By Michael Gryboski, Editor Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Nearly 8,000 people attended the Harvest Crusade event at the Utah university where conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk was killed in September, with around 2,100 making professions of faith. 

Pastor Greg Laurie headlined the Evangelical gathering at Utah Valley University on Sunday, known as "Hope for America." The event was held at the campus basketball arena and livestreamed at 67 participating churches. 

In addition to Laurie sharing a Gospel message, the event also featured worship music by notable contemporary Christian musicians Phil Wickham and Chris Tomlin.

More than 7,800 people were in attendance at the arena, according to Harvest, and more than 210,000 watched on the livestream.

The event began with a video honoring Kirk, the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder who was killed on Sept. 10. while speaking on campus. 

“Despite this tragedy, God has done amazing things around our nation and people are asking questions. ... It was like a wakeup call,” Laurie said. “This is your moment tonight. This is your wakeup call tonight. Don’t let it slip by.”

In his sermon, Laurie spoke of his upbringing and compared himself to the Prodigal Son, who returned home after living a life of sin and was graciously welcomed by his father.

According to the parable, as documented in Luke 15:11-32, while the father celebrated the wayward son's return, his other son, who had stayed home, was bitter about the welcome.

"But listen, in a way, his goodness kept him away. There are two ways to be lost," Laurie said. "You can be very bad, and you can be very good. See, when you're very bad, maybe you know you're bad and you know you need to change. But when you're very good and you keep all the rules and do all the right things, you think, 'Well, I don't need to change.' But maybe you do because it's all about a relationship with God through Jesus Christ."

Utah Idaho Southern Baptist Convention Executive Director Rob Lee told Baptist Press that in Utah, "many are like the second son." They are "following all the rules, but they still need to repent of their sins and turn to God," he said. 

"I have heard from one of the community groups in the church I attend, ValleyLight Church, that watched it live, one man accepted Christ tonight," Lee said. "I look forward to hearing about what happened at the 67 host sites, including 20 in our Utah-Idaho SBC churches."

On Sept. 10, Kirk was shot in the neck during Turning Point USA's "America Comeback Tour" stop at UVU in Orem, dying at a local hospital later that day.  

Soon after, authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, who reportedly killed Kirk over his conservative Christian views on various issues, especially transgenderism.

Robinson was charged in the Fourth Judicial District Court of Utah County, Utah, and faces the counts of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, tampering with a witness, and violent offense committed in the presence of a minor.

Although Harvest had initially planned an event in Utah in 2027, Laurie told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that the Kirk assassination prompted them to change plans.

"We immediately reached out to the Utah pastors to offer our support. We asked if there was anything we could do. They responded, 'Come sooner. Our community is hurting,'" Laurie recounted.

"We responded by committing to a date only six weeks away. That's a first for us at Harvest Crusades! Normally, we plan events at least a year in advance. But there is an urgency, and we believe the message of the Gospel is the answer."