Harvest USA

Summary

HARVEST USA (HRVUS) is a Christian ministry that reaches out to individuals struggling with pornography, sexual addictions and/or homosexuality and to families affected by a loved one's caught in these struggles. Offering encouragement and support groups, Harvest stresses God's Word and the ability of Jesus Christ to bring healing and wholeness to life. This organization is a nonprofit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. It is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

Purpose [ Back to top ]

HARVEST USA (HRVUS) is a Christian ministry that reaches out to individuals struggling with pornography, sexual addictions and/or homosexuality and to families affected by a loved one's caught in these struggles. Offering encouragement, counseling, and support, Harvest stresses God's Word and the ability of Jesus Christ to bring healing and wholeness to life. This organization is a nonprofit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. It is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

Mission Statement:

To Partner with and equip the church in bringing the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform the lives of those affected by sexual sin.

Vision Statement:

To See Christ heal a sexually broken world.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

HARVEST USA communicates the following accomplishments:

SUPPORT GROUPS:

Foundations: For Men & Women Seeking Freedom From Homosexuality
Crossroads: For Men Seeking Freedom From Pornography & Sexual Addictions
Parents/Family Support Groups: Paoli, PA; Willow Grove, PA; Moorestown, NJ; Lancaster, PA.
SPEAKERS FORUM: Harvest staff are available to speak at Adult Sunday School Classes, Evening Services, Missions Conferences, Bible studies and Men's & Women's Groups.

LITERATURE: Bulk quantities of the Harvest News are available for churches upon request. Other materials for individuals and families are also available.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

HARVEST USA uses the following to express its Statement of Faith:

• We believe God is one Being existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Sovereign, the Creator, and the Sustainer of all things. God is the source and the end of all truth. Jesus Christ is the eternal begotten Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully man. Christ, having accomplished a perfect, substitutional, sacrificial, and atoning work in His life and death, now lives as resurrected and ascended Lord to act as intercessor and mediator before God on behalf of all believers.
• We believe that the Scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired and written word of God, inerrant in their original writings, the infallible authority by which He directs and governs all our activities. The Scriptures are in and of themselves the basis for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in godly living.
• We believe that man was created in the image of God as a rational, moral, and spiritual being. Man sinned in Adam and fell with him in his first transgression into a state of death and separation from God. Man’s fall affected him spiritually, intellectually, and physically. He is restored and reconciled only by the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit and the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe the doctrines of grace as taught in the Scriptures to be those truths essential for salvation and for the ability to experience freedom from one’s besetting sins. Men and women are saved and justified, that is, made right and acceptable before the holy God, by grace through faith in Christ alone. The free offer of peace with God is available to all who will come to Him, having their hearts prepared and opened by the Holy Spirit to respond to the offer of salvation. Once justified¸ adopted, and set apart by God’s Spirit, believers are kept faithful and obedient to Christ not by mere willpower but by the supernatural power of God who saves them for all eternity.
• We believe that homosexuality is not what God wills for human beings made in His image but is in fact, along with all other sexual sin, a distortion of God’s good design. We affirm that God’s perfect design for all sexual activity is between one man and one woman in the context of the marriage bond. We recognize that, as a consequence of the Fall, all men and women are sexually broken and thus relate in twisted ways to God, self, others, and nature. While we believe that both homosexual desire and behavior are expressions of that distortion, we also believe that heterosexual sin grieves God and is as offensive to His holiness as is homosexual sin. Thus all involvement with pornography, sexual fantasy, or other sexual activity outside of marriage is sin and to be confessed, renounced, and forsaken by those who would be followers of Jesus Christ. We believe that God has always called men and women out of homosexuality or other sexual sin patterns and into the new life of His kingdom through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Thus any attempt to claim, cultivate, or promote a gay identity for oneself is out of place in a confessing Christian since it necessarily competes with the holy identity in Christ that every believer has been given and must claim by faith. We believe that Christ gives to all who seek it a growing freedom from the compulsive pull of all sorts of sinful sexual fantasy and behavior. This does not preclude the possibility of serious lapses of love and obedience on the part of those who truly believe, but such must be evaluated in light of the ordinary path and process of sanctification in which God places all of His children. Such failure on the part of believers can never be taken as license to abolish the call to holiness or to allow a reinterpretation of the Scriptures that permits a “gay Christian” theology.
• We believe the Church is the primary instrument God has chosen to use in ministering the reconciliation and wholeness Christ won at the cross. At the same time, believing that the Lord takes up all kinds of instruments into His hand for the perfecting of His people, we are thankful for genuine help for people struggling with sexual sin from whatever quarter it comes.

History [ Back to top ]

HARVEST USA began as a particular ministry of Tenth Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Philadelphia, PA, in 1983. It was originally started as an outreach ministry to the homosexual community located near the church. Staff members interacted with men and women in the area and eventually started support groups for individuals who sought to get out of the lifestyle. Advertisements in local papers got the word out that such groups existed and HARVEST USA continued doing this type of direct ministry for many years.

Over time it became apparent that a significant number of the individuals who were seeking help from HARVEST USA were actually individuals who were members of local churches and whose struggle with sexual sin was not something they felt could be addressed by their local congregations. HARVEST USA began working with local churches in an attempt to help raise consciousness about the issues and to create a more grace-oriented environment within local churches.

Another transition occurred as staff members began to see more and more individuals admitting struggles with “heterosexual” sins – viewing pornography, masturbation, extramarital sexual contacts, on-line affairs, using prostitutes, etc. HARVEST USA began a support group for men struggling with these kinds of sins, and a wives group also was created to address the pain that the spouses were enduring. It became apparent that the different types of sexual sin that the staff was addressing came out of similar heart issues. The groups addressing homosexual struggles as well as heterosexual sins were folded together to the benefit of all involved. Individuals continue to seek assistance from HARVEST USA through regional offices and staff representatives.

As the culture collapses in regard to sexual behaviors – fueled by the abundance of pornography on the Internet and strong political forces that oppose any form of restriction on sexual activity – it is apparent that the sexual-sin problem is growing rapidly both inside and outside of the Church. Several statistical studies have revealed that there is virtually no statistical difference between the sexual behaviors of individuals who profess a faith in Christ and those who do not. The Church is the culture when it comes to sexuality. It is therefore critical that the Church begin to address these issues and respond with both compassion and challenge.

As a result of this juxtaposition of HARVEST USA having decades of experience addressing these issues from a Biblical and compassionate position, and the continued decline in the culture, it became clear to the staff and Board of Directors of HARVEST USA that God was directing the ministry on a new heading. It is the vision of HARVEST USA to see Christ heal a sexually broken world. In order to have this happen, the mission of HARVEST USA is to partner with and equip the Church in bringing the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform the lives of those affected by sexual sin.

To this end HARVEST USA is developing educational materials to assist the Church in understanding and addressing these issues. Biblical based small group materials are also available for church-run support and accountability groups. HARVEST USA staff are available to present seminars, teach Sunday School classes, preach, speak at retreats, breakfast meetings, etc., as well as do training. It is their desire to see a network of small groups developed by churches that will provide a place of genuine confession, healing, accountability and growth in Christ.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

This organization has not offered MinistryWatch.com with specific needs to be posted on the profile. At such a time that MinistryWatch.com receives a response from the ministry, it will be posted immediately.

Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

Ranking Category	Rating	Overall Rank	Educational Media Sector
Overall Efficiency Rating		298 of 348	30 of 38
Fund Acquisition Decision		298 of 348	30 of 38
Resource Allocation Decision		of 348	2 of 38
Asset Utilization Decision		of 348	2 of 38