Pastor Greg Laurie is calling a recent evangelistic event held at Utah Valley University (UVU) — the site of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination — a “miracle.”

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As CBN News previously reported, Laurie held a Nov. 16 Harvest Crusade at UVU that ignited thousands of professions of faith and inspired many in attendance in person and online.

“I don’t use this word very often, but I almost think of this now as the ‘Utah miracle’ because of a number of things that happened,” Laurie told CBN News. “Number one, this is a place where a horrific tragedy took place. A young man in the prime of his life, making such a difference, especially with younger people. Charlie Kirk was assassinated. He was murdered, and so our hearts were all broken.”

Laurie said he had been speaking with preachers in Utah for some time before Kirk’s death about hosting one of his popular Harvest Crusade evangelistic events. They had planned one for 2027, but Kirk’s death accelerated the timeline, and Laurie’s team rallied in just weeks to put the Nov. 16 event together.

In addition to the quick timeline, he believes the response to the event was also miraculous.

“It was amazing,” Laurie said. “We … filled the arena. We had another 10,000 people in different sites around Utah watching on screens, and when the invitation was given, it was an immediate response.”

He continued, “A thousand people filled that floor, most of them young, and then another 500 responded in the overflow venues.”

Meanwhile, Laurie said 200,000 people were watching online, with 1,000 people making a virtual profession of faith. Overall, 2,500 people came to Christ.

“I sent a text to Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, and I told her what happened, and I said, ‘You know, Erika, the Bible says that there is joy in heaven and the presence of the angels over one sinner that comes to repentance. That means that every time someone believes in Jesus on Earth, there’s a victory shout in heaven.’ Well, Charlie’s in heaven. … It seems to me we’re going to be rejoicing in heaven when we hear of people coming to Christ.”

He continued, “Would not Charlie know that 2,500 people just came to the Lord that was connected to the horrible tragedy of his death? And so we know more in heaven than we know on Earth, not less. So I just told her that God worked despite this tragedy.”

Laurie said there are other trends unfolding as well, including rising Bible sales and data showing young people are increasingly interested in the Christian faith.

“Something’s happening here,” he said. “God is at work. There already was a hunger among young people, especially Gen Z, spiritually, but that has increased dramatically, and it’s increased dramatically among young Gen Z men. So I think this is a moment for the church. We have to seize the moment.”