As I reflect back on 3 years of ministry at Harvest, my heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness. Were I to speak of every form of thankfulness that has welled up in my heart, I would likely never stop writing. So in light of three years of ministry, I wanted to speak of my thankfulness in 3 ways:

To God: Before anything else, I am a pastor because I love you. I am absolutely captivated by you, in awe of you, and consumed by you. These three years have been some of the most stretching in my life, and the desperation that I have felt has only drawn me closer to you. I’ve never sung louder or prayed harder than I have over these years of pastoral ministry. And in all of that, I have found you to be tremendously caring and faithful. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for being faithful to your word and the promise to build your church. Thank you for using me in spite of me. May your glory continue to be on display in such an obvious way as you work through this broken vessel as he desperately depends on you for all that is accomplished in the church!

To my wife: Thank you for being an incredible partner in ministry. What people don’t probably understand as much is how integral your ministry is to the church. Sure, your ministry is not as public as mine, but my ministry doesn’t happen without you. No one is a better shepherd of my heart than you are. No one opens God’s word and applies it to my soul like you do. And for all that comes in the life of a pastor, you have been absolutely incredible. Not only have we gone through 3 years of ministry together, but we’ve had 3 kids in the process. The way that you’ve been able to balance the crazy non-stop life that ministry is while prioritizing the Lord above all and your husband and your kids is nothing short of stunning. And it’s not just the public moments you excel at. It’s the private moments. You are absolutely the same in character whether at church on Sunday morning or waking up with the kids for the 3rd bad dream of the night. I love you sweetie. You’re my best friend, and my favorite person to do ministry with. Looking forward to many more together!

To the people: Thank you for showing up! Thank you for being such a joy to pastor. I’ve always said that what has made our church so dynamic, diverse, and multigenerational is your humility to be willing to sit under the unapologetic preaching of God’s word like you have. I can’t imagine what must have been welling up in your minds the first time you stepped foot in Harvest. Who is that 12 year old speaking right now? That can’t be the pastor!? But something gripped you. The Holy Spirit drew you in, and He caused you to stay. When the word of God is prominent in the church, the pastor’s age is irrelevant because the word is timeless. Now that being said, thank you for putting up with me in my 20s. Just for doing that, I feel like I owe you my 60s. So if you would have me, I’d like to keep doing what I’m doing right here for as long as the Lord would grant me that privilege. Statistics say that, on average, a pastor moves churches roughly every 3 years. But with us, I feel like we’re just getting started. And I know I have a lot more sermons left in the tank. Here’s to many more years together watching God work!

You are loved,

Pastor Scott

*We are so excited to be celebrating 3 years together in a few weeks with our ONE big service at 10AM on Sunday, October 9th. Don’t forget to go on to the Facebook event to RSVP and invite your friends to celebrate with us at the service, which will be followed by baptisms, a free barbecue, and a carnival!