But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and
 in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
ACTS 1:8

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A word from

PASTOR WILL

I first started attending Harvest Church in 2018. There was something different about Harvest. Somehow, it felt more alive than all the other churches I had tried. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but “it” made me want to get involved, to commit to serving, and to really become part of the family of Christ and pursue the great commission. Sure, it had good preaching, sound doctrine, and a lot of ministries, but those aren’t what made it special. Now, with years of attending and serving at Harvest to reflect on, I see more clearly what makes our church feel alive. It’s two things, and they both have to do with you, the people in the seats. First, you love one another well. You all truly demonstrate your love for Jesus in your love for one another. Harvest has become a real family to me and many others because of your love. Second, and perhaps equally as important, you “mean it”. “We exist to increase the health and size of God’s church everywhere” is Harvest’s vision statement. Many institutions have vision statements, but at Harvest, the individuals that make up the institution, the people in the seats, actually mean it! You actually believe that you personally exist to increase the health and size of God’s church everywhere. This passion for and belief in Harvest’s vision statement is contagious and makes Harvest feel more alive than any other church I’ve been to. The engine, the life blood, of our church is your love for one another and passion for growing the church in health and size. These are the “it” factors that continue to make Harvest a living church. These are the critical characteristics of life for a church family, more important than our private personal piety, our dogmas, or our good works. And they are the ones we must never lose if we want to stay alive.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.  ­­— John 13:15 ESV

PASSION FOR INCREASING THE HEALTH AND SIZE OF GOD'S CHURCH

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. — Matthew 28:19-20a ESV



HARVEST EXISTS TO INCREASE THE HEALTH AND SIZE OF GOD'S CHURCH EVERYWHERE

Since its founders first started meeting in a garage, the belief of Harvest Church has been that the Holy Spirit will reach the world for Christ through normal, faithful churches, even ones in rural western Pennsylvania.  Harvest’s founders knew that the Lord could do mighty things through small but faithful beginnings, and so they set out to reach the farthest ends of the earth with the Gospel, from day one.  That foundational exuberance established the culture of Harvest Church as an outreach focused, community engaging, and growth minded congregation from the beginning.  

For the last 27 years, Harvest has been guided by a singular vision, to increase the health and size of God’s church everywhere.  It is why we exist on earth, both as individuals and as an assembly.  The Lord has blessed our collective labor through this singular focus in uncountable ways.

This generation’s call is to maintain that founding ambition of reaching the ends of the Earth for Christ from western Pennsylvania for another 27

HARVEST CONTINUES TO EXIST FOR ONE PURPOSE...

...TO INCREASE THE HEALTH AND SIZE OF GOD'S CHURCH EVERYWHERE


WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Since 2020 and the COVID lockdowns, Harvest has experienced dramatic changes. We saw our weekly attendance drop by over 50% from 2019 to 2020. By your faithfulness and obedience, however, we saw annual offerings only drop 7% over that same time frame. In 2020, we stepped forward together in faith, committing to an enormous building project during the heart of COVID uncertainty. We got to see God honor that faith with the completion of the Kittanning Campus’ renovation, the first service being held in the new auditorium in 2022. Since 2020, Harvest has invested in and completely overhauled our administrative, media, and technical capabilities to support growth in our multi-site model. We have gone from a small office staff and one full-time “tech guy” to a sophisticated administrative group and a staff of over half a dozen part- and full-time tech and media personnel. Finally and most importantly, we have continued, by God’s grace and power, to reach our communities for Christ. Our attendance has steadily climbed from the loss of over half of our congregation to new all-time weekly attendance highs being set in December of 2024, praise God! Our men’s and women’s retreats are ministering to more people than ever before, including many guests and unbelievers. Hundreds of school age children are receiving the gospel weekly through our growing Daycare, Bible2School, and Children’s ministries. Broken people are being ministered to in their times of need. People are hearing the Gospel, the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), and believing it. People are being baptized. The saints are loving one another, loving their neighbors as themselves, and discipling one another to obey His commands. The stories we could all share about how we’ve experienced the grace of God through our Harvest family since 2020 are almost countless. God is Good!


AVERAGE WEEKLY IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE

CHALLENGE

It is at their peak that churches begin to die, and always by slowly turning their focus inward.  They just don’t often realize they’ve begun to die for many years.

Harvest is almost a completely different church since 2020. Half of our congregation is new people! We have new administrative and technical capabilities and newly renovated buildings in Kittanning and Natrona Heights. However, we are running the risk of getting too comfortable with where we are. We never want to lose that foundational exuberance for reaching new communities here, near, and everywhere with the Gospel by planting healthy churches.
Since 2020, we have not seen a new Harvest campus be planted in our neighboring communities, who desperately need a healthy church. Since 2020, no independent church planting has taken place out of Harvest. Since 2020, our 10:16 Team has had to permanently come home to the U.S., and our supported missionary activity around the world has decreased. None of the 50% new people attending Harvest since COVID lockdowns have witnessed an example of these types of big, aggressive steps of faith to reach the world for Christ that are part of Harvest’s cultural DNA, e.g. planting campuses, planting churches, and aggressively striving to reach the nations. Yet…we have plenty of brothers and sisters in Christ to do life with…plenty of ministries and groups and services to keep us happy…and enough money to just keep doing what we’re doing now… Now is a most dangerous time, a time of potential complacency.

NOW IS THE TIME TO REIGNITE OUR PASSION FOR OUR PURPOSE. WE EXIST TO INCREASE THE HEALTH AND SIZE OF GOD'S CHURCH EVERYWHERE.

SOLUTION

Harvest needs a generous increase of faithful stewardship.  We need an increase to plant more campuses and churches, here, near, and everywhere, while continuing to grow our ministries at our 4 existing locations.  Since 2020, Harvest has seen tremendous growth in our church family, rising from 448 in average weekly attendance in July of 2020, to 1,254 in weekly average attendance for the month of December 2024. Our finances have grown too, but not in unison with our attendance.  We are currently able to support the ministry needs of our congregation as is, but have no additional ability to push outward for Christ as we have historically done.

Church Attendance vs. Tithes & Offerings by Calendar Year

Average Per Capita Annual Offering

CHOICE

This initiative aims to reignite our collective passion for Harvest’s vision statement. “We exist to increase the health and size of God’s church everywhere.” Following the command of our Lord in Acts 1:8, “...you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem (Here) and in all Judea and Samaria (Near), and even to the remotest part of the earth (Everywhere),” Harvest wants to plant additional Harvest campuses in our immediate surrounding communities who need a healthy church; we want to plant a new, independent church using our own leaders and members in a nearby county in need of a healthy church; we want to plant healthy churches amongst the unreached in India, South America, Africa, South-East Asia and anywhere else God would lead. And we want to do all of that while growing our current ministries at our existing locations. We want to be his faithful witnesses here, near, and everywhere, never getting complacent! Join us in this mission!

WE NEED YOU, YOUR TIME, TALENT, PASSION AND WORLDY TREASURE, TO WIN MORE FRIENDS IN HEAVENLY PLACES!

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

LUKE 16:9

HERE

PLANTING MORE CAMPUSES

KITTANNING CAMPUS
What began as a meeting of four families in a garage, turned into a humble building on a hill in a farmer’s field. In just 6 years, Harvest grew from 8 people to several hundred! In 2005 the next step in God’s growth began, including a new pastor. We developed an elder-led structure, invested in music, children’s ministry and kicked off Community Groups, while keeping our commitment to missions & gospel preaching. Before you knew it, we had outgrown that growth. We added a Friday night service, began a second campus, then a third, & a fourth. We have become much more capable administratively, in training people to serve and in technology.  We made the Kittanning campus the nerve center for all ministries & all 4 campuses.
PETROLEUM VALLEY CAMPUS
Petroleum Valley Campus started with about 30 people from Harvest, making their home in Fairview, PA. With Fred Neal III guiding, slow steady growth over time led to about 80-100 folks meeting weekly in this quiet town of only about 200 people. Michael and Elizabeth Harvey came and led in loving one another & reaching out to the community. The campus grew to being the first Harvest campus besides Kittanning to have two services.
INDIANA CAMPUS
Our Indiana Campus began when pastor Scott Rising & about fifteen other folks, meeting in a fourth floor room a couple blocks away from the current location. Joe Killeen, the second campus pastor, arrived & he continues to steer the campus in biblical truth & involves the campus in the community. Weekly 120-150 or more people come into our third floor home. Soon we will need more than one service and/or another building!
NATRONA HEIGHTS CAMPUS
The Natrona Heights Campus is at its third location.  At first, it was called the “Freeport Campus.” A small church was in need of a pastor so Harvest took on the entire congregation. Michael Harvey was the first pastor. Following Pastor Harvey’s move to the Petroleum Valley Campus, Pastor Mike Greiner took over for a year or so. Next came Pastor Andy & the campus got a new name & a new location. The “new” Allegheny North Campus found a rented space at the Grace Methodist Church in Natrona Heights.  Our permanent home and new building led to a new more permanent name: The Natrona Heights Campus. Likewise, a new campus pastor has taken over, Pastor Vince Geramita. Under his leadership, the congregation has given a facelift to the facility, and is geared up and ready to reach their community for Christ.

PLANTING MORE CAMPUSES

There are several more towns within Harvest’s geographical area that are in desperate need of a living and healthy church.  All of our campuses are close enough to share in event planning, ministries, and group activities, yet far enough away to not split a town’s populace between two congregations.  We strive to truly be “one church, in multiple locations.” From Emlenton to New Bethlehem to Butler, there are many opportunities to plant additional Harvest campuses where the grace of a healthy church is needed.

NEAR

PLANTING A NEW INDEPENDENT CHURCH

My time at Harvest prepared me to plant and lead Redemption Church in so many ways! At Harvest, I learned what a healthy church looks like and the importance of making sure more people have the opportunity to be a part of a church that submits to the Lord and preaches the gospel. It’s where I learned how to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) and how to lead a church in a way that promotes the spiritual growth of the whole body, as well as of individual members.

Fred Neal III
Lead Pastor
Redemption Church
I was a young man when our family first visited Harvest Church. Here was a group of people who loved God, loved each other, and sought to reach the world! This was my first interaction with a gospel centered church. We studied God’s Word in classes, sang its truths in worship, listened to its delivery in sermons. At Harvest, we dove into God’s Word, then reached out with the gospel. It was those two activities – diving into God’s Word and then going out with the gospel – that led me to have a passion for church planting. I trusted God was opening doors for us to do this during the height of the pandemic. So, the Word we dove into was the Word we reached out with during some daunting and difficult early days. Because of my time and training at Harvest – we made sure the proclamation of the gospel was at the center. It meant giving the gospel not gimmicks, calling people to repentance and faith and expecting them to respond. It meant joining God’s mission, looking to see where God is moving in the city and joining Him as He changes hearts and lives through His love. This was the foundation that was laid at Harvest by God’s grace in which we’re building on here in Greensburg. May Christ be magnified as we continue to labor in different fields but the same family.

Scott Rising
Lead Pastor
4 The City Church

PLANTING A NEW INDEPENDENT CHURCH

Kittanning, PA is not typically where “church planting science” would tell you to plant a church. Thank the Lord that Harvest’s founders didn’t know any better, because now we all benefit from having healthy churches in 4 locations that may not have gotten one otherwise! But who is going to be the next generation to plant a healthy church in a place that desperately needs one, but where no one else will? Most of you likely don’t know the names of the founding families of Harvest, and that’s how they’d want it. Yet 27 years after their step of faith, many of our souls have been saved and lives changed for the better through the grace of God using their actions. We, as a family, want to be that next generation of missional people who pay that debt forward.

27 years from now, we want people that don’t know our names and that we will likely never meet, to have their lives radically changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of a healthy church that God allowed us to participate in planting.

EVERYWHERE

PLANTING A NEW INTERNATIONAL CHURCH

Thank you so much for faithfully standing with us through your prayers and support! We’re so grateful for your partnership with us in spreading the Gospel from the very beginning until now. You’re part of making it possible for us to assist the Mouk church in reaching the Anem people with God’s Word in their own language!

Your coworkers in Christ,
Josiah and Rachel Van Der Decker
Serving in South-East Asia
We thank God for Harvest and their vision to increase the health and size of God’s church everywhere, including to the unreached people groups of our world. God has used Harvest to disciple and develop us in our personal walks with the Lord and then to launch and support our family as we follow His leading. We are thankful for a home church that takes the great commission seriously and focuses their investment on church planting initiatives all around the world. We appreciate Harvest’s personal touch with those they send beyond generous financial support. Harvest keeps up with the progress and challenges of their supported ministries; even visiting them in their ministry locations. We are so grateful to have Harvest as our sending church because they provide the spiritual leadership, counsel, and encouragement which we desperately need. More than finances and resources, we need people. People who are willing to lay down their own plan for their life and say, here I am Lord, send me. The King of Kings has invited you to join Him in His grand redemptive story as His ambassador to the world. Can you think of a higher calling? We are in a very real spiritual battle. Our prayers have great power because they invite the Lord to work in ways that we cannot. Prayer, sacrificial giving, and sacrificial going are essential to the success of the Great Commission. How will you get involved? More than 6,000 people groups are still unreached. If we work together, we can make a difference.

Thanks,
Christian and Megan Hall 
Serving in South-East Asia

PLANTING AND STRENGTHENING MORE INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES

From the very beginning, Harvest’s founders and leaders have believed that the remotest parts of the earth could be reached with the Gospel from small-town western Pennsylvania. Harvest has never lost this missional mindset. As part of Mission 1:8, we want to drastically increase our support of international missions. Harvest has developed deep connections to missionary teams across the world, from South-East Asia to South America, and Africa. We would like to see our efforts of planting and strengthening healthy churches all over the world triple as part of this mission!

When we sent out 3 families as the “10:16 Team” to a closed country in 2015, it was with the hope of reaching the lost through the development of a healthy church. Though that team had to return to the U.S. permanently due to COVID, their work set a foundation upon which a healthy church can be planted with local leadership. The 10:16 Team’s efforts have led to the identification of several local brothers in Christ that we believe are being called to be elders of Harvest Church and to establish an international Harvest Church campus.

Our first focus in our renewed passion for reaching the nations is to see an international Harvest Church established under the eldership authority of Harvest Church!

WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE THIS MISSION HAPPEN?

OUR GENEROSITY GOAL IS

$6.4 

MILLION

OVER THE NEXT 2 YEARS

$3.2 Million = Annual Giving Goal
($2.1 Million = Current Annual Giving)

IT'S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF US.
JOIN THE MISSION!

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143 Reed Road, Kittanning PA 16201
724.548.5643
info@harvestpa.org