MARCH 2014

RESURRECTION pg.2

AFRICA pg.4

TEACH US TO PRAY pg.7

FAMILY NEWS pg.8

harvestnetintl.com | harvestnetintl@gmail.com | 717.733.4071

HarvestNETI N T E R N A T I O N A L

THE RESURRECTIONBy Ray Ciervo

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ changed the world. There is not another single incident in the history of man that has made the impact the Resurrection has. What began as a trickle, turned into a stream and then a river that changed the Roman world. It went and captured Europe and the western world, spreading to Asia and Africa. It has brought great freedoms to mankind as the power of the Resurrection is embraced in the message of Christ. Where Christ is truly preached, there is true freedom.

Not surprisingly, this Christian claim is attacked regularly. It is said that in order to find out a lawyer’s biggest fear in a courtroom, you must take notice of what he or she attacks. This makes perfect sense. Without the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no Christianity and therefore no Christian message. Paul wrote to the Corinthians,

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:13-19)

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This passage in Corinthians tells us the importance of the Resurrection. It also tells us that from the earliest time there were arguments against this event. Some had spread lies that Jesus had not risen and/or if He did rise, it was not in the flesh. In any case, the bodily Resurrection of Christ was under attack. The Resurrection continues to be the point of attack for those who deny Christ.

Today, it is argued that Christianity borrowed resurrection stories from other pagan myths. It is also argued that Jesus never died on the cross. Of course, the earliest attempts to discredit the Resurrection were that someone had stolen the body, either that the disciples had or some other grave robbers. All these attempts to discredit the Resurrection have been answered with evidence and argument. Beyond personal attestation, there is sound evidence to put your faith in the risen Jesus.

Once again, if Jesus did not rise bodily from the grave, there is no point to Christianity. The Resurrection gives us hope beyond this life, because our sins are forgiven,0 and the promise of life everlasting is set in the living Christ. As Paul said, “If in Christ we hope in this life only, we are of all people to be pitied.” The Christian life is not simply about living a good life but about relationship with God. This is achieved through Christ’s resurrection. He broke the power of sin by paying our debt to God and also became the new and living way into God’s presence. Our hope remains in Him and His resurrection.

bridging the gap

APRIL 2-5, 2014harvestnetintl.com

This free conference is sponsored by HarvestNET International. Registration is not required. Dr. Norman Geisler Ray Ciervo Simon Brace Nel Brace Carey Walton

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SCHEDULEWEDNESDAY, APRIL 2 7:00-9:00 p.m. Session 1 With Dr. Norman Geisler Evangelicalism: Dangers From WithinTHURSDAY, APRIL 3 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Pastors Session With Dr. Norman Geisler and Ray Ciervo This free session is for pastors only. Registration is required. The Need for Apologetics in Our Churches How to Bring Apologetics into the Local Church followed by a time of Q&A 7:00-9:00 p.m. Session 2 With Simon Brace Christian Hope—The Message of HopeFRIDAY, APRIL 4 7:00-9:00 p.m. Session 3 With Ray Ciervo The Resurrection of JesusSATURDAY, APRIL 5 9:00-10:15 a.m. Session 4 With Nel Brace Textual Criticism: Why the New Testament is a Reliable Document 10:30-11:30 a.m. Breakout Sessions Concept of Philosophy with Simon Brace Informal Fallacies with Nel Brace Gnosticism and the Charismatic Movement with Ray Ciervo Understanding the Abortion Debate with Carey Walton 12:00-1:00 p.m. Session 5 With Simon Brace Reaching This Generation 6:00-8:00 p.m. Session 6 With Ray Ciervo and Simon & Nel Brace Q&A

NOTE: SCHEDULED SPEAKERS & TOPICS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

bridging the gap

Evangelism Through Apologetics

APRIL 2-5, 2014harvestnetintl.com

This free conference is sponsored by HarvestNET International. Registration is not required. Dr. Norman Geisler Ray Ciervo Simon Brace Nel Brace Carey Walton

LOCATION Ephrata Community Church

70 Clay School Road, Ephrata, PA 17522

QUESTIONS? Email harvestnetintl@gmail.com

or call 717.733.4071.

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AFRICA POPULATION: 1.033 billion (2010)

CHRISTIANITY: 48.77% of the population

POPULATION UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE: 41.28%

AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME: $1,574 (3% of the United States)

CURRENT CHALLENGES:

• There are nearly 2,500 different ethnic groups in Africa. Ethnic tensions have led to brutal conflicts, civil wars, and genocide in the past and continue to threaten violence in areas.

- Pray for peace and stability, particularly in hot spots like Burundi, Southern Sudan, and countries along the Muslim-Christian Fault Line, and reconciliation between the different groups.

• Nearly half of Africa’s population are now Christians, but discipleship is the African church’s greatest challenge.

- Pray for full repentance and a complete turning away from witchcraft and spirits upon conversion. Pray for the church to make discipleship a priority to shape Christ-like character and biblical world-views.

FOCUS ON THE GIFT INTERNATIONAL KENYAN ORPHANSThanks to the generosity of our donors, The Gift International and our children’s sponsors currently support 22 girls residing at the Reverend Moses and Mary Mwangi Memorial Girls Home by providing for their daily needs. This ministry is located in Elburgon, Kenya, and is affiliated with Bishop Mark Kariuki’s church network.

The home ministers to girls who have lost both parents to AIDS, providing a safe place for them to live as well as food, clothing, and an education. Their ultimate goals are to minister to each girl in a transformative way, break the cycle of poverty, and provide hope so that each girl can achieve the aspirations and dreams that they have for their lives.

The home is currently making an effort to extend care to girls beyond the age of 18 in order to facilitate easier transitions into productive adult lives. Several girls of varying ages are currently in need of sponsors. The cost is $30 per month. If you are interested in making a difference in the life of an orphan, please email us at info@thegiftintl.org for more information.

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IN GOD MOVEMENTSBy Luke Weaver

Throughout history, God has shown His constant desire to dwell with His people. This was creation’s original purpose! The birth of Jesus punctuated this message: Emmanuel (God With Us). The cross authenticated and empowered it to become reality. The blood of Jesus enables us to freely enter God’s presence and abide with Him.

Gateway House of Prayer exists to honor Jesus Christ 24/7, 365 days a year in worship, prayer, and holy living. Gateway desires to create a place for the presence of God to abide and establish a culture in Lancaster County and the surrounding regions that prioritizes His presence. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it says “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” It is God’s presence that transforms hearts! Transformed hearts bring Him glory!

Anytime God’s people begin to seek Him with humble, repentant hearts, He comes and dwells with them. This is increasing across the region. The church is unifying in humility, seeking God, and believing for an unprecedented move of God that will transform human hearts and, therefore, the region’s culture. Gateway’s constant intercession is joining an increasing cry from the church for “the Lamb to receive the reward of His suffering,” so that thousands of souls will be saved across the region.

In this context, Gateway partnered with the Circuit Riders and local churches in January to call the region to gather at the Marriott for Lancaster Unprecedented. This gathering built upon the foundation of last summer’s School of the Circuit Riders, which was attended by more than 2,000 people during the open evening sessions and witnessed over 330 salvations and 60 healings. At each night of Unprecedented, 1,000 people gathered to seek God and be activated as agents of transformation in the region. Their 21 Days of Love initiative called the church to action by representing the love of God in 21 practical ways to the region.

We are beginning to see a region revived and a culture transformed! God is inviting you to partner with His desire to encounter souls through prayer and the radical love birthed from those prayers. He is moving across our region! How will you join Him in this work? Simple obedience changes history!

HELPING YOU LIVE YOUR CONVICTIONS WITH COURAGE

August 3-6, 2014

Held at Millersville University

More information and registration will be available soon!

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Save the dates HarvestNET International Summit • November 19–21, 2014

Missions Conference • November 21–22, 2014

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23 TO FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

The Kingdom is God’s heart! Come receive from OFI family members who have been modeling the kingdom life for

decades. Connect with anointed kingdom people and be strengthened by this special time.

REGISTER Go to outpouringfamily.org by Tuesday, April 8, 2014 to register. The cost is $79, which includes all the meals.THE LOCATION This year’s family gathering will be held at Ephrata Community Church, 70 Clay School Road, Ephrata, PA 17522.

the KINGDOMunwrapped

Apologetics U

HELPING YOU LIVE YOUR CONVICTIONS WITH COURAGE

Kingdom Perspectives

MARCH 2014

TEACH US TO PRAY Kevin Eshleman Senior Associate Pastor of Ephrata Community Church & HarvestNET International Board Member

Do you believe that prayer changes things? I know that we can get technical and say, “No, I don’t believe that prayer changes things! Prayer moves the hand of God, and He changes things!”, but you know what I mean. Do you believe that prayer is a tool that God has given us, His people, by which we partner with Him to see his Kingdom come and His will done on the earth?

There is a good bit of confusion about our prayer to God and what actually happens when we pray. Some would say that God’s will is always done and that prayer to God ultimately does not change the circumstances; it just changes us. Well, it surely does change us, but does God do more than that when we pray? Can God’s will be frustrated or remain unaccomplished on the earth if we do not pray?

It is great if prayer is simply for the purpose of building a relationship with God and bringing transformation to our hearts. I’ll give time to that. I love God, and I want to grow in my understanding of who He is and how He operates. But if I truly believe that through prayer we enter into a partnership with God to see things change, to see His Kingdom come on the earth—I’ll lose sleep for that! I’ll rearrange my schedule for that!

In Luke 11 the disciples came to realize that Jesus’ prayer life was somehow an avenue through which flowed the works of the Kingdom of God. In the only case where the disciples asked Jesus to teach them, they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1 NIV).

Based on that request, Jesus taught His disciples (and us) a pattern for prayer (vv. 2-4), followed by two specific words of encouragement for our prayer life, told in the form of parables. This first parable (vv. 5-10) teaches us that we should persevere in prayer and not give up. This same truth in prayer is taught in Luke 18:1-8. The second parable (vv. 11-13) gives us a picture of the goodness of our Father God and His heart toward us.

Let me bring this to a close with a brief challenge: Do you believe that God has invited us to partner with Him through prayer to see His Kingdom come on the earth? My answer to that question is “Yes!” The second question is, does your life align with what you say you believe? If we authentically believe that the first statement is true, then we’ll make room for prayer in our lives. I’d like to challenge each of us, whether prayer is a new adventure or we just need to let the Holy Spirit breathe fresh life and passion into our prayer lives, to follow the example of Jesus’ disciples and ask the Lord Jesus to “teach us to pray.”

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THE PHILIPPINES HNI CLUSTERWe rejoice that God is allowing HarvestNET to assist in rebuilding the Philippines after the devastating typhoon in November 2013. Many projects HarvestNET is funding are just getting under way, with the focus on rebuilding local church buildings so they can reach their communities with relief items and, most importantly, the glorious hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Jack Hicks is just one of our brethren who is rebuilding the church of the Lord to the glory of God. His church is on the island of Leyte, in the barangay (town) of Tunga. On the left above is a picture of Pastor Jack’s church taken moments after the typhoon. Beside it is a picture of where they were in the rebuilding process as of January 28, 2014. Pastor Dan and Kim Dovidio, of Westcliffe Community Church in Colorado, will be a part of the new church dedication service this coming May.

HarvestNET will continue to report back on your financial seed with testimonies and pictures in future newsletters. Please keep praying for your brothers and sisters in the Philippines as they begin the process of rebuilding.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW PARTNERS

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ERIC BECK // Leola, PA DENNIS GOLDSWORTHY-DAVIS // San Antonio, TX TERROL & PATRICIA JONES // Ocean City, NJ

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WELCOME TO OUR NEW PARTNERS TERROL & PATRICIA JONES // Ocean City, NJ

STONES OF REMEMBRANCEBy Luke Weaver

In Joshua 4, God commanded the children of Israel to build an altar with memorial stones to stand as a testimony of God’s faithfulness and miraculous provision. In Revelation 12, we are taught that our testimony is a primary way of overcoming the enemy and walking in victory. Scripture exhorts us to constantly position our hearts in thanksgiving and praise to honor God and defeat the enemy.

We want to testify to the faithfulness God showed us in 2013 at Gateway House of Prayer. These are 11 of our stones of remembrance that serve to inspire faith and strengthen resolve to continue to move forward, knowing that God is going before us, and He is actively building this “house”:

• Worship and prayer rising from Gateway 365 days of 24/7• An increase in our live worship to over 33%• Twelve full or part-time mission staff• Largest internship ever with 42 interns• An increase in church connections through participants from 44 local

churches and a new high point of 180 volunteers• Successful transition from Jimmy Nimon (founder) to Luke Weaver in the

directorship of Gateway• Establishment of a consistent night watch• Creation of a night watch internship called Burning Ones• YWAM partnership to offer the School of the Circuit Riders to the region• Over 1,000 individual requests, resulting in many answered prayers and

breakthrough• Investment of resources to cultivate unity and create opportunity for

kingdom connections to increase in the body of Christ through a variety of venues

These testimonies have become reality because of a committed community dedicated to serving the dream of God to come and tabernacle with His people. Thank you to everyone who participated in some way to make this dream a reality.

HELD AT EPHRATA COMMUNITY CHURCH EPHRATA, PA THE SPREADING FLAMEPassing the Torch of RevivalTaught by Barry Wissler & Dan RogersMarch 20–May 8, 2014 (except April 3 & 24) // 6 Thursdays // 7:00-9:30 p.m.

CHRISTIAN COUNSELING TOPICSHelping Others Lead Healthy LivesTaught by Tom KochMarch 19–April 9, 2014 // 4 Wednesdays // 7:00-9:30 p.m.

THE WORLD OF SPIRITSFreeing Captives From DarknessTaught by Bruce HeckmanMarch 24-April 7, 2014 // 3 Mondays // 7:00-9:30 p.m.

RELEVANT SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGYEssential Training of the Christian FaithTaught by Barry Wissler and Dan RogersMarch 24-May 12, 2014 (except April 21 & 28) // 6 Mondays // 7:00-9:30 p.m.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE IIStrategies to WinTaught by Franz LippiApril 26, 2014 // Saturday // 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

THE KINGDOM EXPANDSReaching Into Many CulturesTaught by Bruce HeckmanApril 14-May 5, 2014 // 4 Mondays // 7:00-9:30 p.m.

REFORMATTING THE MINDOvercoming Negative ThinkingTaught by Sue FerrariMay 1-May 15, 2014 // 3 Thursdays // 7:00-9:30 p.m. andMay 10 // Saturday // 9:00-11:30 a.m.

HELD AT ENCOUNTER CHURCH QUARRYVILLE, PAABUNDANCE OUT OF WHOLENESS Healing Life’s HurtsTaught by Sue FerrariMarch 26-April 30, 2014 // 6 Wednesdays // 7:00-9:30 p.m.

S C H O O L

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To register, go to kingdomministryschool.com and click Register For Classes or call 717.733.4071.

EQUIPPING CLASSES

STUDY ONLINE! YOUR TIME. YOUR PACE.

ENROLL ANYTIME AND STUDY AT YOUR CONVENIENCE.

NOW AVAILABLE HOLY SPIRIT & POWER MINISTRIES

Living naturally supernatural Barry Wissler, HarvestNET International president, teaches on the person and work

of the Holy Spirit with an emphasis on experiencing His presence and power.

Visit kingdomministryschool.com for more information and to enroll.

EQUIPPED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! ENCOUNTERED BY GOD!

THREE WAYS TO BE EQUIPPED:1. EQUIPPING CLASSES – Choose from more than 20 individual classes2. KMS COMPLETE – A two-year certificate program with an internship3. KINGDOM FOUNDATIONS INTERNSHIP – Discipleship training in partnership with Gateway House of Prayer

Visit kingdomministryschool.com for our fall schedule and registration.

STUDY ONLINE! YOUR TIME. YOUR PACE.

ENROLL ANYTIME AND STUDY AT YOUR CONVENIENCE.

NOW AVAILABLE HOLY SPIRIT & POWER MINISTRIES

Living naturally supernatural Barry Wissler, HarvestNET International president, teaches on the person and work

of the Holy Spirit with an emphasis on experiencing His presence and power.

Visit kingdomministryschool.com for more information and to enroll.

MAY23

Shady Maple

You are invited!

Registration and Sponsorship Options

kingdomministryschool.com

KMS Graduation

BanquetA Commissioning of Our Students

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