THE VALUE OF APPLICATION – Harvest 2017 Mid-Year Report

We pray the following report, and the work it represents, honors the memory of Dick Blair, Harvest Board Member, called to his eternal home on June 26, 2017. Dick’s insights and wisdom led to important decisions for the expansion of our ministry. We pray with thanksgiving for his life and family.

“As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.”

Luke 6.47-48

The “Samaritan Strategy” program is a landmark for the Harvest global team, which consists of 26 field workers in 17 countries. Last semester, members of the team integrated a network of 225 trainers into the program. These trainers helped 381 churches learn about demonstrating God’s intentions in every area of life.

As Harvest began working with these churches, church leaders showed understanding of biblical mandates (i.e. we need to forgive, we need to be kind, etc.). In other words, they understood what to do—what the goal is, what the end result is supposed to be. However, the most frequently asked question was, “How do we apply these teachings, so that people can actually experience growth?”

The Samaritan Strategy program has helped them bridge the gap between “what to do” and “how to do it.” The process has proved to be effective, building up the Body of Christ across the globe, and, with the goal of “establishing Samaritan Strategy teams in new areas,” it is currently being demonstrated by seventy Samaritan Strategy projects coordinated by Harvest.

The program uses step-by-step exercises called “disciplines of love” and “seed projects,” walking people through a discipleship process in which they learn how to grow like Jesus and how to demonstrate God’s purposes in every area of life. The program has four phases, which are all completed within one community:

• Network
• Training
• Coaching
• Commissioning

Samaritan Strategy projects are the work of teams of trainers. Below are the names of the Harvest staff and associates who coordinated the work of entire teams for projects done in the last semester:

Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo: Buingo Mateene
Ethiopia: Demelash Lemma, Alem Bezazew, Bezalem Fisshea, Byniam Getaneh
Ghana: Chris Ampadu
Rwanda: Jacob Ndabaramiye, Simon Nziramakenga, Christophe Holimbere

Americas and Caribbean
Brazil: Cleiton Oliveira, Steve & Nilza Kawamura, Cefas & Rosali de Oliveira, Diógenes & Maria Gabriela Nascimento de Jesus, Jonathan Aoyama, Noboru Ayoama, Sérgio Kaoru Ayoama, Givonete Aquino, Ivonete Alves do Nascimento, Antonio Celso Alves Pinto, Diogo & Leidy Alves Pinto, Paulo & Bene Batista Martins, Pedro Batista, José Luiz Correia, Herivelton Ferreira de Oliveira, Juarez & Rosa Nascimento de Jesus, Humberto & Eva Santana dos Santos, Paulo Cesar & Marise Schlichting, Leo Wilkerson & Rebeca de Queirós Batista
Dominican Republic: Ricci Paulino
Haiti: Guerino Saint-Simon
Honduras: Ramiro Carbajal
Peru: Atilio Quintanilla, Oscar Ugarte, Serapio Ruiz Lavado, Fabiola Zegarra
United States of America: Linda Morris
Venezuela: Xiomara Suarez

Asia
Armenia: Artur and Kristina Avanesyan
India: Prakash Nemade, Sanjay Thul, Vijay Rajulwala, Timothy Das
Nepal: Madan Shah
There are other Harvest trainers not listed because their local report was not received during the period of this global report.

In the following “Ministry Activities” section, some of the Harvest workers from the different countries listed above wrote testimonies, which give some indication of what has been happening in the field. The ministry activities are divided up into the four phases of Samaritan Strategy, and, hopefully, you will be able to see the effectiveness of these projects in helping people learn the meaning of Jesus’ words about building a house on a strong foundation.

HARVEST GLOBAL MINISTRY ACTIVITIES
December 10, 2016 – June 10, 2017

NETWORK EVENTS:
Phase 1: Contacts with church leaders and vision casting.
547 global events; 4,763 participants.Peru
“I visited the Pacific Radio twice to schedule the announcements inviting pastors and leaders to the trainings. I prepared the announcement that will be broadcast in 28 seconds, 25 times in a month, and I had an interview on the radio to explain what this training is about. I made phone calls to personally invite people, and held a breakfast workshop to pray and address the theme of ‘God’s Glory.’All this was part of the network phase to promote the training.”Creative Access Region
“We networked with the mission school of our church, which concentrates on training and equipping missionaries that will be sent to creative access countries.”Butare, Rwanda
“A friend connected us with college students, and the training was done so that they would have a taste of our materials. Fifteen college students were selected.  Later, they visited sick people at the college hospital and gave clothes and school materials for a student whose belongings were burned in an electrical fire. Network went on, and I had the opportunity to address more than 1,000 students in an event on campus. At least 250 attended further trainings and did seed projects: they provided food and clothing for a single mom, and medical treatment for a sick widow.”

TRAINING EVENTS:
Phase 2: Training sessions, sermons, and classes where Harvest lessons were taught.
407 global events; 8,758 participantsBangkok, Thailand
“The first training among ethnic groups has been a blessing. The Urdu and the Tamil churches, mostly of Sri Lankans, and a multi-ethnic church hosted trainings for 46 people. The second training was conducted for church leaders and educators from five Southeast Asian countries and was exciting.Creative Access Region
“Sixty-three leaders attended the vision conference in two different places, in the church setting and underground church for safety of endogenous people. They were church leaders and missionaries reaching out natives. I thank God for the power of the gospel that has already attracted them; they are open and willing to hear.  We need wisdom for churches to live the gospel in wholistic ways and demonstrate God’s intentions for His creation. Praise God for raising up witnesses for His name’s sake in every nation. So, let us lift this nation before God in our prayer.”Phoenix, USA
“The Samaritan Strategy study group at First Pentecostal Church has just finished session #4 of the core lessons, ‘The Wheel of Wisdom.’ Although we have completed only four lessons, the feedback about the study and outcomes has been extremely positive. The participants speak of how they now look at the world and how they live and serve in it through different lenses–seeking to see people through the eyes of Jesus and seeking to meet the needs of others on a daily basis, no matter where they find themselves at any given time. One of the participants stated that he now serves the troubled youth where he works with greater compassion and understanding and that the curriculum has completely changed his worldview affecting his decision-making and daily interactions in every arena. Another person stopped to have a meal with a homeless person and engage her to learn more about her life, going the extra mile (like the good Samaritan) to ensure the homeless woman would have a meal beyond their one encounter. Another participant shared that she really took time to get to know a homeless person and share a meal with him after the ‘Irreducible Minimum’ discussion. She was so excited at taking this new step in her Christian walk that she called me before time for the next session asking if she had done enough. Reassured, she said she is now determined to see people’s value and their needs more clearly and to be more intentional in her interaction with others.”

COACHING EVENTS:
Phase 3: Training trainers and coaching leaders to develop a lifestyle of service.
505 global events; 1,605 participants.Venezuela, Caricuao
“We decided it was time to have a training of trainers (TOT) with these leaders. We reviewed the first two lessons and helped them understand the teaching techniques and methodology. After that, we organized them in groups to teach the lessons. They had a week to prepare, and then each group made its presentation. It was a great experience to see them doing such a good work, using dramas, stories, questions, and group participation! After each presentation, they commented on the good things and what could be improved.  It was amazing to see the good response of the group, and they were so excited that they invited family members and other believers to attend their classes. They prepared the refreshments for these meetings and we had an audience of twelve extra people!”Orissa, India
“I travelled to Cuttack, Orissa, and met the Samaritan Strategy team. Two days were allotted for meeting, clearing doubts, and making a final list of participants who would be divided into five groups. The team members were punctual, excited to share how God was working and the things they had learned. Now it was their turn to train others and I encouraged them, helping them understand the meaning of mentoring and multiplication.  They had started to teach in their own churches, and were excited to do it in different churches. Seminars were planned with each member taking one topic. Most of them loved ‘Kingdom Math’ because of the envelope methodology and the story of Elijah and the widow, and some asked for ‘Irreducible Minimum.’ Knowing that the topics complemented each other, they were required to go through all of them. Some were so serious about their topics that they planned their own method and translated the materials in their local languages with Power-Point presentations. Seeing their willingness to do the work made it clear that they had caught the vision. Nothing could hinder them from being useful and effective vessels for their own community and to the community at large.”

DISCIPLINES OF LOVE AND SEED PROJECTS: 
Short, small, and simple activities done by believers to demonstrate God’s love to those outside the church, using local resources.
1,035 global projects; 7,061 participantsSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
“Thirty children, six adolescents, and four adults received shoes, and through the wisdom of the Scriptures, they saw God’s purposes for their life: well-being in the physical, spiritual, and social areas.  When they received their shoes, they were at the same time overjoyed and surprised.”Bujumbura, Burundi
“They realized that erosion is quickly damaging the land and the greenness of the Sororezo zone, Mukaza Commune of Bujumbura, is disappearing. They decided to plant 18 million trees, including fruit trees. Church members bought goats and rabbits, so poor people could start income generating projects, they planted grass and lemon trees inspired by God’s love and mobilized the neighbors to fight against erosion. They planted a model garden with vegetables, and taught their community to save money from the produce  of a very small land. Today many neighbors are saving. The church has become a window of hope in the village.”Nepal, Dadahyldura
“Twenty-eight disciplines of love and seed projects were done, among them: road clean-up and maintenance, prayer, food, and clothing for orphans, distribution of first aid boxes, picnic with a community leader, tuition for poor children, planted trees, outreach to share the gospel, prayer meetings for village dwellers, health awareness seminar, and visits to sick people.”Liberia, Monrovia, participant’s testimony
“A wholistic Whatsapp group was created, so that we are able to communicate, share fellowship, stories, ideas, monitor and document accomplishments. They did a seed project with a group of people struggling with drug addiction and living in a ghetto.They interacted, broke bread, had fellowship, and donated food, clothes, and soap.As a means to keep the wholistic transformational spirit burning, participants decided to meet, pray, share stories and fellowship. Someone said that since he became a Christian he had a belief that Christians and Muslims were two kinds of people and nothing could be done about it, and he had not really been relating to them as neighbors. But, after the training, he came to fully understand that in spite of the religious difference, they were his friends and he should relate to them as neighbors.  Another person said that he fully understood the role of the church in a community and society at large. After the conference, he was able to gather youth from three churches in his community to do a weekly clean-up campaign. As for me, your teaching has impacted my life in so many directions but most importantly on the aspect of giving or extending assistance to people in need. More often I think that I don’t have much and the little I have can’t solve someone’s problem, but now I know that even words can resolve a person’s problem and moreover, what impresses me more is that people even appreciate me for some of those things I took to be very little in the past.”TOTAL: 2,521 events with 22,499 participants!