Lead pastor of Harvest Ministries and founder of the Harvest Crusades, Greg Laurie, condemned racism, bigotry, and hatred during the most recent SoCal Harvest, the first night of which took place on Friday.
"For a follower of Jesus Christ, there is no place for racism, bigotry, or prejudice of any kind," Laurie said to a crowd of some 26,000 at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA.
"I see these people carrying crosses, wearing swastikas, talking about white supremacy," he was quoted as saying by the OC Register. "There is no superior race. We are all part of the human race."
His message comes about a week after the violence that erupted in Charlottesville as individuals participating in white nationalist protests and counter-protests clashed with one another. A white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring more than a dozen others.
In a message that Laurie titled, "A Second Chance for America," he expressed hopes that a revival like the one he experienced during his youth would happen once again.
Laurie said he also was "filled with hate" in the 1960s, when the prominent "Jesus Movement" took place in the U.S., and was changed when he encountered Jesus.
"When you become a Christian, those barriers come down. Racial barriers come down, prejudice comes down," Laurie was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times.
"I pray we have another Jesus revolution in America ... We need it now more than ever."
Meanwhile, 2,267 people who attended the SoCal Harvest event on Friday made decisions to accept Christ, according to Harvest Crusades. More than 300 churches in Southern California participated in the event, and some 6,500 volunteers were involved in setting up and supporting the event.
The events began in 1990, and according to Harvest Crusades, some 3.8 million people have attended the events in Southern California.
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