Harvest Crusade to Feature Elizabeth Dole

More than 300,000 people are expected to join prominent Christian speakers and Elizabeth Dole, wife of Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, in a four-day celebration of God and country at one of the largest evangelical revivals in the nation.

The seventh annual Harvest Crusade opens on the Fourth of July at Anaheim Stadium, with fireworks and a message about “a second chance for America,” organizers said Tuesday.

“I’m concerned about the course our country has taken, i.e., the rate of violent crime among young people,” said Greg Laurie, pastor of Riverside’s Harvest Christian Fellowship, the eighth-largest church in the United States. “In Chicago, two boys dropped a child out of a 14th-story window because he wouldn’t steal for them.”

Laurie, who spearheaded the annual gathering, added, “The only hope for America is change that takes place in the heart.”

In the first Harvest Crusade to be wrapped in the patriotism of the Fourth of July, Dole will join Laurie on Friday to talk about her faith in Christ.

Although Dole’s speaking engagement comes in the midst of her husband’s election campaign, organizers said that politics is not part of the Harvest Crusade’s agenda. Dole, who is on leave during the campaign from her job as president of the American Red Cross, often talks publicly about her spiritual experiences, event officials noted.

“This is not to look at any particular political platform,” Laurie said. “Really, the essence and thrust of the event is the need for America to turn back to God.”

The Harvest Crusade was first held in 1990 at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa and has since expanded to an annual event that stresses a come-as-you-are attitude and attracts people from all over the country. The event, which is free and held in affiliation with about 900 other churches, will run through Sunday in Anaheim and continue in San Diego from July 26 to 28 and, for the first time, in Los Angeles from Nov. 17 to 20.

Patterned after the 1950s evangelical gatherings of the Rev. Billy Graham, the Harvest Crusade usually takes its teachings all over the country, with stops in such cities as Seattle and Honolulu. But this year, organizers wanted to concentrate on California.

“This year we’re staying close to home,” said Bryan St. Peters, a spokesman for the Harvest Crusade.

Laurie, born in Long Beach, said that he chose Southern California cities because he wanted to focus on reaching his own state and “the people from all over the world” who make their home here.

Part rock concert and part old-fashioned Bible school, the Harvest Crusade attracted 320,000 people last year, including 55,000 for Youth Night who were 18 or younger.

Saturday’s Harvest Youth Jam will feature such groups as the Harvest Youth Praise Band.

Sunday’s lineup will include eight-time Grammy winner CeCe Winans and Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, who describes himself as a “rebel with a cause.”

“I’ll be sharing my experiences--the day I realized that Franklin Graham was a sinner,” he said in a telephone interview. “I was in my early 20s. One night I got down on my knees and I told God I was sorry. And that night God forgave me.

“Anybody there that night can have the same experience,” he said.

Graham, who has attended two other Harvest Crusades, said that the event gathers people from all walks of life and is not limited to Christians.

“Many will be there out of curiosity,” he said. “Some will come because they’ve been invited, and some will come because it’s free entertainment. It’s a program that brings people together and strengthens them through Jesus Christ.”