Biography of Greg Laurie
Greg Laurie Biography
Greg Laurie Biography – Greg Laurie is an American evangelical writer, pastor, and evangelist born on December 10, 1952. He is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship located in Riverside, California. Greg also founded Harvest Crusades.
Early Life and Education
He was born in Long Beach, California. Greg’s mother raised him all by herself and they were constantly on a move, mostly to a different location. While growing up, he worked for the Daily Pilot in Orange County, California as a newspaper boy.
He was raised outside the Christian faith and when he turned 17 years old in 1970, he became a devout Christian while attending Newport Harbor High School under the leader of evangelist Lonnie Frisbee, as the Jesus Movement was exploding in Southern California.
Ministry
He was given the chance to lead a Bible study of 30 people in 1973 when he was at the age of 20 under the leadership of Calvary Chapel pastor Chuck Smith in Riverside, California. The size of the group grew rapidly in size and in the same year, he founded the Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside. He is still there as the senior pastor.
He created an organization in 1990, Harvest Crusades that hosts big evangelistic events around the United States.
Greg Laurie is on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He is also a chaplain for the Newport Beach Police Department. He was in service as the Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force in 2013. He was part of the many evangelical church leaders selected by President Donald Trump to partake in the National Prayer Service for the presidential inauguration in 2017.
He organized a movement in 2017 tagged “The Year of Good News”. Several church leaders signed the letter he wrote to start the movement. A statement from 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.'”
His church, Harvest Christian Fellowship became part of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2017.
During the pandemic when all church buildings were forced to shut their doors, Harvest Christian Fellowship and Greg started the online church program titled “Harvest at Home”. It quickly became one of the most watched internet church services in America with an average of 200,00 viewers per week at the time of the pandemic.
He released a statement stating he contacted COVID-19 on October 5, 2020, saying “Unfortunately, the coronavirus has become very politicized. I wish we could all set aside our partisan ideas and pull together to do everything we can to defeat this virus and bring our nation back.”
The online church service still runs and it is still one of the most widely watched online church services in America.
Marital Status
He is married to Catherine. The couple had two sons, Christopher and Jonathan. Also has five grandchildren. Greg resides in Newport Beach with his wife.
Books
He has written more than 70 books some of which are:
- The Seeker’s Bible: New Testament: New Living Translation. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers. 2000.
- Every Day with Jesus: First Steps for New Believers. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers. 2004.
- Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners: How to Finish Strong in the Spiritual Race, New York: Warner Faith. 2005.
- Wrestling with God. S.l: Multnomah Pub. 2006.
- Lost Boy: My Story. Allen David / Kerygma;b. 2008.
- Let God Change Your Life: How to Know and Follow Jesus. U.K.: David C. Cook. 2011.
- Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon. American Icon Press. 2017.
- Jesus Revolution: How God transformed an unlikely generation and how he can do it again today. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books. 2018.
- Johnny Cash: The Redemption of An American Icon. Terrill Marshall. Washington, DC: Salem Books. 2019.
- 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.
- Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus. 2022.
Films
He was involved in some of these films:
- Lost Boy
- Hope for Hurting Hearts
- A Rush of Hope
- Steve McQueen: American Icon
- Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon
- Jesus Revolution(2023)
Awards and Recognition
He obtained two honorary doctorates from Biola University and Azusa Pacific University.
