Very Important Work Days

Dear Church Family,

We have 2 very important work day’s coming up this next week. Last Saturday we finished the forms for the air conditioning unit.

This Thursday from 6-8 we need to build the forms for the back exit to the auditorium and fill and pack both pads and add rebar to provide a strong foundation for concrete that will be delivered Saturday.

This Saturday from 9-12 it is important to have a good group of people here so that we can work the concrete properly when it is poured into the forms. For Scheduling purposes please email Pastor Josh at [email protected] if you will be able to come. This will enable us to know if we will have enough people to get the job done Saturday.

Praise the Lord for the work he is doing in our church right now. It is my prayer that we finish this job and move into our new auditorium before the end of the year. WE HAVE SEEN BIGGER MIRACLES HAPPEN ALREADY.

Thanks for your willingness to help.

Pastor Josh

I KNOW God Answers Prayer

Dear Church Family,

I have some extremely exciting news to share with you. However, for you to understand just how exciting this news is I’d like to give you a little background on the way God has been at work.

Over 3 years ago, when I first came to Harvest, we began the process of submitting a grant application to the John C Lasko Foundation. The final plans were decided upon 2 years ago and a we requested $560,000 dollars to finish, renovate and beautify the entire building with peaked roofs, offices, parking and a new lobby.

About 6 months after that was submitted we received notification that due to Mr. Lasko’s health the foundation was undergoing some major changes and they were no longer giving 100% financing for building projects. They also asked us to resubmit our application with these new guidelines in mind. At that point we knew that major adjustments were needed on our end and we went back to the drawing board. We designed a brand new prefab steel building and resubmitted the new set of plans to Lasko last November. In that grant application we requested $375,000 which was about 75% of the project. This was quite a reach since we knew the foundation only did 50% funding but the deacons and I just couldn’t say that we would be able to raise $200,000 in 12 months and building financing was not an option.

1 month after we submitted our application I received a call and the foundation informed me that it would take them 8-12 months to process our application. The deacons and I had a hard meeting and in that meeting we decided to step out in faith and begin renovating the current warehouse with our own funds. We felt like our church had to get something done before that time period. We did not notify the foundation about our plans but decided to step out in faith and watch God provide for the project without any external help.

We worked with the Town of Castle Rock, architects, and engineers to refinish our warehouse area as cost efficiently as possible. This May after all of our plans were finalized we realized that we were about $10,000 short on funds to start the project. The deacons and financial committee decided to wait to submit our application for a building permit from the town until we had raised those funds.

A couple of days after this meeting I received a notification from the John C. Lasko Foundation that the board was going to meet earlier than expected and they asked if we had made any progress or modifications to our project. They also notified us that they would not be able to grant us the $375,000 that we requested and asked for an explanation on how we would raise or borrow those funds. I met with the deacons and other financial advisors in the church and presented this new information to them. It was our decision to modify our grant request from the new prefab steel building to our current renovation on the warehouse and add in the necessary parking and external maintenance that we had not budgeted for in this phase of our remodel. We requested just under $88,000 so that we could complete our current project. We also decided that we would not announce this decision to the church. We did not want to slow down our progress on the building or discourage the people if the application did not go through. The whole reason for doing this project was to trust God to get it done and we laid it in His hands.

During this time frame I did a fund raiser and had a goal to raise $5000 1/2 of the funds we needed before we could go forward. To all of our surprise we raised over $10,000 in 2 weeks. We immediately finished all of the paperwork with the town and we finally got our building permit July 27, 2012. We were ecstatic about getting the permit, but apprehensive since we knew that we had a long road of fundraising ahead to be able to totally fund the project.

On Monday of this week Dan Wilson (our in-house general contractor) and I met together and discussed the necessary work and finances to accomplish the project. It was our conclusion that God would have to do a miracle for us to be able to finish this project in a timely manner. We felt like we were taking a giant step out into the dark in faith depending upon God to give that foot a solid place to land. However, we left that meeting with an understanding that, “Men could not build this church God would have to step in.”

Tuesday morning Willi Head was going through the mail and found a letter from the Lasko foundation. She opened in and at the bottom of the first paragraph the letter read, “You have been awarded a grant for up to $125,000.” She told me that she read it through 3 times before she called me. She had to make sure it was true. When she told me on the phone I was dumbfounded and speechless. God had truly answered our prayers with more than we could have asked or thought possible. Later that day I went down and read the papers myself (not that I doubted Willi’s word). I just had to see it.

Praise God the Lord of lords, King of kings, the Great Provider and Masterful Shepherd. He has chosen to provide for our entire project. I was doubtful that the money would come in and God gave us $125,000 through what I thought was a long-shot.

I can’t wait for the next few work opportunities. We get to work knowing God’s incredible provision. I pray that God will knit our hearts together in fellowship as we labor together to build a meeting place for his church.

This week we are going to begin digging the footers for the pad for the air-conditioning and heating unit. It is our goal to get everything ready this week to have the concrete poured.

We are working Thursday night from 6-8pm and Saturday morning beginning at 9:00. Come when you can. God has provided the funding and I believe he is providing the hands to do the work through each of you volunteering your time and efforts as we move forward by His grace.

Come for our special praise service this evening where we will thank the Lord for His marvelous provision.

In Christ,
Pastor Josh

Saturday Work Day

Dear Church Family,

We had a great turnout for our work night last night. Over 10 people came out. We had so much help that we got done with the projects that we had chosen early. Thanks so much to each of you who came out to help. Last night we were able to get everything on the inside of the building ready for construction. On Saturday morning we are going to get everything ready on the outside of the building for construction. We will be meeting at 9:00 and will be done at 11:00. Come out and be a part of the growth of Harvest Baptist Church.

Pastor Josh

We got the building permit!

Dear Church Family,

We got the building permit today from the town. Praise the Lord. We will begin work on the building next week. I will update you via this blog and phone calls as to when we will be working at the church. Please let me know when you are available to work so that I can work with you.

Arise and build,

Pastor Josh

Building Update

Dear Church Family,

I wanted to thank you for you faithful prayers for our building project. Last night in our prayer meeting I asked you to pray specifically that the town would allow Dan Wilson to be our general contractor for the project. Praise the Lord, this morning I just received confirmation from the towns building department that Dan has been approved.

With this good news we are literally just a few pieces of paperwork away from receiving our building permit. Dan and I will be going down to the building departments office tomorrow morning to get our building permit. Please be in prayer that everything goes smoothly and that we receive the building permit tomorrow.

I will update you on the status of our building permit tomorrow one way or the other.

Praising the Lord for his miraculous work in our Church,

Pastor Josh

Glenn Howard Funeral

Dear Church Family,

Glenn Howard’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday morning at 9:30. The memorial service will be held at the church. Please come to be an encouragement to the family. The burial service will be at 2:15 at Ft. Logan apotheke-zag.de.

Pastor Josh

Glenn Howard

Dear Church Family,

Glenn Howard went home to be with the Lord last night. He had a heart attack while spending some time with his wife in the mountains. I will get you more details about the funeral service as soon as I receive them. Please pray for the family as they grieve.

Pastor Josh

Adult Bible Study

Dear Church Family,
Tomorrow morning in Adult Bible Study we will be looking at 2 Timothy 2:14–19

“Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

We will contrast the lives of and choices of people who follow God with those who follow the world. I hope that you will take some time this evening to study and be prepared for an encouraging discussion.

Pastor Josh

Church Fellowship Tomorrow

Dear Church Family,

Tomorrow we have a church fellowship at the church. I encourage each of you to come and plan to stay for dinner and the service afterwards. Tomorrow in the morning and the afternoon service we are going to look at Stephen’s sermon just before the angry mob took him out and stoned him (Acts 7:1-53). In lieu of the afternoon service we will have no evening service tomorrow.

I look forward to seeing you in church tomorrow.

Pastor Josh

Men’s Prayer Breakfast

Men’s prayer breakfast is at 9:00am tomorrow morning. I look forward to seeing many of you out for this exciting event.

Pastor Josh