On Christmas Eve, the music ministry of Harvest Christian Fellowship presented Glory!, its first cantata. It was outstanding. Hats off to our Director of Music, Duane Dillard, and all who made the event successful. We can’t wait until the next one.

Come out and celebrate with the members of Harvest Christian Fellowship on Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., as we give thanks to the Lord during our 3rd church anniversary. Harvest in January 2007, with a Bible Study that was held weekly at a local hotel. During the first Bible Study twelve persons made the commitment to become members of this new church. Since then, we have watched God continue to grow us in faith and numbers, as we serve our community and each other.

Our guest preacher for the anniversary celebration will be Overseer E. Andre Stanton, Senior Pastor of The Revelation Center in Philadelphia, PA. A gifted pastor, preacher, and singer, you can rest assured that Overseer Stanton will bless via the word of God. Our theme for this celebration is, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” The pastoral leadership of Harvest Christian Fellowship, its members, and regular visitors know that God has truly been faithful, and pray that you can join us for our morning worship service and food after service.

Nyesha Smith about to be baptized

It was an exciting night at Harvest Christian Fellowship. In spite of the snow early in the day, and the steady rain all night, the faithful made their way to the church to witness the first baptismal service in the history of this local church. The fellowship hall was transformed into a sanctuary for the baptismal service. The brand new baptismal pool was ready, the candidates were ready, and the senior pastor was excited and ready.

There were five persons who, upon the profession of their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, were prepared to be baptized. After the candidates professed their willingness to publicly live lives pleasing to Christ, they were led to the pool while the congregation sang “Take Me to the Water.”

Those baptized receive their baptismal certificates during Sunday worship service

Those who were baptized received their Certificates of Baptism during the morning worship service on January 3, 2010. To see more pictures, visit Harvest Christian Fellowship’s Facebook fan page. The next baptismal service is scheduled to be held in March.

This team of dedicated volunteers overcame some last minute changes due to weather with only minor hiccups. The sky is the limit for this group, as they strive to develop godly character in our youth. Go get ‘em. Pictures will follow soon.

It began with the praise team energetically leading us in song. Their leading quickly morphed into spontaneous singing, worship, and praise that no one wanted to see come to an end. We continued the major thought from last week regarding how we relate to one another, this week dealing specifically with laying aside the old self and putting on the new self (Ephesians 4:22-5:2).

The put the exclamation point at the end of a great service by leading six persons to join the church today, with two of those making the initial decision to give their lives to Christ. That’s why we do what we do…we are celebrating two more into the kingdom of God. It was truly a great day. Thanks to all of the great Harvest volunteers!

Stay blessed.

Today’s message “What the World Needs Now” dealt with society’s need to experience authentic love, and Church’s unique equipping to fill the need. We defined love as “the consistent demonstration of consideration, concern, and care for another person.”

Ultimately, our challenge as Christians is to get out of the pews and into the lives of other folk. Let’s stop paying lip service to love, and begin to demonstrate it consistently in our homes, on our jobs, and in our communities. Its not a choice…its our calling. Harvest is on board as a community of Christ followers! Love is an action. Who are you going to love this week?

Stay blessed.

Today concluded our series on God’s grace toward us in our justification and entire sanctification. Sound deep and heavy? Its not. God’s love toward us is exemplified in the extension of grace on our behalf. He wants us to have, and makes available to us, his best.

Stay blessed.

You don’t have anything to wear to church you say. Don’t worry about that! At Harvest Christian Fellowship it doesn’t matter to us what you are wearing on the outside. Just come and be a part of what God is doing in us, so that we can be better at letting him work through us. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

Wait a minute! If you need directions to our church, located at 3813 Newport Gap Pike in Wilmington, go to our website and check out the directions page. Stay blessed.

Thanksgiving Sunday at Harvest Christian Fellowship. That means lots of friends, family, and praise. Here are a few highlights of this morning service, for those of you who missed it.

• Our drama ministry (yet to be named) debuted this morning with a skit showing ways that our faith can influence others during this time of economic crisis. Well done to the entire team, and our “actors”. We all look forward to seeing how God will use this ministry to spread the gospel.
• I got to speak to at least one of our college freshman, home for break! Its always exciting to hear what is going on in the lives of these young adults as they study and live out the gospel on campuses across the nation. I pray that all of our college students press strong to the end of the semester, running all the way through the tape. We look forward to seeing you at Winter break.
• Preparations are now in full swing for the church’s 2nd anniversary! The team met with Pastor Doris after service this morning, and the excitement is growing. Spread the word to all that you know, to come join us in January. More details to follow.
• Bro. Duane Dillard was pumped this morning, as he led us in praise and worship. We got to see yet another glimpse into the future of our growing worship ministry. Can’t wait for what lies ahead.
• The Men’s Fellowship leaders finalized plans to have the men of Harvest hit the neighborhoods in our area with invitations to our Sunday services. Don’t want to spoil it, but I believe the men should expect a call or correspondence this week. Take some time out, and support what the men are going to be doing.
• Beginning this Wednesday, and every Wednesday in December, we will be having a prayer service in lieu of Bible Study. Come out with friends and family, as we spend time in prayer to our Lord for the balance of the year.

We will be extending a special invitation to the people who join us for worship at Harvest this Sunday. We will be inviting them to do something that sets this giving season apart from your typical season of giving, by giving a gift that will truly keep on giving. We will make available to every person who attends this Sunday a copy of the 2008 World Vision Gift Catalog.

World Vision distributes a Gift Catalog annually, that allows charitable individuals to give gifts internationally that will keep on giving. What kinds of gifts, you ask? Well, how about 5 ducks for $30. Why would you want to give ducks? Because ducks produce eggs, which can be an essential source of dietary protein. Curious to hear more? Well, how about 1 goat and 2 chickens for $100. With this gift you are not only providing egg-producing chickens, but milk-producing goats.

The catalog offers gifts to fit any budget, with gifts ranging from $10 to over $2,000. The gifts range from seeds, to livestock, wells, to homes. What an opportunity to teach our children, or remind ourselves of,  the real meaning of this season.