on Sunday and was asked more about the partnership with Harvest.“What we’re doing here is called Crossover and it happens every year around the Southern Baptist Convention,” Southerland told TLA. “We do an evangelistic effort around our annual meeting and have been doing so since the late 80s.’He added, “We felt like this partnership would give us the biggest reach we’ve ever had for a Crossover event. Greg and his team met with us and it was great from the very beginning.”More than 400 churches in the Phoenix area and Arizona area partnered to host and participate in Crossover Arizona and Harvest America. More than 5,000 volunteers signed up to be a part of the event from Arizona and from around the nation. “It’s a really Kingdom-minded effort between Southern Baptist Churches and even non-Southern Baptist Churches of similar theologies that are coming together and preaching the gospel,” Southerland said.[gallery type="slideshow" ids="2904,2901,2905,2906" orderby="rand"]“For us it’s been a great experience of churches coming together,” he continued. “When we got together 16 months ago with the Phoenix leadership team and cast the vision, the leadership team from the very beginning was really excited about the ability to partner and have that unity around the city and have that unified vision of reaching as many people as we can with the gospel in the Phoenix area.”Southerland said that NAMB has a “great network of churches,” including in the Phoenix area where the Southern Baptist churches are greatly respected. “Harvest and Greg Laurie have a great reputation in this area. So, I think that when we take our great network and the network and reputation of Harvest and Greg Laurie that already existed it was just easy to match. I don’t think unity was ever a problem from day one.”When asked about the way urban outreach fits into the event, he said, “We have 32 focus cities all around the United States, all major cities, and Phoenix is one of those cities. We have a big church planting effort that goes on in all of those 32 cities. Doing it in an urban context fits right into our philosophy of ministry.”What about non-Southern Baptist churches with perhaps a different theology?“If your main goal is to reach people with the gospel we are willing to partner and see that happen,” Southerland said.

WATCH Harvest America 2017 from Phoenix [VIDEO]

Greg Laurie's Harvest America 2017 Delivers Org's Largest 1-Day Audience

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Harvest America at the University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday (June 11, 2017) reached audiences across the country and around the world with a message of God’s love in what became the single largest event in the history of the organization.Evangelist Greg Laurie took the stage Sunday evening in front of a live audience of 38,000 gathered in Glendale, Arizona, as well as even larger simulcast and broadcast audiences. Before the sun went down in the Valley of the Sun, the gathering had gone down as one of the largest one-day evangelistic events in American history.“Earlier this year we proclaimed 2017 the ‘Year of Good News’ with the singular mission of bringing the gospel to as many people as possible,” said Greg Laurie, the founder of Harvest America who has been called “the evangelist of the future” by Billy Graham. “Our goal remains to deliver that message through as many channels as possible in order to reach all the way to the ends of the earth, and Harvest America 2017 demonstrated what’s possible in this new world.”In addition to the 38,000 people who attended the free Harvest America outreach at the University of Phoenix Stadium, millions around the world participated in Harvest America 2017 through a live broadcast via Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), which this year broadcast Harvest America live for the first time on its global family of networks which spans 174 countries; online streaming via www.HarvestAmerica.com and on World Net Daily; live radio broadcasts carried by more than 600 radio outlets; and live simulcasts to more than 3,758 host locations across the U.S., including churches, homes and theaters.The online stream at www.HarvestAmerica.com was viewed live in 83 countries around the world. The broadcast was additionally available on Facebook LIVE.Appearing onstage with evangelist Greg Laurie was Phoenix’s own American Idol Jordin Sparks, as well as popular Christian artists NEEDTOBREATHE, MercyMe, Trip Lee, Phil Wickham and NBC The Voice’s Brennley Brown.All who participated in Harvest America united behind one message, the eternal hope that can be found through a relationship with Jesus Christ, which was presented by Laurie during his talk which answered the question, “what is the meaning of life?”Referencing the story of the prodigal son, Laurie said, “Maybe you don’t know God or maybe, like the prodigal son, you know God but you’ve turned your back on Him. Maybe you have things that should make you happy, but don’t make you happy. What’s the answer? Jesus. The missing piece you are looking for is Jesus Christ, because he will give you the meaning in life that you want.”Laurie continued, “If you decide to come back to God, He wants to throw his arms around you and say welcome home son, welcome home daughter, I’ve missed you—just like father of prodigal son. The father ran to the son, and that’s what he will do if you come to Him. He accepted the son as he was, in tattered rags. You might think that you need to clean up your life before you come to God, but He says come as you are and he will forgive you, he will accept you, he will change you. You’re not too old or young.”Laurie preached from one of Billy Graham’s Bibles, a Bible first given to the Hollywood icon Steve McQueen after his conversion. McQueen is the subject of Laurie’s latest book, Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon, which releases Tuesday, June 13.Inviting those in Phoenix and those watching around the world to put their faith in Christ, Laurie urged, “One sin is enough to keep you out of heaven. Every one of us has sinned. God doesn’t grade on a curve, but that’s where Jesus comes in. You must recognize you are a sinner, but then you must recognize that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. If you want your sins forgiven, if you want your guilt taken away, if you want to find meaning and purpose in your life, come forward. I’m going to ask you to get up out of your seats and make a stand for Jesus Christ.”At the end of the evening, thousands of people walked down to the floor of the University of Phoenix Stadium to indicate their decision to follow Jesus Christ, and thousands more registered their commitment online or at host locations nationwide.More than 420 local churches and up to 10,000 volunteers participated in Harvest America 2017, many of whom are members of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which is gathering in Phoenix for its annual convention this week. The SBC and its North American Missions Board (NAMB) collaborated with Harvest America to make the outreach its 29th annual Crossover evangelism event. Crossover support included local community service, street evangelism and a “Tell Someone” rally held Friday night.“We are unbelievably grateful for the support of local churches throughout the Valley of the Sun, the Southern Baptist Convention, the North American Mission Board, and especially for Kevin Ezell who saw what we envisioned from the beginning,” said Laurie. “Together, we all worked to bring the Gospel to this community and to bring it from this community throughout the world.”Before Harvest America 2017, Greg Laurie’s Harvest events had drawn more than 5.7 million people to stadiums and arenas around the world since 1990, with another 1.8 million people attending virtually via the internet.Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie will hold its next outreach, 2017 SoCal Harvest, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, Aug. 18-20. On June 10, 2018, Harvest Crusades will take Harvest America back to the Dallas Metroplex.In addition to founding the Harvest Crusades, Laurie also serves as senior pastor of one of the largest churches in America, Harvest Christian Fellowship, which has campuses in Riverside and Irvine, California, and Maui, Hawaii. He serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.WATCH HARVEST AMERICA 2017 - GREG LAURIE'S MESSAGE: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

TogetherLA.net to LIVESTREAM Harvest America 2017

When world-renowned evangelist Greg Laurie takes the stage at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona this Sunday, a life-changing message of hope will go global, organizers said. Harvest America 2017, an unprecedented, one-day evangelistic outreach, will bring the love of Christ "live" to hundreds of millions of people worldwide.The TogetherLA.net website has been officially named as a platform to livestream Harvest America 2017 with Greg Laurie, scheduled for this Sunday (June 11) in the University of Phoenix stadium and as a nationwide live simulcast beginning at 5 pm (PT).Simply go to TogetherLA.net to watch the Harvest America 2017 broadcast on Sunday."Just before He returned to Heaven, Jesus instructed His disciples to take His Gospel message to the ends of the earth," said Laurie, founder of the Harvest America outreach. "With state-of-the art technology and the help of our partners, TBN and the Southern Baptist Convention, we are responding to Christ's challenge with a one-night, global outreach unlike anything done before," added Laurie, who has been called "the evangelist of the future" by Billy Graham and has been leading Harvest events for more than a quarter century.While technology will be used to reach a national and international audience, hands and feet will be at work reaching those in the Phoenix area. Thousands of volunteers from the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting, which will take place in Phoenix just after Harvest America, will serve in various capacities to engage and interact with attendees and the wider community before, during and after the one-night event.In addition to the message of hope delivered by Laurie, Harvest America will feature music from top name Christian artists including NEEDTOBREATHE, MercyMe, Jordin Sparks, Trip Lee, Phil Wickham and Brennley Brown. Harvest America is free to attend and open to all who come—in person, online, or via the live satellite broadcast.Founded in 1990 by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside and Irvine, Calif., and Maui, Hawaii, Harvest Crusade events have been attended by more than 7.6 million people worldwide, both in-person and via live Internet broadcasts. In 2012, a new nationwide simulcast called Harvest America was born, expanding the reach of the gospel even further. The 2016 Harvest America event, held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, was live streamed to more than 7,200 remote host locations and drew a combined 357,000 participants, making it the largest one-day live evangelistic event in American history.

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