Praying for Harvest Bible Chapel

Presence: For God’s presence to lead and to guide us
Exodus 33:16 “For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

Partners: For partners to share in the ministry of building this church
Ephesians 4:11-12 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

People: For many unbelievers who need to “come and see”
John 1:45-46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ 46 Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’”

Peace: For Christ’s peace to rule among us preserving our unity.
Col. 3:14-15 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”

Re-launching the Church

We are heading into one the most exciting seasons in the life of our church and more than ever we need to keep our hearts focused on our mission. A church building and property are very useful towards the mission when we view them as tools – tools that can make us more effective in accomplishing the mission. They are no more and no less. In order to keep this before us during this crucial season, I will be preaching on our mission Sept. 9 followed by a message on prayer (Sept. 16) at the beginning of our Prayer Week (Sept. 16-21) and then begin a new series called Deliberate Devotion starting Sept. 23 that will run all the way till Nov. 11. This series will also help define us as a church.

Here’s how I would like us to frame this Fall in our minds: we are replanting/re-launching our church. All the things that you do and think about in the early days of a church plant we need to think about again. What do I mean by that? When things are fresh and new you tend to prayer, invite new people, evangelize, reach out to new visitors, and come early to church. Can we stir those things up among us this Fall?

Here’s my challenge for you as a member and fellow missionary:

Prayer team of 10
Form a team of 10 people outside HBC (family and friends) that will pray for this church and you specifically. Have this in place before Sept. 16 (start of our prayer week).

Cultivate a friendship with 1 unbeliever
Purpose to develop a relationship with an unbeliever in order to lead them to Jesus

Invite 5 new people to HBC
(Unbelievers); by Dec. 23, 2007

Meet 1 new person each Saturday PM

Come 10 minutes early on Saturday PM
Be ready as a missionary not a consumer who just watches things happen!

Saturday PM Services?

Ok, this is new for us...a Saturday PM service! Because of the Teacher's Strike at Harlem High School (place where we meet for church) we were told we couldn't be there Aug. 26. While trying to find an alternative location, we decided to meet at our future home (Windsor Heights Community Church) on Saturday PM since Windsor Heights still meets on Sunday (they are moving soon).

Awesome! Never thought I would like a Saturday PM service but it was great. It appears that we will continue to meet on Saturday PM until we close on the church building. I really think our church body loved it. Once we truly own the building, I wonder how difficult it will be to return to Sunday AM?