Harvest Ministries Pastor Steve Adams moved to Anson in 1995, and has spent the years since bringing restoration, change and unity to the community.
Adams, who moved from Cleveland, Ohio, with his father, founder and senior pastor, Apostle Tim Adams, his mother and brother, said his father was a pastor in a denominational church, and was sent to Anson during Adam’s 10th grade year of school.
“The state bishop asked my father to come to Wadesboro to help a church for two to four years, and then move my family to a larger city such as Charlotte, Raleigh or Greensboro,” Adams said.
Adam said his parents traveled to Anson that June to check out the community, and felt the call and tug to come to Anson immediately.
“It was noticed that there was still a barrier of race and other issues,” Adams said. “My father saw a need to work with others to continue to change that.”
Outreach efforts, including block parties in communities such as Orchard Street, the lower projects, and other places, began almost immediately after the Adams family touched down in August.
“My father saw the needs here in Anson – and felt called to put roots here,” Adams said. “My father and mother always have and always will be about bringing people together, about loving all people, all races, all backgrounds, and all situations. My family stayed here to make a difference, to meet needs, and to bring Jesus to the hurting, the neglected, the left out, and the overlooked.”
Adams graduated in 1998 from Anson High School and attended South Piedmont Community College. Since graduation, he has held several positions on outreach boards, the school system and election board positions.
He is a former teacher’s assistant at Anson High School, from 2004-08; board member for the Anson County Partnership for Children as well as Juvenille Crime Prevention; a former junior varsity basketball coach at Anson High from 2005-07; and team chaplain for the Anson football team since 2004.
He serves on the MLK Celebration Committee; the boards for Toys for Tots and NextGen Council of Centralina Workforce Development; is executive director of CityReach Non Profit; a notary; and has been Anson County elections director since 2012. He started as assistant director in 2008, and is a state certified elections administrator.
Adams added that he will be a nationally certified elections administrator and receive his bachelor’s degree in public administration in August.
Adams has also kept the family outreach ministry going throughtout his years in Anson, serving as the youth pastor, executive pastor, associate pastor, and the current lead pastor of Harvest since 2010; and keeps the mission of his parents alive.
The vision was, is and always will be “ Finding Needs and Filling Them, Finding Hurts and Healing Them.”
Adams added examples of the beginning visions and how they have menifested over the years.
The vision was to start a food pantry, which started in 1995, and Helping Hands Food Distribution continues today. The vision was to buy buses and bring children and families to church, and still happens today.
“The vision, of course, centrally was bring the hope of Christ to a community,” Adams said. “The vision was and is to do ‘whatever it takes’ to reach people — where they are, out of the box methods, different hooks to draw people to Christ, and use whatever tools we had to help change lives including meeting needs in the communities.”
Adams added that the overal mission was the outreach and restoration of people, families and lives; not to just preach to people behind a pulpit, but to reach people in communities.
“The vision was to change communities, block by block,” Adams said. “One of the main components was to bring races together.”
Adam’s community service outreach, both individually and with his family and Harvest includes GED programs, a homeless shelter, and a basketball, exercise and recreation area for youth and families.
“The first block party Harvest held in the lower project brought over 500 people who were given groceries, gifts, clothing, bicycles, and more,” Adams said.
These continued to be held almost 20 years later.
They have given out 10,000 Coca-Cola products and their shelter, The House of Hope, has seen 300 people come through to receive help and assistance since 2004.
“The shelter was created due to three gentleman sleeping on our buses during a snow storm — since then we have seen marriages restored, jobs found, and more,” he added. “Serving in Anson High School schools has been a huge blessing and impact, being able to provide shoes, jerseys, meals and support to now hundreds of student athletes throughout the years.”
Each year 500 toys and gifts are given out as part of Community Christmas Blessing. Thousands of School Supplies are given out at the annual Stuff the Bus Event.
A few years ago there was a large sinkhole at the entrance of Harvest Ministries and this event had to be moved to the Burger King parking lot. More than 900 people still attended.
“This is a great memory,” he added. “They all are great and significant. One that I will never forget is when a young man came through our shelter, got his life right with Christ, and a few weeks later tragically died in a car accident. “
Adams added this memory reminds him of the importance of their mission.
“We only have a small window of opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life. We need to make it count,” he said.
Adams said his “call to action” for the community is simple: go, because if you decide to live in Anson, it’s home and if you want it better, you work, put boots on the ground, and put legs on your prayers.
“You may not be able to do it all, but you can do something,” he said.”When folks needed to get to church; we started a bus and went and got them. Folks needed groceries, we went to the store, bought some items and opened the doors to feed them. Folks needed shelter, we built some walls, put a bed down and helped them.”
Adams gives credit to his parents, the reason he and his brother stayed in Anson County. He added that without them there is no Steve Adams, and there is no Harvest Ministries. God gives vision, but it takes people to carry it out.
“After college and school we decided the heart for people — specifically Anson County they showed us — was engrained in our lives as well, and being able to give back to our now home is amazing,” he said. “Anson County has been the greatest blessing to the ‘Adams family.’”
This includes in their personal lives and careers. His brother was the Anson County Teacher of the Year multiple times at various schools and in their spiritual lives.
“I am forever grateful that God sent my family here now over 24 years ago,” Adams said. “We came to a place that we never intended to stay — and now live in a place we never intend to leave.”
Adams added, “What has made that change in our hearts is simple — people are our only business and Anson County has some of the best.”
Harvest Ministries traces its start to when Tim Adams moved to Anson County from Ohio in 1995. Over time, many programs have become a part of what Harvest offers under the direction of Pastor Steve Adams, Tim’s son who was a sophomore in high school when the family moved.
