2017 Annual Report
The State of the Church: 2017 Annual Report
This past Sunday, Pastor Mike discussed Harvest: our history, our present, and our future. It was a great message that touched on the roots of our church, our values and what is important here at Harvest [Listen Here]. He briefly introduced the staff (meet them here), talked about our Executive and Elder Board, and went over our 2017 Annual Report. To download a PDF: Annual Report 2017.
Take a look below at the 2017 Annual Report. It might look like a bunch of numbers, but it is important to remember that every number represents a unique individual with their own story. Here at Harvest, we aren’t about numbers – we are about the people. As a staff and leadership, we are so excited about the upcoming year and what is in store for 2018.
For this week’s study, we are doing something a little different. Instead of going further into the texts used in this week’s Sunday morning message, we are going to take some time to look at the “state of ourselves.” That is, we are going to look at where we came from individually, figure out what we find important in the life of the church, and then look to the future as we create a goal for how we can be part of God’s mission in our community.
Where do you come from?
- Mike gave a brief history of the movement in church history from which Harvest originates. We are a “reformation” church. Talk about how you came to be a part of Harvest.
- How was this last year for you, spiritually? What were some highs and lows?
- Read Acts 2:42-47. Has your life reflected the life of the early church?
What is important?
- Let’s start this section with a deceptively simple question: Why do you go to church?
- What do you believe should be the priority of the church, both the global church and the congregation that meets at Harvest?
- If Harvest were to create some sort of new ministry or program, and asked you what you believe that ministry or program should be geared toward, what specifically would it do? For example, if community outreach were your answer from the previous question, what practical steps should the church be taking to accomplish that goal?
What’s in the future?
- How will you serve the church body over the next year?
- What is some sort of habit you need to either break or improve this year?
- In whose life, either within or outside the church, can you make a difference this year? How will you do so?
Pray
Pray for the upcoming year, and the enormous potential we have. Remember we are a church backed by the almighty creator of the universe. The goals we have are nothing compared to the power and faithfulness of our Lord! Pray for opportunities to carry out our mission and to become a church body that impacts our community in the name of Christ.
Women’s Retreat 2017
The Women’s Ministry Team at Harvest works diligently to provide opportunities for connecting in fellowship throughout the year, culminating in our biggest event of the year, our destination retreat. This year our theme was “Community through Connecting.”
A few weekends ago 31 women came together for an amazing weekend in Lincoln City at The Dawn Treader Retreat House.
During our time together we pursued the idea of community through time spent in individual solitude with God, discovering what it’s like to draw nearer to Him in silence and rest, and in time spent together connecting with our sisters, drawing closer to each other.
It’s beautiful to see God working through the hearts of women.
We worshiped together, prayed for one another, encouraged each other and, of course, ate our fair share of bacon and other delicious meals.
What a blessing to be able to go away for a weekend, learn what God has for each of us, and come back refreshed and renewed in Him.
We are grateful for God’s timing and leading over the past several months as we prepared for our 2017 retreat, and for each woman in attendance.
We are already looking forward to our 2018 Fall destination retreat to Lincoln City once again.
In the meantime, be watching for more events in the near future, like our “2nd annual Sock-ing Stuffers Exchange” planned for Dec 10th and our annual “All-church Chili Feed” in January.
Plus, for the first time ever we are hosting a repeat of this years retreat in the Spring to be held at Harvest Christian Church…more details coming soon.
Diane Ames
Women’s Ministry Team
The Spirit’s Guidance in Budapest
“I am the way, the truth and the life” John 14:6
“Don’t be Anxious, I am going away to be with the Father, but I will not leave you alone.” In this passage, Jesus announces that it is now finally time for him to depart, after saying as much four times in John’s gospel.
When trying to understand scripture, especially narratives loaded with emotion, I try to place myself (as much as leaping 2,000 years will allow) in the context. The disciples have experienced life with Jesus which was for them both perplexing (“but they didn’t understand what he was saying”, see Mark 9:32 among others) and exhilarating as they were witness to the Kingdom of God operating in the present! Each day held the potential of events filled with emotion. The blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life – all happen amidst the daily possibility of suffering at the hands of societal and religious leaders.
Try to put yourself in their place, remember a time, perhaps in childhood or later when you were faced with someone in your life leaving you. Even if the event was only for a short time, the absence of the person left a void in your day to day life. Here, the disciples are facing the total loss of Jesus’ presence, so they think.
As Jesus explains that He will be going to the Father and promises to return someday to take them with Him into the Father’s presence they see that as a “future promise.” Jesus is leaving, but they are staying behind without him! Understanding their anxiety he explains further saying in essence, even though I will be leaving you as you have come to know me in the flesh I will not leave you alone, “I will send you another Counselor, the Holy Spirit to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth.”
They would undoubtedly take comfort in the future promise, but that does not dull the pain of going on without his presence.The mystery of the persons of the Godhead should not obscure the fact that true to His promise, Jesus will be with them in the person of the Holy Spirit.
I have had the opportunity to study the Bible as an undergraduate student and then later in seminary but it wasn’t until serving in Czechoslovakia that I began to learn the necessity of living in the same promise given to the first disciples, “I will be with you until the end of the age,” Matthew 28. While I have many stories that illustrate the active counsel of the Holy Spirit I will share one short one here.
While visiting missionary friends in another central European country I accompanied them on a trip to the Russian border where they were coordinating a ministry with a well known Christian singing group from the USA. After a stopover, the singers continued on to their final destination. Unfortunately, one member of the group got lost. The group had no choice but to continue without him.
Somehow the lost member was able to contact his mother in the states and she, in turn, contacted the leader of the singing group.He had purchased a train ticket and would travel to Budapest hoping that someone could meet him there and reunite him with the group!
Since everyone else was busy and had a job to do, I was asked to travel back to Budapest, find him and get him back to the group. A few problems made this difficult: First, there are many trains that come into Budapest day and night, and we had not been given any specific information. Secondly, since I had never seen the missing person and all I had to go on was a description of the clothes he would be wearing and the knowledge that he had been in an auto accident that left him with a facial scar and loss of short-term memory.
When I arrived at the train station, I found it teeming with people, a few animals, vendors everywhere, all in constant motion amidst a cacophony of sounds. Faced with the circumstances, I wanted to return to where we were staying even though that meant admitting defeat. But, I had been entrusted with an important task, and my conscience would not let me give up.
I stopped and prayed, “God you know where this person is and which train he will come in on today please show me.” Hour after hour, train after train came in on the many tracks. I watched every single departing person but no one meeting the description I had been given emerged. As I began to pray again a thought came to mind (it was so against my normal character that it had to be the Holy Spirit), “he will be on the next train that comes in, on the far track.” Hesitant, but without other options I watched as the train pulled in and people stepped off. No one matching the description could be seen. Another thought came, “Just yell out his name and he will separate himself from the crowd, and you will recognize him!” I argued saying I don’t do such things. In fact, that would be way too embarrassing!
Again, no choice so I called out in a low voice but no response, several other tries led to nothing. “Yell, the inner voice said!” So going against my whole being, I yelled his name! I was amazed to see him slowly walking toward me. Getting closer, I saw the scar. After a short chat, I told him I had purchased a ticket for him, but we had only about 10 minutes to get him to the train at the other end of the station. My relief was short lived as he said something I couldn’t make out and pulled away from me and was immediately engulfed in the mob!
By now, even though I am a slow learner, I knew my only option was once again to trust in the presence of the Counselor to guide me in my latest emergency. My prayer wasn’t long or very spiritual, I simply said, “Lord, I only have a few minutes to get this man to his train. You know where he is and you know where I am.” Looking up I could see that four entrances emptied into a single area, so I prayed, (hoping that I was not foolish or offensive) “I will walk through this entryway into the common area, please have him meet me there.” I walked ahead, and the very second I arrived my missing person burst out from the crowd! I grabbed his hand and pulling him behind me got him on his train with only a few minutes to spare.
Our next decade living and ministering in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) demanded that I live daily, moment by moment at times, trusting in the presence of Jesus in the knowledge that there was no situation that was impossible. While I look forward to the future promise of being with Jesus in the presence of the Father, until then I rejoice in the awareness that God’s kingdom operates in the here and now.I am fully aware that all ministry is Jesus’ ministry and He chooses to accomplish it through each of us as we entrust ourselves to Him.
Written by Dave Snell
I AM the Resurrection and the Life
What is life, and where did it come from? When we die what happens to our life? Answers to these questions have not been obtained using the disciplines of science. Usually scientists can conceive of some idea or theory or method to unlock secrets of our existence but the mystery of life is so profound that no one has any idea how to investigate it. There is a reason for this. Life, like energy/power originates from outside the box we call a Universe. Unless one believes that God exists the questions cannot be answered. Life comes from God.1 If we have questions about it we should consult with Him!
Followers of Jesus must not fear that our existence will someday be explained and reproduced from scratch by human effort because cells and DNA are purely mechanical structures until they are joined with that mysterious thing called ‘life’. Once life leaves our body energy to the cells diminishes and our flesh begins to degrade (decompose) because flesh is purely mechanical, it operates even at the level of a cell in an organically mechanical fashion. In the New Testament Paul calls our body a ‘tent’; it is something we live in.2
Everything dies. Old cells are replaced by new cells, old creatures are replaced by new creatures, and old humans are replaced by new humans. This sounds like an idea drawn from Ecclesiastes but the implications of this observed truth resonate within me when I see liver spots on my hands, a lined face, and gray hairs reflecting back at me from the mirror. I am going to die and from the looks of things I am headed that direction faster each day. Science has its own problem trying to figure out life excluding God from the equation. My problem is more basic. What happens when my life leaves the tent it inhabits?
We can live as if we are immortal which is a careless and casual way to live when overwhelming evidence suggests otherwise. Television, video games and good times distract us from quiet contemplation needed to face the truth that our tent is not an eternal residence. Where will we go to live when the tent wears out? Science has no hopeful answers here; Jesus does. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even though he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”3
Generally, religion is associated with philosophy about good and bad, or right and wrong but Jesus is not a philosophy to adopt. He testifies about Himself that He is resurrection and life and that should be of interest to the whole world, not just me with my gray hair and liver spots. Resurrection is the central truth of Christianity. Jesus came to save the world from eternal death which in scripture is not oblivion but existence without even one single goodness or provision of God. In a parable Jesus described death without God as: existence without mercy, agonizing, yet being conscious of our misery.4 It is outer darkness (ignorance and lack of understanding) away from the light of God where there is weeping and great anger (gnashing of teeth).5 That is the fate of every human who has lived, or will live without the resurrection and the life.
When Paul writes to the Christians in the city of Philippi he associates knowing Jesus Christ as Lord with resurrection from the dead, …”that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death: in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”.6 When we are baptized into Jesus we ‘are conformed to’ His death so that we might attain the resurrection.7 Baptism is much more than an outward sign of an inward change. It is where we ‘die’ to our fleshly thoughts, desires and motives and experience new life with help from Heaven. It is not our initiation, it is our decision to be found in Jesus and the Life that He is. The good news (gospel) leads us to baptism where we enter into new life in Jesus. Sometimes I do not feel like I have new life because the devil reminds me at a weak moment where I came from, or, a thought or attitude I no longer want to nourish crops up. At these times I am thankful that New Life is not based on my feelings, but on God’s promises. New Life is where I am going, not where I came from.
Peter James and John were witnesses to a conversation that Jesus had on a mountainside with long dead people.8 Elijah (who lived about 800 years before Jesus was born) and Moses (who lived about 1400 years before Jesus was born) had a conversation with Jesus that the three disciples saw and overheard about Jesus’s impending death which in the text of Luke 9 is described as a departure. Although Moses and Elijah (as well as Jesus) were radiant during the exchange the disciples recognized them perhaps by the nature of the conversation. Several things stand out here the most obvious being that death is not oblivion. It is just the end of the first chapter in the existence of one who is ‘in Christ’. Also, these two ancients were in comfortable conversation, like friends, with Jesus. Their intellects and personalities were preserved and active. Is this in store for you and me someday? I do not like death but departure has hope to it. The children of God get to depart the tent and move into radiant permanent digs9 unencumbered by aches and pains, fears, sorrows, or distressing thoughts.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that those who believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Written by Steve Long
- 2:7
- II Cor 4:16-5:5
- John 11:25-26a
- Luke 16:19-31
- 13:47-50 (esp. 50)
- Phil 3:1-14 (esp. vs. 10-11)
- Romans 6:1-7
- Luke 9:28-36
- I Cor. 15:50-58
The Good Shepherd
We don’t have any sheep now, but we do have a couple of cows. When we are out in the field we learn about them and their nuances. The cows will usually come when we call, especially if we are holding a feed bucket. They understand what fences are and are even willing to get close to strangers if there is a fence between to protect both themselves and the people. If you look them in the eye, you can’t get as close as when you are spraying weeds with your back turned. Then you might turn and notice that they are a couple of feet behind you, wondering what you are doing. They won’t do this for just anyone; but with those they know, they feel safe enough to follow.
We did have an encounter with a man who was a good shepherd up in Washington one time. We were riding along on a mountain road and saw ahead that sheep were crossing the trail and had been crossing for some time, since they already stretched on for a quarter mile or so. We waited there for ten minutes, as the sheep continued to cross, before the shepherd’s dogs arrived. They were protective and kept us at a distance. Soon the shepherd came along, leading the last 200 hundred old and lame ewes. With his limited English and my broken Spanish, we talked for a while. He shared that he was taking the sheep to a different pasture and to where there was some good water. He carried a rifle and shared with some pride that he had even shot a cougar a while back. I asked how many sheep he had, and he replied that every time he tries to count them he falls asleep. (Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.) There were about 1800 in the flock. It was lonely work; but you could see that he had the flock’s best interest at heart, and they felt comfortable with him. 
Oh! How great the feeling to have a shepherd to lead and guide us, not just once, but on a daily basis…someone who loves us and has our best interest at heart even when we can’t see it. John 10 tells us, “The sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all his own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from Him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus calls to us; and so often we even recognize His voice, but we want to follow our own way or even a stranger’s voice. Most of my frustrations and failures in life have come from not following the Good Shepherd. He is there waiting for me to return back into the fold, but He is not just waiting; he lays down His life for the sheep.
Lord, help me to know your voice more each day and to learn and choose to follow you.
Written by Ed Barker
The Security of the Door
I think it’s the weather and the return of green grass, but for some reason, at this time of the year I always start getting two very specific idyllic daydreams. One is of having a breakfast or two with a Hobbit in a Hobbit-hole (I have no teaching point from this one, but doesn’t that sound nice?), the other is only slightly more probable to ever occur and that is one of roaming the hills of Ireland with a trusty sheepdog rounding up my flock of sheep. I know that to many of you that sounds like a really strange daydream (or possibly a nightmare) but five of you get me. At any rate, I’d venture to guess that the majority of you when asked to picture a shepherd with his flock, imagine something similar to what I described.
In what has become Chapter 10 of the gospel of John in our modern Bibles, we read a passage where Jesus likens himself to a shepherd in order to answer the question that has been asked in Chapter 9, “Who is this Jesus and did he in fact come from God?”. He begins with a parable in which he contrasts the true shepherd of the flock to thieves. He says that the true shepherd enters through the gate or door and calls to his sheep who in turn follow him. In contrast, a thief enters by another way and when he calls to the sheep, they flee from him. Jesus’ listeners didn’t understand the parable and likely some of the meaning is lost on us because of the unfamiliar context. So let’s step back for a second.
Many of you are probably familiar with the idea of Jesus as shepherd either due to a number of biblical references to exactly that or to an oil painting you once saw. As such, when reading the parable our minds immediately jump to the picture of King Jesus as the shepherd. That’s not wrong; and Jesus eventually gets there, but first he does a rather peculiar thing and says “I am the door of the sheep.” It’s a little odd right? Even in our Western context we get the idea of the shepherd as a leader, but a door or gate?
At the time Jesus spoke, people would have had a different picture of shepherding than we do. In that time it was common for several shepherds to place all of their sheep together in one sheepfold at night. This would typically have been a walled area with only one door or gate. When a shepherd would return the next morning, he would call out to his sheep and, recognizing his voice, the sheep would come out of the door and follow him. If another person called to the sheep they would not follow. At night, a gatekeeper or under-shepherd would often act himself as the gate, lying across the entrance to keep the sheep in and predators out.
By referring to himself as the door, Jesus does a couple of things. First he claims that he is the true way and that all other ways are ultimately lies. If a sheep were to go out of a sheepfold through any way other than the gate it would be because a thief has taken him. Jesus says later that, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” He is affirming the truth that only through himself, can we have the abundant life to which he has called us. All of the other paths will eventually lead to death. There is also a promise here though as well. As the door, Jesus is evoking imagery of safety. Remember it is the shepherd, or under-shepherd, himself that provides the actual security of the door. Jesus is emphasizing here the peace and fulfillment of a life lived in him. As we go into the world, living the lives he calls us to, he assures us that it is he himself that is watching over us. This echos the promises God makes to his people in the Old Testament on several occasions (e.g. see Psalm 121). This likely would have been provocative at the time and even now should bring us pause. Here Jesus is assuring us that when we follow his call, it is the very Creator and Sustainer of the Universe whose eye is upon us.
As our culture attempts to lure us into a life of materialism and self-importance, Christ calls us to a life of sacrificial love. To be clear, when pass through the door, the paths on which we follow our Lord will often be rocky and will frequently require us to listen intently for his lead. But while the call of the World leaves us with empty promises, the life to which Christ calls us is one that is truly abundant and always abounding with the deep assurance of his love.
Written by Andrew White
“I’m nothing if not flexible”
The above quote is something my father in law often will tell those of us in my family when we need to be reminded how to handle things when they are not going as expected.
At the end of June a group from Harvest headed down south to Tecate, Mexico to work on building a house for a member of Pablo Martinez’s church (Pablo is one of the pastors we support on Harvest’s missions committee).
Ed Barker and Luke Scherler were the first to leave driving the van with the trailer of supplies and our team’s luggage. The majority of the rest of our team was to fly out the following morning where we would meet the guys in San Diego and together would cross the border to Mexico and head to Tecate. By late afternoon the van had over heated twice and Ed and Luke were stranded in Red Bluff, California, where the temperature was 115 degrees. Thankfully, Carol Barker was able to drive a truck from Portland to meet the guys in Red Bluff. She arrived around midnight and then they left the van and continued on in the truck. They drove all night to meet up with the rest of us in San Diego. Yeah! Unfortunately, the truck would not be able to transport all 12 of our team members so a rental van was needed. After 2 hours of phone calls we were able to find a van that was just the right size for our need and could be driven into Mexico. “Thank you, Lord!”
The start of the building of the house had a couple of issues ☹ When the foundation was built the plans were flipped so that the bathroom could be on the left side of the house instead of the right. That took some time for Ed (our master building planner, supervisor) to decide how we would start are project. After a few hiccups on the first day everything seemed to be coming together. Whew!
The weather while we were in Tecate was extremely hot for us Oregonians. Anywhere between 100-105 for the first 4 days of our trip. This made working very difficult. With no complaining (that was audible) the team was able to change our wake up times to 6 am to try and get as much work accomplished during the cooler time of the day. 
By the end of our week the majority of the house had been built. With just some interior items needing to be done (sheet-rock, insulation, etc.). Thankfully, with help from Mountainview Christian Church and members of Pablo’s church those things are getting taken care of.
Proverbs 16:9 says . . .
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Many of us on the team had moments of frustration or concerns about our abilities. But coming to the job site everyday and seeing Armando, Rebecca and their children helped everything come in to focus. We were there for them! But even beyond that we were there to serve to Lord!
To me that’s what mission trips are about. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, sometimes we’re uncomfortable, but God is always there walking us through, helping us through the different obstacles we encounter. I learn more about Him and my faith grows the more I serve others, especially others that are unlike me.
Ed and I are hoping to lead another mission trip to Tecate next year. Pray and ask the Lord if this would be a part of His plan for you?
If not Mexico, maybe there are other areas of service He is calling you to. At Harvest? In your community?
Pictured Left to Right (Ann McFarlane, Ed Barker, Rebecca, Steve and Joel Katz, Seth Scherler, Luke Scherler, Senny Scherler, Isaac Martinez, Madison Christensen, Shanaya Nelson, Mirela Nelson, Teresa Scherler, Pablo Martinez, and Cliff Nelson)
Harvest team members in bold.
**As I write this I ask for you to be in prayer for Armando he is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday, August 15th to have the 3 tumors removed from his brain. His recovery time away from home will be at least a month and during that time Rebecca his wife will be staying with him and had to quit her job.
Please pray for Armando’s full recovery
Please pray for their children while Armando and Rebecca are away (Grandparents will be staying with the children)
Pray for a job for Rebecca once they return home. She is the main financial contributor to their family.
Pray for Armando, Rebecca and their children that their faith will be strengthen.
Guest Post by Theresa Scherler
(pictured with husband Luke)
7 Weeks in Uganda
Hello Church Family,
Rebecca and I just returned from about 7 weeks in Uganda where our oldest daughter Rachel, her husband Daniel and a pending adoptive grandchild are living and working as missionaries. Daniel is a veterinarian, a graduate of Oregon State, and he sets up small business enterprises where Ugandans in isolated communities can raise turkeys, goats and rabbits not only to augment their own diets but also to generate some income. There are several places in Uganda where he has ‘start-ups’ so there is a bit of travel for him to keep the process in motion. Each of these locations is connected to a local church work so Dr. Daniel’s work creates a bridge between destitute and marginalized widows and families and the message of Good News.
While we were there I was able to go directly to three of the sites where he has gotten things in motion. Each one of the
visits was moving and humbling. At one location the widow we visited was so grateful for our visit, words of encouragement and prayer that she gave me a Rooster. I can afford more roosters than she could imagine but the gift was graciously accepted. At another site (about 18 hours of driving away) we visited displaced forest pygmies who have been driven onto marginal lands, and without resources and support. Large portions of Africa are being depopulated and left as animal preserves because of international effort to create wildlife sanctuaries. National governments are financially rewarded for this but nothing trickles down to blunt the effects of displacement on those evicted without compensation, from lands that they lived on out of recorded history. The Pastor of the local Baptist church in this area which is just north of the Rwandan border and Daniel have partnered to identify open land (Pastor George’s task) and establish a protein and income source for these impoverished and neglected people (Dr. Daniel’s task). The tribe they work with are the Batwa and they are an unreached people group with animistic beliefs. They are now building interdependence with the local church.
I spoke to them in a breathtaking circumstance, part way up the side of a cone volcano, one of three in a line marching into northern Rwanda. Through an interpreter
I used ideas from Acts chapter 17 to present God’s nature and made the case that special trees and rocks and mountains cannot help us with our needs because they are only created things, like us. God, who made all things, is our source of help. Pray for these people as Pastor George and Dr. Daniel continue their work with the Batwa.
About 15 kilometers from the town of Soroti, where Rachel and Daniel are based is a third work that has just started. Rebecca and I were present as two turkeys each were ‘loaned out’ by the church there to widows and impoverished families. Several weeks later students from the Bible School that Daniel teaches in came along for a follow-up with those who received turkeys. We (Dr. Daniel, Pastor Charles and I) visited a blind man and his wife who have many children. He went blind in 2010 and this has devastated his ability to provide for his family. This visit almost overwhelmed me because his needs are so complex; even to provide food for his children. They eat one meal a day which many poor families do in Uganda, and the children can augment this with mangoes which have two seasons, Spring, and Fall, and anything else they obtain in the bush. The family has a small plot of land and their daily meals are derived from this. We prayed for Michael and his family before we left and you can to. Other ‘helps’ are in the works for him but they cannot be associated with U.S. money because it distracts desperate people from looking to God for help and they look to humans (us) as their benefactors. This does not mean that we cannot help but our help should pass through the local church so it is rightly identified with God for His glory.
It is tempting to pull our pockets out and let the change fall liberally all over the place. Many of us have the wherewithal to answer today’s problems for some. We may want others to see us as good people and our heart is to help and do good things, but when we do this carelessly people begin to depend on us as though we are their answer to life’s problems. That is God’s role and not ours.
So Rebecca and I are home now but home seems a little strange. Some things have changed, maybe it is us. We have atoms from the dust of Africa in our bodies. We lived as visible minorities in a culture not quite like our own. As we look around us we must conclude that we are so blessed but we feel a vague burden with our blessing. New ideas are forming in our minds. Just like Abraham was blessed to be a blessing, so have we been blessed.
Guest Post by Harvest Board Member
Steve Long (pictured with wife Rebecca)
Meet Your Small Group Leaders
Hey, everybody! Kyle here. I just wanted to introduce some of the greatest people of all time: Harvest’s team of small group leaders!
When I began looking for people to take the lead in the effort to create an atmosphere of fellowship and community within the Harvest family, I did not have to search very long. The call was (and continues to be) answered by those who have caught the vision of creating a church that lives life together, and we wanted to give everybody the chance to be able to see exactly who they are.
If you haven’t taken the step of joining a small group yet, get in touch with me, or any one of our leaders and we would be happy to talk to you about how to make that happen!
Most of our small groups start this coming week (week of March 12th)! We are adding new groups all the time. If any of these groups work well with your schedule, location, and childcare needs, be sure to send me (Kyle) an email or give the office a phone call at 503-492-9800 and I will give you more details on how to connect with that group. If you haven’t signed up yet to participate in a small group, click this link to fill out the form!
We meet at 6:30 pm in Boring.
Childcare provided
We meet at 6:30 pm in Fairview.
Childcare provided
We meet at 6:30 pm in Troutdale.
Women Only. No childcare.
We meet at 6:45 pm in Troutdale.
No childcare
7:00 pm at the Church.
Women Only. Childcare provided.
We meet at 7:00 pm at the Church.
Men only. Led by Ed Barker & Derick Monteith.
We meet at 7:00 pm in Gresham.
No childcare.
We meet at 7:00 pm at the Church.
No childcare
We meet at 6:30 pm in Troutdale.
Childcare provided
Student Led Small Group Meets from 6-8 pm at the Nelson’s on Fridays in a different part of the home.
Click Here to Fill Out the
Small Group Interest Form
Still have some questions?
Download this Small Group FAQ!
2016 Annual Report
This past Sunday, Pastor Mike discussed Harvest: our history, our present, and our future. It was a great message that touched on the roots of our church, our values and what is important here at Harvest [Listen Here]. He briefly introduced the staff (meet them here), talked about the missionaries we support (read more about them here), and went over our 2016 Annual Report. To download a PDF: 2016 Annual Report.
Take a look below at the 2016 Annual Report. It might look like a bunch of numbers, but it is important to remember that every number represents a unique individual with their own story. Here at Harvest, we aren’t about numbers – we are about the people. As a staff and leadership, we are so excited about the upcoming year and what is in store for 2017. To read more about some of our goals, check out this blog post: Welcome 2017!
