Greetings Harvest family!
In what’s officially my first blog post, I wanted to introduce myself to you all as my family and I are so excited to be joining Harvest Christian Church in this exciting new chapter to our story that God continues to write. Thanks for being a part of our story!
After being high school sweethearts for about four and a half years, Becca and I got married while at George Fox University in 2005, a year prior to my graduating with my B.A. in Organizational Communication.
Both of us grew up here right in East-ish County as I lived in Troutdale and Becca in Northeast Portland. As a result, our Pacific Northwest roots run deep and wide and. By God’s grace, we’ve been blessed to have our extended family close by as we raise our fun and crazy little family of six (Lucy 11, Titus 8, Judah 6, Roman almost 2). We have since ventured further east to Sandy, where we live near the “downtown” strip, though my kids would tell you the most important fact is that we’re within walking distance of the library—the rest is just details.
Since graduating from George Fox, I’ve spent most my working time at The Oregonian and the company that owns them, Advance Local. I’ve spent a LOT of time in the media, time which I would say might roughly translate to 14 years, going on 40. I took a detour in the middle of it to work as a Digital Marketing Specialist for a couple of years at Portland Rescue Mission while earning my M.A. Ministry and Leadership from Western Seminary before eventually returning to Advance Local in 2016. And now, over four years later, it’s led me here to Harvest where I get the blessing and opportunity to serve as your Discipleship Director! 
Truth be told, I could talk about discipleship for pages on end, but in the name of being concise, let me just say this: I love discipleship! And even more important than what I think, it is clear in the Bible that Jesus Christ loves discipleship. It was the very essence of so much of His ministry to His apostles and nearly everyone He met. And it’s why in His final words to His disciples, we read in Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
So, while the blessings and challenges of 2020 are behind us, the journey that lies ahead for all of us is only just beginning. God has big plans for His church, this community and beyond, and I’m here to invite you in to be a part of it with me and the rest of the staff as we follow Him into the beautiful and inspiring Kingdom work He has for each and every one of us—regardless of who you are, where you’ve been, or where you’re headed. Everyone in our church community has a purpose, and you are all uniquely created to thrive in the special design of who you are. I look forward to being a part of all the wonderful things God is already doing in this church and in your life as we discover those things together.
As Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV): “[God] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
I look forward to meeting you all very soon!
Blessings,
Cory Mandina
