NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A billboard advertising the upcoming Southern California Harvest Crusade has been removed from outside a shopping mall after the real estate company that agreed to erect the advertisement said that it had received a number of complaints, as well as a threat, in objection to the religious imagery on the sign.
Harvest Christian Fellowship, led by Greg Laurie, had recently contacted the Irvine Company, which owns the upscale Newport Beach shopping mall known as Fashion Island, to advertise for the upcoming Harvest Crusade. Laurie's well-known SoCal Harvest has been a regular occurrence for nearly 30 years, attracting tens of thousands of people.
However, the Irvine Company soon contacted Laurie's ministry to advise that there had been multiple complaints and even a threat over the advertisement, which was featured on a billboard near the parking garage. A smaller banner was also displayed at the Irvine Spectrum shopping center.