Every Tuesday morning, a group of 20 students arrive at school early to participate in Harvest Time. Harvest is an organization that shares the love of the Lord by sharing the gospel with other students. The organization is student led with the aspiration of reaching out to other students by offering donuts and prayer while walking the hallways.
The group is assisted by Chase Durham, the student pastor at Cottonwood Creek Church, who leads the students in prayer and provides the donuts for the students to pass out. Since its start, pastors from different churches have visited the group to witness the impact being made, and they take the ideas back to their own churches.
“The group has made an impact by acting like Christ while creating personal relationships with students,” junior Ellery Willard said. “It is really awesome, because it shows just how much we have expanded by starting with one church, and now there are churches all across DFW.”
After opening up the morning in prayer, the students go off to find people to reach out to. They approach people asking if they would like to be prayed for, and then they explain how their lives have changed by following Christ.
“I believe that if churches and Christians work together, we will make a collective impact for the Kingdom of God,” Durham said. “I believe that our teenagers and young adults are the revival generation, so we want to equip and prepare them to lead people to Jesus. John 17:20-21 really explains the main purpose of our mission here at Harvest.”
The lives of students at Lovejoy are impacted by the love and kindness shown from the participants of Harvest. The members have been consistent in showing up every week, and the work has paid off.
“As Christians, we have experienced the love of God first hand, and we want the rest of our school to experience the same thing,” senior Lucas Dresser said. “Although it can be scary talking to someone new about a daunting topic, it is important we convey the significance of the message. It is truly life changing.”
Not only has this organization worked for the betterment of the school, it is actively making a difference in the lives of the participants. The students that participate in Harvest Time are passionate about the group and its aspirations.
“I love Harvest, because it creates a sense of community,” Willard said. “Harvest allows us to reflect God’s character onto our school and love others just as He would. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”
