Thanksgiving for Harvest – Past, Present, and Future

Thanksgiving for changes – Past

The pictures in the slider above remind me of our past here at harvest. The picture on the far right was our charter service in 2005. The two pictures to the right of that were at the instillation service in 2010. That little boy in the corner of the picture is now a senior in Highschool. We have seen a lot of change here at Harvest. But nothing has matched the change that we have seen in this past year.

Last year at thanksgiving we were discussing the possibility of being in the new building around Christmas time. We were finishing up the framing, pulling the electrical, and preparing for the drywall. The walls were still bare with exposed insulation. The HVAC work was beginning. There were bare i-beams and posts exposed. We were getting ready to install the new auditorium doors. No paint, drywall, carpet, or lights in the new auditorium. There were about 3 different types of carpet in the old building. We had some plumbing issues that needed to be resolved. The building was still yellow with cracking paint. The wood mansard roofing was falling apart along with the letters on the sign that were peeling. We were bursting at the seems in our small auditorium and full of excitement at what the new auditorium would bring.

Thanksgiving for Changes – Present

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2013 and all of that has changed. The new auditorium is beautiful. Though we still have a small list of things to finish up with the building we can keep track of that list on one hand as opposed to the 15 page list of things to do. This has been an incredible year of change and growth at Harvest and I for one am thankful.

The building isn’t the only thing that has changed. So have the people. We have grown in this past year not by leaps and bounds but steady growth. Last year this time we were averaging about 40-50 per Sunday morning service. This year we are averaging 60. Our children’s department, especially in the younger ones, are bursting at the seams. We are always in need of people to help out with Nursery, Truth Trackers, and Children’s Church. The families at our church have grown in number and faithfulness. There is a lot to be thankful for.

The spirit of the church is encouraged and perhaps a bit overwhelmed with all that has transpired in the past year. I am constantly reminding myself of the comforting words of Jesus to the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)” God’s grace is sufficient in my weakness. This truth lead Paul to say, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).” I am learning to be thankful for the overwhelming changes and growth that our church has seen in this past year. I can be thankful because I know that God hasn’t put us in over our heads (Philippians 4:13). I know that God is taking care of us and that in our weakness God makes us strong.

Thanksgiving for Changes – Future

I am thankfully looking forward to what next year will bring our church. Our building’s image probably won’t change as much as it did in the past year. But I believe that the church (the people) will grow and change as Harvest Baptist Church pursues our mission. Our mission is to win and disciple followers of Jesus Christ and teach them to impact the world through our community, Castle Rock.

What are you thankful for this year?

Please leave a comment about what you are thankful for. We have just enabled Facebook comments to make commenting easier for you. If you are getting the is as an email I encourage you to follow this link to the website and tell us what you are thankful for this year. Not just church related things. Lets thank the Lord for all that he has done in the body of Christ this year.