HCC – HarvesterCC Outreach

August 28, 2025

Growing in Faith Through Serving-August 2025

Growing in Faith Through Serving

August has been filled with opportunities to love our neighbors well. From Back-to-School events to our Cooling Center for our unhoused neighbors, we’ve seen the power of showing up in Jesus’ name.When we serve, we don’t just meet practical needs—we grow spiritually. Jesus reminds us:
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:43)

As we move into this next season, let’s ask ourselves: How is God forming me as I serve others?

Current Opportunities

School Outreach Crew Leader – Becky David Elementary

We are looking for a Crew Leader to help us love and support the teachers, students, and families of Becky David Elementary. This role acts as a liasion between HCC and Becky David. The crew leader communicates with volunteers, helps create serving opportunities, and shares prayer requests with the School Outreach crew. If you are interested in learning more about this email Carissa at cfiggins@harvester.cc

School C.A.F.E.

Join us in building strong school–community partnerships through Community And Family Engagement (C.A.F.E.). HCC is hosting a community breakfast on Wednesday, September 10th, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Some of our local school principals will share their goals and unmet needs. The broader community of our church, other churches, non-profits that serve children, legislators, community leaders, and concerned neighbors will make an action plan for each school with 3, 6, and 9-month goals to better serve students, teachers, and families. Together, we can meet real needs in our local schools. Registration is required. Please share this form with your circles, small business owners, and service organizations before 9/3.

Math Tutors Needed – Central Elementary

Do you enjoy math and encouraging kids? Central Elementary needs math tutors to walk with students toward success! FHSD reached out specifically to Harvester Christian Church to recruit volunteers to serve two days a week for an hour each time during the school day. The commitment is only for 6 weeks at a time. Volunteers will need to complete the FHSD video-based volunteer training and background check, regardless of whether you have an active background check with HCC. HCC will reimburse you for that cost. If you are interested in serving in this capacity, your first step is to complete this FHSD Google form.

September Book Discussion

Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness. From this book, we hope to learn more about unpacking the complexities around homelessness that may lead us to apathy and inaction. We hope to learn more about how HCC might be a part of changing the landscape of homelessness in our community. If you would like a copy of the book, please email Carissa. We will discuss the book on Monday, September 29th, at 6:30 p.m.

📅 Looking Ahead

September Serving Opportunities

School Outreach Monthly Pray and Prep| Monday, September 8, 6:30 p.m. in the Annex.
School C.A.F.E.| Wednesday, September 10, 7:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center
The Sharing Shed | 3rd Saturday of each month, 9–11 a.m. and 4th Wednesday of each month
See You At The Pole| Wednesday, September 24, 7:00 a.m. at Barnwell Middle
LO/GS Coaches & Leaders Gathering| Wednesday, September 24 6:30 p.m. in the Mission Cafe for Food Pantry, Local Outreach, and Guest Services leaders and coaches
Grace Can Lead Us Home Book Discussion | Monday, September 29, 6:30 p.m. Location TBD
Monthly School Outreach Pray & Prep | Monday, October 6, 6:30 p.m. Annex
* Tentative Harvest Ridge Trunk or Treat| Sunday, October 12 5 p.m. Harvest Ridge Elementary
Safe Families Training #3| Monday, October 13, 6:30 p.m. Annex
Safe Families Training #4 Monday, October 20, 6:30 p.m. Annex
The Sharing Shed | 3rd Saturday of each month, 9–11 a.m. and 4th Wednesday of each month
*Tentative Boys and Girls Club Trunk or Treat| Saturday, October 25 Boys and Girls Club O’Fallon

✍️ Take Your Next Step

Ready to serve? Know someone who has been wanting to get plugged into serving outside the walls of Harvester?
Fill out the Volunteer Interest Sign-Up Form here: https://harvestercc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/265/responses/new

Together, we are leading people to find and follow Jesus through generosity, justice, and joyful service.

“ His disciples did not understand these things at first…” John 12:16a

Each year we come to this season where it is a conglomerate of things to come. It seems like this season gets busier and busier each year due to what is to come. It starts the warm weather, the sun gets up earlier and settles later, the birds are chirping all day long, the play time seems to increase more and more, Baseball is back in full swing, The NFL draft is coming up shortly, Hockey season is winding into the playoffs, March Madness is just about to end and best of all, its Masters Week. Throw in the new practices, game schedules, play practices, recitals and school winding down…you have the making of just a season of chaos….and it happens all within a month time!

But what about Easter…..you know that time we come to each year to remember and celebrate the man Jesus that sacrificed himself on a tree for you and for me?

Where does that fit in to the schedule?

Coming in to this Holy Week, I personally feel the burn of busyness. I am reminded by the to do list and tempers flaring at home. But is this what Holy Week should be like? Is this how we should remember the sacrifice?

The disciples probably felt the same way. These men and the women that were taking care of them and with them always are walking into the last week of Jesus’ life, not knowing what is to come, not knowing what their responses would be, and for sure not knowing what Jesus was about to do.

In John chapter 12, we see all sorts of things that are going in Jesus’ life – there is a plot thickening to kill him, there is a plot to kill Lazarus( a man that Jesus just rose from the dead ), Jesus is anointed with oil at Bethany the day before he is to arrive into Jerusalem to begin the long agonizing walk to his death, and then we find Jesus talking with both Jews and Greeks during a feast:

” Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: ” I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.” The crowd stood there and hear it said and it had thundered. Others said, ” an angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, ” This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I when I am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kid of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, ” we have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the son of Man bmust be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, ” The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” John 12: 27-36 esv

Holy Week leads to a heaviness of soul for Jesus.

The first line in this section shows how ever-present Jesus is to the situation or people that are around him, all the while continuing to be present and prayerful with his Heavenly Father. Jesus’ soul was troubled in this moment, probably due to the coming pain and suffering that he would endure for not just the people that are surrounding him now, but also all that come after them. Jesus’ soul was troubled because not only was he preparing the people around him for his death and giving them instruction, he had to convince them that what is saying is true. Jesus is a masterful teacher and when we think about Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the mount when Jesus says seek first the kingdom of heaven and then here in John 12 Jesus says, ‘ walk while you have the light with you, so that you do not fall into darkness’.

Holy Week leads Jesus to his human side a lot.

The primary illustration of Jesus asking God to take this cup away from him is in Luke 22, but here in John 12, we see another instance where Jesus is crying to his heavenly father to take this away from him. How many times have we asked that of God?

God, take this fight with my spouse away…

God, take this problem at work away….

God, take this hard task of parenting a pre-teen away…

God, take my sorrow away…

God, show up in a way I don’t expect….

God, take this cup away from me…

Jesus though, knows that this is the reason that he is here. This is the reason that Jesus was sent to this earth. Jesus knows the Holy week leads to the purpose of him being away from his Father. So not only does Jesus walk back his prayer with ‘ Father, glorify your name.’ God tells Him, “I have glorified it, and I will again.” What if we received an answer from God from the heavens when we prayed those prayers of desperation or of need?

Holy Week leads to responding to the Light.

Jesus says, the light is only here for a little while longer….so stick with that light unless you want the darkness of the day to overtake you. Stay with the light so that you may become a son of light when the light is gone.

Holy week can be our response to the light that is betrayed, tried, beaten, mocked, and dragged up to a rock shaped like a skull where the light is hung on the tree for you and me and the light goes out…….

This is just the beginning…of Holy Week and what our response could be to the light.

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