Dear Harvest Family,

We are so encouraged to see God working at Harvest Bible Chapel (HBC). This past Tuesday night we had our monthly meeting and would like to share a couple of things.

New Format
The new format for our time together continues to be a great blessing. Along with the lay elders, the Lead Team and the campus pastors now join us for each of our meetings. This new way of gathering provides a well-rounded representation of both the people of HBC and our staff which leads to greater clarity and understanding during discussions and our decision-making process. This week also marked the start of our book study, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons (40 Questions & Answers) by Benjamin L. Merkle.

Prayer Requests
We also spent time together in prayer. We praised our God for what He is doing at HBC and prayed for the church as a whole while also focusing on these specific things:

• that God would use the upcoming Good Friday and Easter services to further His Kingdom,
• for the staff openings that exist at HBC which include the North Shore Campus Pastor as well as a new superintendent for Harvest Christian Academy,
• for Vertical Worship and the work to be done on the new album as well as the impact that it will have on all who hear these songs,
• for specific members of our church who need prayer,
• and for God to continue to give us wisdom as we as a church identify and look to approve new elders to our board.  

We invite you to join us in praying for these requests. As mentioned in our last update, please use the “ask an elder” email or reach out to a leader in our church if you have a prayer need that we could join you in praying for.

Financial Update
We are so thankful for our finance committee. At each elder meeting, Darrin Weidman, Elder from the Elgin Campus, and Jeff Sharda, Lead Pastor, Finance and Operations, provide updates to the elder board regarding the current financial state of the church. This gives us valuable guidance as we provide directional oversight to the church. 

This week we were excited to approve a new member of the finance committee, Sherri Vincent from the North Shore Campus. We are thankful for her willingness to serve our church in this way. God is so good and we know He will provide all that we need as a church, but it is our job to steward what He has given us in a way that honors Him. We are thankful for this team and the others that help us to lead to the best of our ability.

Ministry-Focused
Praise God that our meetings have become more and more focused on the ministry taking place within HBC. Those of you who faithfully read our updates most likely recognize this shift as we tend to have mainly ministry-focused items to share, which is a great blessing. There is a very unified spirit among us that by God’s grace, HBC has turned a corner and that we have great days ahead of us. Many in this group mention that our church has a strong growing sense of unity and togetherness as we follow hard after our King and do our part to make more and better disciples, more and better leaders, and more and better churches. All praise to our great God.

You are loved,
The Elders of Harvest Bible Chapel