2018 HARVEST ANNUAL REPORT
Samaritan Strategy Program
Establishing self-sustaining Samaritan Strategy teams in new areas
Elly Oliveira, Global Field Coordinator
“How are things at Harvest?” The goal of our 2018 Annual Report is simply to answer this frequent asked question. After evaluating Harvest’s key performance indicators, we have good news to share. By God’s grace we enjoyed a year of increased productivity and improved operations leading to the multiplication of our mission strategy on a global scale. Understanding our growth has helped us be better stewards of resources. It has also encouraged those who support what God is doing through our global team. We thank them and extend a warm invitation to everyone reading this Annual Report to join us on this mission in the year to come. This is an opportunity to focus on obedience to God at the individual and corporate levels, so that we can all hear from Him, “‘Well done, my faithful servant!” (Luke 19.17)
“Things at Harvest are very good. Thank you for asking.” Since 2010, we adopted the Samaritan Strategy (SamS) program, which helps churches demonstrate God’s intentions in every area of life. It uses step-by-step applications called “disciplines of love” and “seed projects” to disciple people in practical ways, following the biblical model of Jesus’ growth. A SamS project has four phases: (1) network, (2) training, (3) coaching, and (4) commissioning. In 2018, with the participation of 615 churches, we had 403 trainers doing a total of 114 SamS projects in 18 countries. The chart below shows the breakdown of our activities.
The numbers above reflect God’s grace, provision, and protection in many ways. To Him we give all glory and praise. When compared to last year’s figures, they also reflect major trends in our operations, which are:
Commissioning: We praise the Lord for a growing team of commissioned trainers (3,900% increase in commissioning events and 150% increase in the number of commissioned associates), indicating the desire of pastors and church leaders to spread the message that we communicate. We thank the Lord for our engaged and active volunteer workforce, made of people who understand our mission and share our values, helping us to envision and equip the church to reflect Jesus, the Chief servant.
Network: Our teams are in dynamic expansion (128% increase of participants), faithful to our calling to equip church leaders. They have grown in the ability to expand the lordship of Jesus in ways that are contextualized, wholistic, and sustainable for different communities. In spite of being a diverse global team, we share the same vision to see every member of every church sacrificially serving in their world as Jesus served in His.
Total numbers of events and participants: The SamS program has been fruitful while our global team sows the seed of vision, provides initial tools, encourages and coaches church leaders, and multiplies sowers and coaches (197% increase in events and 50% increase in participants). Local churches have benefited from the program in significant ways, and they have been able to thrive, flourish, and multiply even in the midst of poverty and challenges of all sorts.
We are grateful to each worker who has contributed to the achievement of these important results for Harvest. One of them is Harvest associate Chris Ampadu, who coordinated a SamS project Liberia. Below is his story, we invite you to read it and praise the Lord for the good fruit of his hard labor.
THANK YOU
We thank the Harvest team and the participants of the SamS project in Monrovia, Liberia. Their vision and dedicated service blessed many people. We thank the donors who so generously contributed to this project. We would not be able to do it without their help. We praise the Lord for His provision, guidance, and protection, and pray that SamS projects may be multiplied for His glory.
ILLUSTRATION OF HARVEST’S MINISTRY FROM ONE OF OUR FIELDS – LIBERIA, WEST AFRICA
Chris Ampadu, Harvest Associate, [email protected]
NETWORK
Contact (October 2016)
Liberia is devastated by years of civil strife and Ebola pandemic. In this broken country, the Lord opened for us the doors to do extensive work with Mercy Ships and the Liberian Fellowship of Evangelical Students. With their local leaders, we decided to do a SamS project targeting youth groups from different denominations.
Visit (September 2016)
I visited Monrovia for a vision casting event for which twenty-five leaders were invited. By God’s grace, over fifty people participated, and I shared topics from Harvest and DNA (Disciple Nations Alliance) lessons, such as The Church as a Window, The Role of the Church in Society, The Irreducible Minimum, Luke 2:52 and Development, and Biblical Worldview.
TRAINING
Basic training (December 2016)
We expected eighty participants for the basic training, but actually over ninety people registered. Theophilus Adu and I were the facilitators and we taught Harvest and DNA lessons for five days. A Whatsapp group was created for the participants, so that we could communicate, have fellowship, share ideas, monitor applications and document the accomplishments of each one. Fafa Isaac, a Liberian team leader, reported a seed project with people who are struggling with drug addiction. They went to the ghetto where the drug addicts lived, interacted with them, shared and broke bread together, and had fellowship. They also donated some items like soap, clothing, and some food. A pastor did a discipline of love apologizing to his wife for hurting her.
Advanced training (April 2017)
Our second training had seventy-five participants from various denominations. Apostle Joseph Antwi and I were the facilitators and we taught Harvest and DNA lessons for five days.
COACHING
Training of Trainers, TOT (December 2017)
Twenty-five people attended the five-day training. On the first day, we revised each of the core lessons to emphasize main ideas and worked on the technique of micro teaching and lesson format. On the second day, we formed five small groups, with each participant teaching to their small group and to the larger group, and they were evaluated. The third day was used for micro teaching within the small groups, with evaluations and discussions. The fourth day was extensively used for micro-teaching in the larger group, with evaluations and discussions about effective teaching. I used the last day to discuss the work done, stressing the core topics, group engagement, and the importance of teaching for obedience and application. I was very impressed with the zeal and passion of the participants as they clearly demonstrated their familiarity with the lessons and taught with great enthusiasm.
We worked on the applications of what was taught in the previous modules and ways to report seed projects and disciplines of love. The following applications were reported: community clean-up, fellowship and distribution of food to drug addicts, distribution of food to twenty-one poor widows, and building a home for a family whose house was destroyed by a hurricane. A total of eighteen applications were reported.
Mentorship (March 2018)
At the time of this module, the school year had started and although we had twenty-five people registered, only twenty participated. I arrived two days prior to our meeting and took the opportunity to visit church leaders and seed project sites. These visits included the community where they did the clean-up, the home built for the homeless, and the orphans and widows who received food and clothing. I also visited fellow team members, their churches, and encouraged them to catch the wholistic vision.
During our meetings, we did a thorough review of the content and methodologies of the key topics covered during the training, and they did some micro-teachings, being reminded of our vision and mission. On the last day, we did a comprehensive evaluation of the SamS project, including lessons, reporting system, and team work. Each participant was committed to train others by teaching at least two lessons either at school, college or church with the supervision of a team member.
MULTIPLICATION
Observation (July 2018)
We had twenty-five key leaders ready for the graduation program. We spent some time in prayer and praises to thank God for bringing us this far. They took turns to share their seed projects and training sessions in their churches and schools and the impact that these activities were making. Then we took time to review some issues that came about during their teachings and again looked at some of the contents, formats and methodologies to teach our materials. Assignments were discussed and new lessons such as Our Goal: God’s Glory, Occupy Till l Come, and Moving Toward a Vision were critically looked at.
The graduation and the commissioning programs were discussed, and each team member was asked to invite their friends. The graduation was conducted with great excitement with the presence of family members, friends and pastors. Certificates of completion, a CD with Harvest and DNA materials, and the booklet Local Church Ministry Training were given to the twenty-five graduates. I saw their joy as expression of gratitude. They are now fully trained and equipped to conduct SamS projects. To God be the glory.
Commissioning (November 2018)
Sixty-five participants were mobilized for a Vision Conference. It was wonderful to see eight of the commissioned leaders facilitating with passion the topics assigned to them in this three-day conference. Praise the Lord! They were: William K. Tetteh, Amos G. Wingbah, Aretha Sumoiwuo, D. Moses Cooper, Washington Kolleh, Joyce Cooper, Malcolm Joseph, and Ezekiel Jallah.
We thank God for the excitement and passion of the team. They wanted to bring about transformation through the teaching and application of our materials to this blessed and yet impoverished country.