Harvest Community Church: Kittanning, PA

Big Fred's Bytes - April 18th Edition

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:10:00 -0400

Are you registered for the Relationships Conference yet? It is not too late, but the day is drawing near, and you won’t want to miss this. Friday April 27th (7-10pm) & Saturday April 28th (9-12noon)
Have you ever thought, “I wish I was a better friend…” – “I wish our marriage relationship was better…” – “I would like our family to get along…”

Well, this opportunity is for you. This is not just a conference that will help you in one area of your life, but you will find crucial tools for all of your relationships. The conference will feature speaker and author Tim Lane who is part of CCEF (Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation).

SO, put down the phone or the controller and sign up. We will meet Friday night from 7pm to 10pm and then finish up Saturday morning 9am to noon. That’s it. You can sign up on our web site at www.harvestpa.org or call the church office if you are having any difficulties.

Do you know a teenager who is not attending our youth services/events. “CRAVE” meets every Monday at 7pm at the Kittanning Campus. This is a great time to encourage them to attend. They will be heading to an Acquire the Fire event in Pittsburgh on May 4th & 5th. They will also be sharing plans for the youth mission trip coming up in just a couple months. Contact Pastor Dave for additional details at daviddickson@harvestpa.org

Would you like to know a little more about Harvest Community Church and the beliefs that we are committed too? At Harvest Community Church, we take membership very seriously. Don't get me wrong on that, you are welcome to attend all services and activities. But church membership is more than just coming by the church - it is committing to being a part of it. We will discuss that topic and many more during our new member class. This class will last 13 weeks and be led by Jack Bowser starting April 29th at 11 am. Class and materials are free. This class is not just for people already willing to commit to membership, but it is designed to help you consider "Why is membership in a church important?" Anyone is welcome to attend the class and decide for themselves after the class is over. I encourage you to attend first service before coming to class during second service for the next 13 week. We do not require perfect attendance to be eligible for membership, but you will want to make a majority of the classes. Just mark your connect card or send me an email, and we will add you to the class list. This class will be held in the meeting room at the Belmont Complex, just over the hill from the Kittanning Campus building. More directions will be provided to those who register for the class.

The Petrolia Campus continues to develop and grow in many healthy ways. They are just about to finish a membership class there and plan to start a Youth Ministry in the very near future. This Friday, April 20th at 7pm, they will have a family movie night as they plan to have some fun and enjoy some carry in snacks while watching the new Muppets Movie. You are welcome to join them. They are also looking for people willing to serve during their VBS this summer. VBS is a one day a week, out in the community ministry that drew up to 50 people at a time last summer. If you can commit to serving with them this summer, email fredneal@harvestpa.org for details.

Child Dedication Services will be held on May 6th for parents who are willing to commit to maintaining a Christian home and relationship for their children. You may mark your connect card for more information or email daviddickson@harvestpa.org

I hope that you have been experiencing an increase in your ability to fellowship before and after our Sunday services in the newly renovated fellowship area. I encourage you to take the opportunity to meet others who attend Harvest and get to know them a little better. Our café is provided fee free and is meant to cultivate relationship building. Keep in mind that as you look for friends, the first step is to be friendly yourself. There have been many positive relationships built during this time of conversation and care. We are not planning to add room furnishings for a few months to allow for financial planning to cover that need. Again, I encourage you to catch up with some old friends and look for some new ones Sunday before and after each service.

We have scheduled our next Harvest Community Church Information Meeting for Sunday, May 6th after the second service at the Kittanning Campus. More info will be coming soon related to the food and plans for our time together, but I hope you will be able to attend. I want to take this opportunity to say that your Pastors and Elders are always interested in talking with you regarding the ministry of Harvest Community Church. While circumstance may require us to focus within the resources we have, we always look to think through other opportunities and suggestions along the way. We look forward to our opportunity to share this information.

Big Fred's Bytes - Special Edition

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:55:00 -0500

Many of you have asked how you can help with the ministries around Harvest. Below, I am sharing some of our needs over the coming 6-12 months that you may want to consider. If you are interested, please send me an email at bigfredneal@gmail.com for more information and consideration.

Large Event Planning

Team of 5 leaders to plan and prepare for our summer service “Down By the Riverside” in July/August 2012 (Plan to engage the church in all phases of the outreach closer to date)
Team of 3 leaders to plan and coordinate the November Hot Meal Outreach for November 2012 and this will likely change from what we did the last 2 years (Kittanning) (This is the team to plan to engage the church in the event)
Team to help prepare for our HCC Information Meeting (May 2012 after Sunday Services) – This will be for both campuses at Kittanning location.
4 Community Group Leaders willing to prepare/drop off a quick meal for firefighters at one of their upcoming meetings (This was a follow-up from our Sept 11th service last fall)
Team of 12 to provide 1 open house meal to PRISM students in April/May 2012 (Sunday night with about 50 international students attending in Pittsburgh)

Ongoing Weekly Service Needs

Café Helpers – Sunday morning refreshments preparation rotation
First Impressions Team (Greeters, Ushers, Information)
Media Team (audio, video, lights, power point)
Team to provide rides to Sunday services for those without transportation
Coordinator for next Blood Drive (mid-summer)
On an average Sunday, we have over 60 (Kittanning) and 17 (PVC) serving in many different ways. Some come very early and some stay very late. We encourage you to look for an opportunity to serve as well.

Leading in Smaller Settings

Leader for PRISM furniture giveaway for International students coming into Pittsburgh – this leader will start preparing in late July and finish in mid-august
Team of 2 to manage the Operation Christmas Child – shoebox ministry in October/November 2012
Evangelism Team – Willing to travel into local communities to engage people and offer short bible studies (3 sessions per community)

Investing in Your Next Leaders

Summer Teachers / Assistants for Children’s Ministry (3 months)
Fall Teachers / Assistants / Subs for Children’s Ministry (9 months). Training will be provided.
Youth Programs (grade 7th -12th) leaders, chaperones, and helpers (ongoing). Training will be provided.
Vacation Bible School leaders & helpers

We have many opportunities to serve within our church and God’s kingdom at large. It is our desire as your pastors to help you maintain a steady balance toward all of your responsibilities (to your spouse, your children, your church, and to our Lord God). In such a large group, we have many hands if we all share in the tasks that support our ministries. As your pastors and elders have said many times, we place great value on your participation in community groups. It is in that setting that application of God’s Word in our daily lives takes place, and you are able to consider your personal challenges with the support of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

When you look at the time you have, Community Group participation should remain a priority. After that, please consider other opportunities as you are led. If, for any reason, you need to reconsider your time allocation, always feel free to contact the leader in your area of service and communicate that need for change. You may also contact me through the church office if you need to talk further.

1 COR 12: 1-31 encourages us to rely on the diverse gifts of our church and help others in that God may be glorified with them. Please consider how you might add some value to others by serving in some way, large or small. It will add up! And it will help to grow the size and health of God’s church everywhere.

Big Fred's Bytes - Leap Day Edition

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:40:00 -0500

It has been a privilege to witness God working in the lives of our church family. I see evidence daily of the growth within our church body. Each Sunday, we meet new people who have been searching for opportunities to worship with a body of believers such as you. We also find many who are hurting or searching for understanding in their specific situation. It takes a church to minister to all of the opportunities that come our way. As we prepare for the common surge in church attendance during Easter, I encourage each of you to ready yourself to participate in growing the health and size of our church.

We seek your participation each week to meet the people who come through our doors. We soon will share details concerning our Easter services and encourage you to invite others to church. However, before we do that, I ask you to help us meet the needs of those we already are reaching. This Sunday, look for people who you may not know and introduce yourself to them. Ask them if you can pray for anything special with them. Look for ways to help them. Invite them to your community group or connect them to the information desk to help them find the information they may need. In sum, take the time to meet the people inside our church and be a part of their lives. You will likely receive more than you are giving. Share Matthew 11:28-30 and allow God to show you the application point in that passage as you do. We are asking you to come to church and help be a part of the church too. We will all be in need of this help from time to time.

Please continue to lift our Thailand Team in your prayers daily as they move into the second week in country. We will share more details of their ministry when they return. There is still time to be considered for the Guatemala Mission Trip in July. If you are interested, applications and deposits are due by March 18th and we hope to finalize the 12 participants by March 23rd. This will be a trip into the orphanage operated by Steve and Pam English that is also teaching English to the young people of that region. You can find more information on all of our missionaries through clicking the “missions” tab on our home page and following the links available.

Thank you to all who served during Peggy Reitler’s funeral. We have been asked to extend a “Thank You” to all who served and comforted the family and friends during this difficult time. Please keep the Reitler family in your prayers during their grieving and time of adjustments.

On March 24th, all ladies are invited to an Easter Celebration Brunch in the Fellowship Area of the Kittanning Campus. Please bring a covered dish to share with others. Drinks will be provided. You may sign up by visiting their table in the Fellowship Area or mark your connect card for the event. Again, it will be Saturday, March 24th from 10am to noon.

We are currently in need of people who are willing to help provide a ride to church for those without transportation. We are also looking for people to serve with our First Impressions Team to help seat our visitors, our late comers, or those with special needs during the services. If you are willing to commit to helping meet these needs, please mark your connect card, and we will contact you.

I want to thank you for taking the time to share the information on the green data sheets with us. It will be very helpful in improving our methods of serving you in the future. I will try to share some summary details in a future newsletter. Keep in mind, our online church directory is available be clicking on the “My Harvest” link at the bottom of the Harvest web page. If you are still learning your way around within the My Harvest section of our website, check out the videos available at the “Help” link. Check out the “people” help-videos there.

Big Fred's Bytes - Jan. 25, 2012

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:50:00 -0500

I would like to thank you all for returning your data sheets so promptly. It will be very helpful to have the updated information available to our staff as we work to serve you. If you have not returned the green data sheet as of yet, please do so as soon as possible. We will be undertaking the data entry soon and would like it to be complete. Part of this effort will involve a few of the staff members contacting people that have not responded in any way to attempt to identify if they are still connected to our church and identify how we may serve them best. Once this effort has been completed, the Elders will review any special situations related to church membership and share that information with you at our Spring Information Meeting. If you have any questions regarding this effort, as always – just give me a call.

During this time, we hope to identify the best possible methods of communicating effectively with our church. We will review input related to the effectiveness of the website and other communication tools as well. In the meantime, for anyone who is not familiar with our online church directory and information data base; you are invited to go exploring. {At the bottom of the “Home Page” of www.harvestpa.orgyou will find a hot button for “My Harvest” (This has also been referred to as CCB at times, but they are one in the same)}. When you click it, you will be moved to the log in page asking for your user name and password. Everyone is welcomed to enter this site; it contains user access levels that allow us to share enough information without sharing too much with everyone. You can build out your individual and family profiles with information that will be very helpful. Tammy, Debbie, or Marion in the church office will be glad to help get you answers to questions if you call the office or send them an email.

Some quick notes related to activities for your consideration:

Our ladies are gathering on Friday Jan 27^th from 7 pm to 8:30 pm to send Jan Hart off with many hugs as they have moved to Michigan for a new job for Marty. Bring a snack to share if you can or just stop in and enjoy the fellowship.
Ladies are also invited to a women’s ministry event on Feb 4^th at Kit from 6 pm to 9 pm. The evening will be filled with fun, food, and a special surprise. Sign up this weekend for the free event. Call Mandy Reedy at 724-859-3463 with any questions.
Blood Drive for the central blood bank will be at Harvest on Tuesday Jan 31^st from noon till 6 pm. Contact Lora Longcor at lljabulani@gmail.com if you can donate.
Special Olympics will be holding their bowl-a-thon for all special Olympians at Lee’s Lane in Vandergrift on Saturday February 11^th starting at 1 pm. If you can serve as a helper for a couple hours – you will be blessed beyond measure. All helpers should arrive around noon for a briefing.
Details will be out soon for a special men’s event that is open to the entire community. On Feb 25^th, we will be spending the day with some pretty cool guys who will share some of the challenges in their lives and how they overcame these difficulties. Look to spend the day with Pittsburgh Steeler Jon Kolb, Harlem Globetrotter Melvin Adams, baseball star Sid Bream, Cleveland Indian pitcher Tom McGough, Penn State’s Leo Wisniewski who spent several years with the Indianapolis Colts and David DeMarco leading worship music. Be sure to invite your friends too. Ladies – what a great Valentine present this will make for your husband once you find out what some of these men will be sharing.

We are also looking to connect with anyone who has a special talent for graphics development or web site operations. If you have a background in these areas and are willing to serve with your church, please contact me at bigfredneal@gmail.com

Just an FYI for any ministry team hoping to share information with the church via any form of announcement: We need to plan these a week or so in advance and will need final details by mid-week including any photos or video clips. The tech team does a practice run every Thursday night for the Sunday Service and your files must be included in that effort to happen on Sunday.

2011 Giving Statements have been mailed and should be in your hands by now. If you have not received yours or if you have questions related to it, contact me at the above email address or give me a call at 724-664-9962.

December 30, 2011 - Big Fred's Bytes

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:10:00 -0500

On behalf of all our Pastors and Elders, I would like to wish each of you a prosperous new year and challenge you to increase your relationship with our Lord and Savior over the coming months. There are many traditions that we could talk about coming into a new year, but the one that I encourage each of you to think about is going deeper in your relationship with God. Where ever you may be in your understanding and application of God’s Word, there is room to grow.
You will find many opportunities to increase your spiritual maturity throughout 2012 around the Harvest Community Church family. I would be happy to discuss any questions that you may have regarding any of our ministry opportunities if you would like a little more information. Just give me a call and we can go from there.

Community Groups
One of our first steps in developing a growing relationship is participation in Community Groups. This might be something you are holding back from participating in and I can understand the anxiety associated with your going to a group if you have not already done so. Let me assure you though, once you try it, this will not be a problem. It quickly becomes something that you look forward to and are excited to attend. If you are not already attending a group or would like to consider another group, you can sign up at church or email Pastor Fred at fredbygrace@gmail.com . I would also be happy to talk with you on this topic and even travel to a group of your choice with you if you would be more comfortable trying it that way. There are groups meeting every night of the week and we are willing to look at starting other groups where there are needs so let us know what might help you get connected into a community group.

Hospitality/Fellowship update
We are nearing completion of the construction phase in the remodeling of the area just outside the main sanctuary at the Kittanning Campus. We soon will be painting and installing the floor covering in this area. Thank you all for supporting the remodeling efforts and bearing with the dust. We have already experienced this area becoming an active area following each service that is now facilitating conversation and connections. I look forward to our café being set up in this area and I will need to come up with some other exercise plan to walk off the donuts. I hope you all will take advantage of this space to talk with our visitors and others you may not see often. Hospitality is very important in helping guests become comfortable and willing to return. Please take this as a personal request for you to talk with others before and after each service. Do not hesitate to offer personal invitations to ministry opportunities around the church.

Fred Wood is leading our First Impression/Greeter and Usher effort. If you are willing to help serve in any of these areas, you can email Fred Wood at lindaw2279@windstream.net and he will discuss your availability. We would like to develop our team to a level of not only distributing brochures each week but to be willing to escort guests to appropriate classrooms for their children, answering questions regarding the church, and helping them find a seat in the sanctuary. This can be very intimidating and we would like to do all we can to help visitors be comfortable.

Giving Statements
The church office will be sending 2011 Giving Statements out during the 3rd week in January. They will be sent by U.S. Mail to all givers on record at the church office. You will not need to request one; we will send them to all of our donors. If you have not received this statement by January 25th, send me an email after that time and we will track your copy and get it to you.

Mission Team
The mission’s team is planning to offer a mission trip to Guatemala in midsummer and looking to identify 1 or 2 other trip opportunities for teams in 2012. No specific details are available at this point but we will share them as soon as the specifics are known. If you have been considering participation in one of these trips, this might be the year to give it a try. All participants will need U.S. Passports as well as be reviewed and confirmed by the Mission Team. We then hold training classes for all trip participants that are designed to build team unity and increase you skills and understanding of the culture you will be serving on the trip. Fundraising for trip expenses is permitted under appropriate guidelines with the approval of the Mission’s team.

Updating our Records
Starting in a couple days, we will undertake a concerted effort to update and verify the contact information of our membership as well as our regular attendees. We will email a data sheet to each email address on record as well as hand out copies of this data sheet on Sunday morning for a few weeks. We will also reference it in a couple other settings. Please complete one of these as completely as possible for each person in your household over the age of 18. You only need to complete it once BUT, please complete it. If there is any sensitive information you are not comfortable sharing, just indicate that and we will work with what we get. Harvest Community Church will not distribute any of this information to other organizations or agencies. Basic contact information is available to those attending Harvest via the “My Harvest” portion of our website and can be limited or removed where necessary.

It is very important for your church leaders to maintain accurate contact information to serve your ministry needs. In addition, we need to keep up to date with the people that are trusting Harvest Pastors and Elders to lead their spiritual growth. We consistently take steps to keep your information confidential and can work with you to discuss specific options to meet your concerns. Please give me a call directly to discuss any specific concerns at 724-664-9962. You are of course, free to not share such information if you prefer and still attend all Harvest opportunities but it would potentially impact our ability to keep you informed and up-to-date.

I look forward to 2012 being an exciting ministry time around Harvest and opportunity for each of us to grow closer to our Lord and with each other. Always know that we are just a phone call away if you need more information or help working through any situation.

Big Fred's Bytes - November 18, 2011

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:35:00 -0500

Big Fred’s Bytes
November 18, 2011

I was so excited to see the commitment each of you brought to our Turkey Dinner outreach! From the people cooking food at home, cooking at the church, setting things up, taking things down, clean up, delivery, host/hostess, serving line, waiting on the tables, security, greeters and so many more – you all really “took it out to the people”. The comments about your service have extended well past the event itself, and I praise our Lord for what he is doing in the hearts of each of YOU!   Thank you for touching the hearts of many this past weekend. We served around 900 dinners when we include all.

PVC had a great response for Sunday Service and the meal following. We are always careful when we throw numbers around as a measurement – but I cannot help but share this one:
Sunday morning service count at PVC was 109!!! Now that did not count Anna or I who were 20 minutes late due to me struggling to send out the finance report or the beautiful Lab that hung out on the front porch all morning and played football with the kids after the service…    Thank you Lord, I am so humbled.

Please keep in mind that our Women’s ministry will be hosting a Friday night and Saturday women’s conference this weekend. You can expect lots of great fellowship and fun while bringing yourself to a better understanding of how God might be working in our lives. Please invite someone to come with you if you can.

This Friday night is game night in the Activity Room too! Show up around 6:30 pm and the focus will be on having a good time and is for anyone 40 yrs or older. Bring your favorite snack if you would like and plan to have fun with table games and fellowship.

Things are moving along with our building renovations again, and we are praying for the balcony to be back in service for the Christmas program.   Thank you to all who have and are helping with the work.

Congratulations to the Clinch’s! They are on their way to Florida to finalize the adoption of a newborn baby boy! More details to follow, keep them in your prayers please. Can you say Tekoa?

We are very close to finalizing our Joplin support plans. We are looking at two separate opportunities to partner with those still dealing with the results of this disaster. One will be with helping to return a family who lost all personal effects in the disaster into a home.   This is a mother with 3 teenage children. The effort will include several other churches partnering toward meeting the needs. It is not likely that we will be able to send volunteers into the community for this project so we are planning to increase our financial commitment to a total of $5,000.   Building of this home is planned to go quickly once all the details are finalized. The money will be used toward materials only since they have a very substantial volunteer commitment for the labor. The second portion of our commitment looks like it will go to a church that lost their building during the tornado and is currently meeting in a hotel. They were insured for part of their loss and are starting their rebuilding project very soon. This support will be focused on children’s play area needs. I hope to have the details finalized very soon and will share more specifics then.

In closing, I would like to encourage all of you to keep your profile contact information current in My Harvest (CCB). If your information changes, you can edit the church information any time by logging into My Harvest and clicking on “edit profile” under your name. You can also complete a connect card and mark the update information block.

Big Fred's Bytes - Nov. 7, 2011 Edition

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:55:00 -0500

Here are some last minute details regarding the Turkey Dinner Outreach:

Don’t forget to bring your roasters, turkeys, pies, green beans, and cranberry sauce in to the church for this Saturday. All food will come to the church and there will be a team there to receive it and get it to the serving line at just the right time. Please bring the turkeys in ready to serve around 1 pm. A container of droppings will be needed to make gravy for each turkey.

We will need lots of help so even if you are not currently signed up, stop by and see if you can find something to help with for an hour or two. It is lots of fun and promises to bless you more than you can give away. We will need to clean up after the dinner and ready the building for Sunday services.

PVC will hold their Turkey Dinner Outreach on Sunday after their morning service and it, too, is open to all the community. They plan to project the Steeler game on the 9’ x 16’ HD screen in the church at the same time. If you know anyone who you can invite in the Petrolia Valley, go ahead and send them an invitation. If you have not had the opportunity to visit the PVC Campus, this is a great time to check it out and promises to include lots of fellowship. (Directions are available on the website.) It is only 30 minutes north of Harvest – Kittanning.

On behalf of all your Pastors, I extend a warm thank you for the cards and gifts that have been received for Pastor Appreciation. We are so blessed to serve a church that has so many generous people. Thank you!

We are excited to see so many young people coming to Crave youth services each week. If you know of any teenagers who have not attended, I encourage you to pass along an invitation. This ministry comes together every Monday at 7pm. Pastor Dave has been sharing some great messages that connect directly into the lives of our young people. They are making plans for the New Year’s Lock-in to be held on Friday December 30th.

We need to deliver the Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes to the shipping location very soon. Please bring them in next Sunday and drop them off near the information booth, and our team will get them on their way. Operation Blessing will be working to get them into the hands of young boys and girls in the following couple of weeks.

Ladies – I hope you have made plans to attend the Ladies Differences Conference on Friday, Nov 18th and Saturday, November 19th. If you have any questions on the details, call Janette Scherf at (724) 664-4089. This opportunity promises lots of laughs and some powerful insight into real life situations facing women. Tickets are available in advance in order to assure you of a seat.

Big Fred's Bytes - Oct. 16th, 2011

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:25:00 -0400

I am excited to share with you that we are again planning a Community Outreach that will serve a free Thanksgiving Dinner to people within our community. Walmart recently approved our request, and we are now able to move forward with our communication. Save the date – Saturday November 12th and more details will be available each week. We will be organizing teams for many specific parts of this ministry quickly and will be reaching out to community groups to help pull this together. We hope to implement some small changes from the lessons we learned during last year’s very successful dinner to help make this year an even greater success. Your prayers and support will be an important part of helping us to bring food and the love of Christ into the hands of many as we start the 2011 holiday season.

LOOK FOR MORE DETAILS weekly in our Sunday Service brochure and at your community group meetings.

I also need to share a few preliminary details for our Men’s Ministry events for this winter and next spring and ask for your prayers to start now for their success. We are not hosting a Game Dinner at the Kittanning Campus this year. Instead, this event is being moved into the Petrolia Valley Campus and we are looking to connect to that community in a big way. We will need help from everyone at Kittanning to ensure the PVC community gets full access to the tickets for the event. The PVC Game Dinner is scheduled for Saturday January 28th, 2012. Please lift this dinner up in your prayers for it to reach out into that community and connect many new people to our ministries. They will welcome your support through game meat closer to the dinner itself.

Kittanning will host a men’s “ALL IN” event this year and I am sure you will be blessed by this ministry opportunity. The date for this will be Saturday, February 25th, 2012. Look forward to several professional athletes sharing the day with us focusing on several significant challenges that men commonly face in today’s society and some insight into how we can find success through tackling these subjects. This event will be open to men from our community, and we will be working with other churches to take full advantage of this day.

We are also planning a Fun with Firearms day in May and an Archery Opportunity for the Fall of 2012. Details for these events are being built and will be out closer to the events themselves.

We are currently looking for people interested in serving in the following ministry areas:

Media Team member
Greeters, Ushers, and Information Team
Children’s Classroom Helper and Substitute Teachers
Café and Hospitality
Safety / Security Team

If you are interested in using your gifts to serve within our church, email me directly at bigfredneal@gmail.com or make a note on a connect card and drop it in the offering basket.

I encourage you to continue to check the church calendar within the My Harvest section of our website for listings of all church opportunities. We also distribute each month a LOOKING AHEAD bulletin insert that will reference approaching activities.

Anyone willing to assist the PVC Halloween Outreach should bring their candy donations this coming Sunday if possible. This will allow for some time for handling our donations. It should be lots of fun for those willing to participate personally too! So that is Monday, October 31st between 6pm and 7pm @ PVC.

We will be hosting one of our missionary families from Papua New Guinea and you will have the opportunity to enact with them in several ways. As I remember their visit a few years ago, we were very disappointed that we did not have more time with them before they left. Peter and Pam Van Der Decker have such a love and passion for sharing the Gospel and how God is working in Papua New Guinea, each and every day, that you will want to make sure you spend some time with them. Not only will you meet them on Sunday, November 6th at both services and during our children’s class time, you will have an opportunity to attend some special events during the week. That’s right, they will be with us all week from November 6th through November 12th. You may be seeing their 29 ft travel trailer in our parking lot starting this weekend as they visit some other area churches as well. They have five teenage children who each bring a remarkable passion to communicate God’s love that will bless your socks off! We are currently pulling together the details of their week with us, and we will share the information in a special edition of Big Fred’s Bytes soon. Anyone who is interested in hosting a portion of their family for a day at your home should let me know quickly. They will be sharing their time between Petrolia Valley and Kittanning Campus families.

Big Fred's Bytes - October 6th Edition

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:33:00 -0400

I have been looking forward to the beauty that God shares with us each year in the fall foliage displays. I hope you get the opportunity to take a ride through the country while stopping at your favorite fall festival. The aroma of apple pies, dumplings, and cider will no doubt grab your attention.

Don’t forget that the Christian Movie Courageous is in theaters now. This movie was written and produced by Christians and brings God front and center in the plot.

Pastor Mike is hosting a class for the next two weeks at the Kittanning Campus – “What about Harvest”. It will start at 7:30 on October 11th and 18th. The same class will be repeated at the PVC campus on November 1st, 8th, and 15th. This will be a great opportunity for you to learn more about Harvest Community Church.

If you did not get your fall car wash yet, you have another chance to support a group from Evangel Heights School on Saturday, Oct 8th from 9am till 4pm. Just stop by Rupp’s Car Wash in West Kittanning and you will see them there.

We are looking for people who are willing to commit to serving within our media efforts. This could be anything from operating the sound board, lights, or power point, to helping produce the video of the Sunday morning sermon or other ministry recordings. This is an integral part of helping to grow the health and size of God’s church as we share our messages via the internet, CDs, and DVDs. Serving in this area takes a sizable commitment by being willing to undergo the training necessary to operate any one piece of equipment, then practicing using it, and then going on the schedule as a media team member. The value is significant, but it does take willingness to put in the time. We can train the committed but you must let us know that you’re interested. Give it some thought and let me know if you’re available. Technicians are needed several times each week to keep all of our ministries moving forward.

This Sunday we will be hosting Brother Christoph from Germany and two former Muslims who are now committed to Christianity. All three will be part of the first service sharing a little of their background and then during second service, two of them will be having a more intimate discussion in the activity room while the third shares information during the second service. The focus of this time will be “Building Gospel Bridges to the Muslim World”.

This Saturday night starting at 6:30, you will be able to take in some great music while helping to raise funds to support the care of the Key’s children who are both struggling with Arthrogryposis. Tickets are available at the door and children get in free! All donations will go directly to help care for these 2 children. Harvest worship band and the Christian rock band Splendorfield will perform.

Big Fred's Bytes - Special Edition / September Extra - September 21, 2011

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

I have several short pieces of information to share with each of you and did not want to wait so you are receiving the September Special Edition of Big Fred’s Bytes. So here we go:

Seneca Hills work detail is still in need of a few more people willing to commit. It is Oct 2nd and they can use whatever help you bring. No need to be highly skilled construction supervisors (although they are needed too); we can use help from everyone. See Pastor Fred 3 for more information. Email at fredbygrace@gmail.com
There are several items of furniture at the Kittanning Campus that we are going to need to remove. We are making them available to anyone from the church that can use them first. Starting tomorrow, you will find sofas, chairs, desks, bookshelves, and a few other things available free of charge. Completely first come, first serve. There will be a large RED sheet of paper on the item if we need to move it out. You should put your name on the paper first, tell Big Fred that you want it next, and have it removed immediately. All items need removed by Wednesday September 28th at 8pm. Anything remaining after that will be moved to the Thrift Store on Market St in Kittanning or the Goodwill store in Butler or Natrona Heights. So, the best way to ensure you get it, is take it HOME when you first see it. No promises if you leave it there. My cell phone number is 724-664-9962.
Our HCC membership class starts this Sunday night. If you have not attended and are interested in knowing more about Harvest’s beliefs and makeup – Come to the class! You are not asked to decide about membership till the end of the class. This class will be videotaped too. If you miss a class, there will be a way for you to watch the video for that session and you will not have missed a thing. Class will meet weekly till the end of November. Some have asked about child care. We have a teenager who is willing to help take care of the kids in the back while the class is going on. You may talk with her Sunday night and make arrangements to care for the kids if needed. She does not require but would accept a donation for the child care. So, this Sunday, September 25th at 7:00 pm in the church sanctuary, all the obstacles have been removed. Come and discover more about your church and why church membership is important.
The movie Courageous comes out September 30th in several local theaters. This is a good Christian movie that you won’t want to miss. Make plans to get in there. It is a movie about 4 police officers and their struggle to keep Christ in their daily lives. Our men’s group is attempting to take a group to the show so contact Ray Police or Shaun Brumbaugh if you would like to go with them. They will have a clip board at the information booth for signups to get the details on the group event.
Communion will be held this Sunday.
Deacon Installation/Appreciation Oct 2nd
The Evangel Heights Academy ministry group, “Hearts in Service”, is having a car wash. It will be held this Saturday, September 24th between the hours of 9am and 4pm at Rupp’s Car Wash in West Kittanning. If you need a little cleaning, this is the place. Many of our Harvest youth participate in this service group. It is completely FREE!!!
And don’t forget to engage your community group weekly, as you care for them and they care for you. This is a great way to connect to people and opportunities of the church. Once you get settled in, you won’t want to miss it. If you do not have a community group, let me know and I will get you pointed to the right information.