Greg Laurie, pastor of the California-based multi-campus megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship, is recovering from hip surgery, and his family is reporting that the procedure was successful.
In a statement posted on the pastor’s Facebook page on Tuesday, Laurie’s wife, Cathe, and son, Jonathan, provided an update announcing that the surgery was “fast” and went “very well!” They also expressed their gratitude for everyone’s prayers, which have “made a huge difference,” adding, “All the nurses and [doctors] attending him were simply fantastic!”
In an earlier Facebook post on Tuesday, Laurie requested prayers ahead of his hip replacement surgery, noting, “I should have gotten this a long time ago. I’ve been postponing it and it’s become more painful for me so I finally agreed to a surgery date.”
Laurie also addressed the situation with good humor by making a series of puns referring to his past as a hippie. “I guess I’ve gone from being a hippie to needing a hip replacement. I’ve gone from acid rock to acid reflux,” he joked.
“The amazing thing is I’ve made it for 72 years without checking into a hospital,” he remarked. “I’ve never had a single surgery but now I’m having one so I’d appreciate it if you would pray that the surgery would go well.”
In a Facebook post on Monday, Laurie clarified that although he had never had surgery, he had been to the hospital emergency room in the past. He specifically brought up one trip to the emergency room that followed a fall “up the stairs” where he bit through his lip.
A video accompanying the post shows Laurie sharing the news of the surgery from the pulpit, where he shared the same puns as in his Tuesday video and acknowledged that he had been using a cane to deal with the pain associated with his hip problems.
In addition to leading Harvest churches in both California and Hawaii that minister to 15,000 people and hosting a weekly virtual service that attracts 100,000, Laurie has created an animated series called “The Adventures of Ben Born Again and Yellow Dog.” Laurie has characterized the series as “both entertaining and evangelistic.” Episodes of the series are available on the Harvest website. As of August, five episodes have been released.
In 2023, Laurie was honored by the Museum of the Bible with a Pillar Award for Narrative, which is reserved for “those who have brought the stories of the Bible to life through cultural mediums.”
When he accepted the award, Laurie reflected on his approach to bringing people to Christ. “Jesus did not say the whole world should go to church, but He did say the church should go to the whole world, so we’re always looking for creative ways to get people,” he said.
“A lot of times, as Christians, we want to isolate from culture, but in reality, we need to permeate and infiltrate culture with the message of the Gospel,” Laurie proclaimed.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
