September 2018 Update
The Elders want to extend a big “thank you” to the staff for leading the church in these summer events: National Day of Prayer, Mother’s Day, Child dedication, Jon Guerra Concert, One Body, Students Camp at Lake Ann, our first Vertical Kids Weekend, Father’s Day, Act Like Men Palooza, our first Much More Women’s night, and many baptisms as part of our high-impact service. We also welcomed Jesse Schmidt and Chris Asmus to preach and are excited for their church launches this month.!
This summer, the elders met on May 9th, May 16th, May 30th, June 13th, August 8th and August 22nd. They focused on the following:
BUILDING TEAM
The building team met regularly throughout the summer to pursue, vet, and discuss locations for a permanent home for Harvest. A prime piece of land along 37th St. NE was presented to the team in May, so several members of the team spent the summer conducting due diligence on that property, with routine updates to the elders. This included engineering studies, traffic studies, appraisals, soil borings, and much more. God appeared to have his hand over the whole process, highlighted by a pre-development meeting with the city of Rochester, in which city officials agreed that putting a church on that property was “a great idea!”
The team continued to make countless phone calls and visits to other buildings and land in and around Rochester, but it appears that God has been shutting those doors and keeping the 37th St. property door open. The elders are extremely grateful for the work of the Building Team and their dedication to pursue opportunities regarding a home for Harvest. We’re excited to see what God has for us in this!
PASTORAL QUALIFICATIONS
Due to a disagreement on the timing of Matt Decola’s installation in a pastoral position, Matt decided to complete his employment at Harvest Bible Chapel Rochester and pursue a different opportunity elsewhere. We are grateful for Matt’s service to the church while he worked here. Please join us in praying for Matt and his wife, Shawna, during this transition. The staff are beginning the hiring process to find another employee to join the team.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The staff and elders celebrated the previous ministry year by gathering for a cookout at Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch. The staff spent the day training, team building, and dreaming about what God will do this coming year.
Many of the staff and elders also attended the Global Leadership Summit in August. Through the teaching of many different speakers, they left the conference encouraged to implement new leadership skills in the church, and to equip others to lead as well.
OUTREACH
The elders spent much time this summer considering the different options for outreach and partnership in and outside of Rochester, MN. In May, the elders decided to partner with Vertical Church Network (VCN). VCN is an organization that aims to glorify God by planting churches and multiplying church-planting movements globally. They aim to accomplish this through coaching, training, church planting, resourcing, and fellowshipping. The elders are excited about this new opportunity to partner with like-minded vertical churches.
PRAYER REQUESTS
· Pray for clarity and direction for the leadership team as they continue planning for the 2018-2019 ministry year including finalizing the 2018-2019 leadership goals.
· Pray also that Vertical Church Conference is a unifying time for the people who are attending, and that they would come back to Rochester, MN better equipped to make disciples of Jesus.
· Praise God for Steve Buehler’s faithfulness to serve alongside our elder team for the past 6 years! Pray that he can have a restful sabbath year as he serves the church in other capacities.
*This is an update for May-August 2018