2,100 Baptized at ‘Jesus Revolution’ Event
Michael Foust
Audio By Carbonatix
By Michael Foust, Crosswalk.com
More than 2,000 were baptized Saturday as part of a California church's third-annual "Jesus Revolution" mass baptism event, which its pastor says echoes what took place 50 years ago when revival spread across America. Some 2,100 were baptized at Pirate's Cove during the Jesus Revolution Baptism hosted by Harvest Church-Riverside, as waves lapped against the shore and crowds cheered from the sand. One by one, participants stepped into the ocean, emerging from the waves with tears, smiles, and raised hands.
The event saw some 4,500 baptized during its inaugural year in 2023, followed by about 2,000 in 2024.
"What a day that was," Harvest pastor Greg Laurie said Sunday during the church's worship service.
Laurie noted that over the past 24 months, the Jesus Revolution Baptism events have drawn 8,600 participants. In addition, 1,307 more were baptized during regular church services, bringing the church's total to nearly 10,000 baptisms in two years.
"Even in the heyday of the Jesus movement, we never saw anything like this," Laurie said, referencing the revival of the late 1960s and early 1970s that saw so-called hippies come to Christ, in droves.
That revival was depicted in the 2023 hit film Jesus Revolution. Laurie, who was part of the movement, is portrayed in the movie.
"I believe that God is really at work in a significant way," Laurie said Sunday. "I heard about one guy who came from Utah. He's a truck driver. He actually watched our Jesus Revolution film. The Lord touched his heart. He came to Christ as a result. …And so he came all the way from Utah to be baptized. So we have people literally from all around the country that came to this baptism -- it was really so exciting, and we're thanking God for that."
Laurie shared a video on his social media pages featuring testimonies from those who were baptized. The baptisms were "true signs of revival," he said.
"I want to proclaim to the world that Jesus is alive and I love Him and that I'm His child," a 14-year-old girl said.
Another participant, a young man, added, "I found God last August and I wanted to wait until I submitted fully to get baptized, and that happened at the crusade" — a reference to the Harvest Crusade held in July.
Photo Credit: ©Harvest Church
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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