As thousands of people lined the stony pathways leading to California’s popular Pirates Cove beach, an elderly man made his way down to the water to publicly express his commitment to the Lord.
It was a moment the 85-year-old man’s family thought would never come, yet the eternal decision was made Saturday during a mass baptism hosted by Pastor Greg Laurie, an event that saw 4,500 people submerged in water over the course of a faith-filled day.
The event was inspired by “Jesus Revolution,” a hit film depicting events surrounding the Jesus movement of the late 1960s and 1970s — a time of spiritual transformation when young people, tired and desperate from a challenging culture, turned to Christ in droves.
The film, among other powerful stories, weaves in Laurie’s journey from a lost young man experimenting with drugs and trying to find his way to a Christian, husband, and revered preacher.
The film’s global impact continues reverberating, with Saturday’s baptism reportedly drawing people from across the globe.
“At one point, the line really got slowed down because an older couple — the gentleman was 85 years old — was taking longer to get down the stairs,” Laurie told CBN’s Faithwire. “But when we met him, his story was so amazing because he watched the movie at 85 years old and accepted Jesus into his life.”
Laurie said the man “was not a believer” before seeing the movie, but that he accepted Christ afterward, and then headed to Pirate’s Cove — the location where Laurie himself was baptized as a young man — to publicly affirm his faith in Jesus.
“His family said, ‘We never, ever thought he would come to Christ,'” Laurie said.
Watch him tell the man’s story:
The man is just one of many to be ministered to through “Jesus Revolution,” with great storytelling helping bring him to understand the Gospel message better.
And the elderly man’s commitment to faith and baptism shows “it’s never too late,” as Laurie noted.
“Never give up on people,” he said. “Never stop praying for people.”
Laurie expected a big turnout at the Saturday baptism, as 3,800 people had responded. Still, he and his team wondered how many would actually show up. In the end, they saw a total of 20,000 people at Pirate’s Cove, with the aforementioned 4,500 seeking water baptism.
“It was really overwhelming,” he said. “There was a line of people a half mile long to get into the cove, because we have one staircase. So, we have to take people down, baptize them, send them back up and have more people come down, and so it’s logistically really challenging.”
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Yet people keep flooding to Pirate’s Cove. Just weeks ago, CBN’s Faithwire reported on what was, at the time, believed to be the biggest baptism in U.S. history, as 4,166 people were immersed at the location.
Now, Laurie’s event seems to have topped that record.
The Harvest Crusades founder understands why people want to be baptized at the “picturesque” location, noting the “Jesus Revolution” film has helped spark further intrigue in taking such action.
“I never thought we would have the kind of response to this movie that we’ve had, and it’s going all around the world now,” Laurie said.
Watch the full interview for more.
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