by
Alyssa Berding
On October 14 at the HP Pavilion, thousands of people gathered together for a night of passionate worship and Christian teaching. This event, called Amplify, was part of the Greg Laurie Harvest Crusade and was the largest Christian evangelical event to hit the Bay Area since Billy Graham. The entire crusade lasted from October 13-15, but Saturday, October 14 was focused specifically toward students and young adults. With contemporary music and an upbeat message, Amplify was the perfect event for Christians to use as an outreach opportunity for their non-Christian friends.
Valley Christian students Kevin Fanelli and Adam Hill from the VC Communications Department were credentialed as working media for the event and met in the pressroom with the crusade event staff. They conducted interviews with musical artists, as well as many of the event coordinators.
The doors opened at 5:30 p.m. and crowds had already been forming all around the building since noon that day. Because the event was free and people were not assigned to specific seats, there was a mad rush into the building as people tried to snatch the best seats possible for their groups. A large stage was set up on one end of the arena. Originally, the ushers were not allowing anyone to sit in the seats behind the stage, but due to the overflowing amount of people, they were forced to open up this section for seating. Even with this extra section filled, over 2,000 people still did not have seats. As a result, many individuals stood in the concourses or outside the arena all night to still be part of the event. With approximately 16,500 people inside the building and 2,000 people outside, the turnout at Amplify was incredible.
Right at 7:00 p.m., the event began. Emcee Levi Lusko thanked the audience for coming and told them to prepare their hearts for a life-changing evening. He then introduced the first band to play, Seventh Day Slumber, who was followed by Kutless. The crowd really got into the music. People were lifting their hands, clapping, and singing at the top of their lungs.
At one point during Kutless’ performance, the entire audience pulled out their cell phones and started waving them above their heads. As you looked across the dark arena, all you could see were the bright blue lights moving back and forth to the music. But the main artist of the evening was the much anticipated Jeremy Camp. He played some of his most popular songs including “Lay Down My Pride” and “This Man,” which are off of his newest CD. While Camp was playing, the entire audience was on their feet, following along and worshipping God with him. Sometimes this portion of worship included jumping up and down, while other times, it included just being still and recognizing a holy God. Either way, the worship and music part of the evening was a large success as people began to ready their hearts to hear Greg Laurie’s message.
Greg Laurie, the founder of the Harvest Crusades, has been the main speaker of these events for the past sixteen years. This specific night, he presented a message on the story of the Prodigal Son, which is found in Luke 15: 11-32. Laurie retold the story in contemporary language to make it easier for the entire audience to understand, which included references to Las Vegas and “pimped-out” cars. In the end, Laurie presented the picture of God as a Father, rather than a Heavenly tyrant, who showed the amazing love He has for His children by sending His son to die on a cross. “It wasn’t nails that kept Jesus on the cross; it was His love for you,” Laurie pointed out. Then he gave an altar call and the effect was truly remarkable. People just began flooding down to the front of the arena to give their hearts to the Lord. By the time everyone had made it down, the entire floor of the building was covered with new believers and Christian counselors to pray with each one of them. Over 1,900 people gave their hearts to the Lord that night. God did an amazing work in the Bay Area that night through Amplify and the Harvest Crusades.
[Go Back]
