The Harvest Initiative

Offerings- People give the church money for the local church, ministries and the church’s mission. People believe that when they give money they give it to god to help him help others.

A discourse community follows Swales’ six characteristics: members share common goals, has a form of communication, a form of feedback, genres, a specific lexis, and has a level of expertise all within the group (Swales 25). I believe the Future Farmers of America is a great candidate for this topic for that it falls in to the categories listed by Swales. The start of Future Farmers of America came in 1900s in the state of Virginia. Adolescent to teenage males were not interested in farming and did not want to take over the family farms. This led to a homegrown farmer becoming the supervisor of Agriculture Education and set out to fix this problem, Walter Newman. With the help of Edmund C, Magill, Harry W. Sanders and the most influential Henry

Mr. Culley and his wife started this ministry seventeen years ago. They knew there was a need and decided that if they were so heavily burdened to act then they should lead the way in addressing the need. Over time, Mr. Culley and his wife have experience cut backs from some organizations due to funding. They have also experienced a shortage of volunteers. Mr. and Mrs. Culley have been able to overcome these obstacles, they have reached out to local businesses and churches, and this has helped to fill the gaps in donations.

Wright argues, “The proper response to idolatry, is therefore not dualism, the rejection of space, time, or matter … but the renewed worship of the Creator God …” (Wright 227). Even though we cannot heal creation fully, our work with should enrich our worship of God, allowing us to fully enjoy what He has given us. In this way, the farmer is like the kingdom worker in that he enjoys his work so much he keeps doing it despite all the challenges that he faces. At the same time, creation’s degradation should cause disciples, as it does farmer, to produce as much produce as possible by earnestly preaching the gospel. Deyoung and Gilbert argue, “To proclaim the inauguration of the kingdom and all the other blessings of God without telling people how they may become partakers of those blessings is to preach a nongospel” (47). Once Christ comes back to judge humanity, there will be no hope for those that are not citizens of God’s

Ishmael did well while working with us at Harvest Outreach Center. Ishmael never shied away from negative situations such as fights or arguments. Ishmael was present and in the moment with the kids to foster more positive outcomes by modeling appropriate behavior. Ishmael led various fitness activities such as an obstacle course and other athletic games such as basketball. At its core athletics is conflict, Ishmael was able to mediate between many arguments and disagreements that stemmed from that conflict. Ishmael was there to assist Harvest staff with therapeutic group’s activities. I believe that Ishmael has done well to learn from his environment how to better server this community in a positive way by teaching children how to respect themselves and others. Ishmael is dependable he was always present when discussed and he got on the same

Roy is currently unemployed and interested in volunteering in a local church. Roy states he wants to give back to others in need to show his, “gratitude.” The background of his education is

Over the last year we have had a number of opportunities where would could have chosen self-interest but instead looked to the mission of the church, not just our own but the global, ecumenical mission of the church. For example, we looked at one of our properties that could have been sold and provided a nice financial cushion for the future of the congregation but God laid on our heart that the future was important to plan for but there was important ministry the needed to be done now. God shared with a vision where we did more than worship and rent but actually could become a central hub for our community. We began to look at our monthly mobile food pantry as not just an opportunity to get food on the tables of those in our community but to actually connect with those community. We realized that each one of these was gifted in different ways just as we are and that if we could use the space we already had been blessed they could have a place to use those

a. Social facts/pg. 15: Durkheim’s term for a group’s patterns of behavior. In The Harvest, it was apparent what behaviors were common among all members of the families which were documented. An apparent social fact included waking up at the crack of dawn to prepare for the day by way of driving to the local farm to begin the day’s work. Once at the farm, the group’s behavior was patterned so that they would work for 12-14 hours for the day where they would gather crops in the field. Upon gathering the crops, the workers would bring them back to the weighing station where they would deposit their collected crops and gather a basket to begin collecting crops once more. The pattern continued after their individual shifts were over, heading back home, piled into their family vehicle where they would begin to rest for the night and look ahead to the next day that loomed in front of them.

My trip totals out to $400 for the week. This amount covers all my travel expenses and more. It would be awesome if you would be willing to help me reach my goal! This can be done in many ways including donation, telling friends/family, or just simply praying for myself and my team as we plan to go. All donations will be greatly appreciated! As we have just reached the holiday season, I understand that financially it could be a struggle, but prayer will also be a huge part to our success. Pray for my team, and that God will provide for us financially and spiritually throughout our journey. Pray that God gives us strength, physically and mentally, for us to serve. Pray that during our short time at VCU we will be able to witness and show love to as many people as

Charged with the same Fire and passion, the apostles continued to preach the gospel after the resurrection. They did not take lightly what they had been taught and seen during three days with their master. On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit took charge of the church, the few that were gathered in the room were increased to about three thousand. "The members began to consider their responsibility with reference to properties." (Responsible Christian Giving, Michael L. Speer, 84). The believers shared everything they had, they sold their possessions and goods and gave them to anyone in need among them (Acts 2:42-47). They also took into special notice that the widows were not overlooked in anyway (Acts 6:1-6). Barnabas, wealthy man sold his field and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet for the cause of the church (Acts 4:36-37). It is significantly seen that "one of the practical features in this church and community concerned their gifts to the poor." (Resources Unlimited, Ed. By William L. Hendricks, Tithing in the NT, H. Franling Paschall,172). John and James in their epistles also encouraged that the human needs among the believers be met (1 John 3:17, Jas. 2:15-16). The apostle Paul was also interested in the poor. He took part in the great movement to raise funds for the poor of the church

In NewSpring Church’s website, the church has announced its 90-Day Tithing Challenge and has posted testimonies along with the instructions. The activity is geared towards encouraging people to trust God with their finances. The megachurch promises to send encouragement and resources to those who sign up for the challenge, the report details.

The idea of giving a percentage of money to someone has been going on for thousands of years through tithing in the Christian faith. Tithing essentially consists of giving one tenth of all income and property back to the Lord, predominantly through the church, in order to show gratitude and in hopes of receiving the Lord’s blessings. Tithing varies between the Old Testament and the New Testament and pre/post Mosaic Law (Green). Challenging the ethicality of any holy practice can be a daunting task but author Joel B. Green did so and discusses how the giving nature of Christians throughout the Bible justify the act of tithing along with other Christian traditions like Jubilee and Sabbath (Green). These acts of tithing ultimately correlate with

Acts 20:35 states that it is more blessed to give than to receive. By consistently giving we are reminded that we are blessing those around us. Giving does not necessarily need to mean the physical giving of gifts either, but it can also be a giving of our time or acts of service. In the church setting there are many needs that can be met by simply being there and giving of our time. I’ve heard ministry itself is 10% preaching and 90% acts of service for the church. This serves as a reminder for me too that by doing little tasks for the church that might seem pointless, they are not, or are blessing someone else who now does not have to do

Clearly, no message from a Pastor to his people, even when asking for financial support, can ever neglect what must be essential to our lives and the reason for a parish to exist. The Lord’s work within us, and our response to the Lord, must be paramount. It is through our presence at Mass on the Lord’s Day that we allow His grace and mercy to touch our lives and transform us as we seek to do His Will.

It’s all about giving when it comes to Bethlehem Assembly of God (BAOG). It is one of the things we pride ourselves in most. We are the number one ranked Assembly of God church when it comes to missions. BAOG supports approximately 100 missionaries and organizations around the world. Many of our missionaries come back to my church during Missions weekend to give the congregation an update on their work and travel. One of the missionaries the church supports told us the story of her trip to India.