Harvest Ministries, founded in 1999, celebrates 20 years of finding the needs of the people.
Pastor Donnie McClurkin visited throughout the annivesary weekend, along with the Anson Crusade’s guest minister Mike Satterfield.
“We saw that there was a need, and we felt like the good Lord was doing something,” said founder, Apostle Tim Adams. He left the denominations, and traveled to Wadesboro with his family.
Harvest started in Adams’ home, moved to the Amory building, and after finding its current building, settled in. The building, formerly Food Lion has undergone many renovations throughout the years, and are done in-house for the most part.
“We called, got favor from the Lord above, and met an administrator from Salisbury, whose father was a Methodist minister,” Adams added. “They said ‘you can sublease from us until the lease is up, and then you can start with the owner, Tri-City.”
Adams said that Harvest received a good deal from the minister.
“A lot of work has gone into this building,” he said. “We’ve used all 30,000 square feet for ministry.”
He went on to say, “We are about outreach. Also, we are about integration.”
Harvest is one of the only, if not the only, truly integrated church in the region.
“That is one reason why we decided to step out on faith and leave the denomination; because there was a need for us to come together,” Adams said.
Harvest’s membership is a mixture of predominantly Black and Caucasian, Latinas, and Indians.
“We started to reach out to people; people is our business,” Adams said. “It is our only business, and it is the only reason why we’re in this area.”
Adams said the plan was to stay here in the denomination, and then move to a larger city. He is originally from Cleveland, Ohio.
“Something kept moving in our heart and people kept coming,” he said. “Before you know it, we built a 450-seat sanctuary, an outreach ministry, and 40 or so ministries that run.”
Their ministries reach as far as Charlotte for the past 12 years.
“We’re not perfect at it; we join other churches to be a blessing to them, but our only goal is to reach the hurting, and to finish the work that we started,” he said. That work is integrating, and to reaching out to people at their point of need.
“From here launched a lot of busyness,” Adams said. “We’ve been to India from Wadesboro, and we’ve reached people that were unreachable.”
He recounted how there were people staying in one of their buses, and they decided to run a fan to the bus to cool them off, and it resulted in the shelter, called the House of Hope. The shelter has housed as many as 23 people at one time.
“The focus of Harvest Ministries Outreach Center is to reach people at their point of need,” Adams added.
Senior Pastor Steve Adams said that their focus has always been people. He recounted the time when the building was empty, and had been empty for 18 years or so.
“My father would walk around and say, ‘this is where we’ll put a food pantry’ or ‘this is where we’ll put a shelter,’ and I was a 19-year-old kid,” Steve Adams said. “I was thinking, ‘This guy has kind of lost his mind a little bit,’ but 20 years later we’ve seen all that come to fruition through God’s grace.”
He went on to say, “It’s amazing what God has done in 20 years.”
Harvest has partnered with a lot of people, organizations, and the County to fulfill outreach.
“It’s been amazing that God has sustained us,” Steve Adams said.
They endured a sinkhole, and for nine and a half weeks, they had to meet at the Lockhart-Taylor building. Harvest has given away $10,000 worth of Coca-Cola products, tons of groceries, thousands of articles of clothing, school supplies, Christmas toys, etc.
“Just to see God do that in 20 years is awesome,” Steve Adams said.
“The past 12 years, we’ve had over 300 people stay at the shelter, either for a night or a week,” Tim Adams said. “One guy’s been here about eight years.”
Tim Adams recounts a man that stayed at the shelter 12 years ago, who recently came by just to say thank for what they had done to help him.
“That’s a reward that only Heaven can touch,” Tim Adams said. “There are some things money can’t buy, but that thank you was enough for us.”
Tim Adams said there’s good music at Harvest, and his son is a great preacher, but the emphasis is to find the need and fill it.
“Through all the community programs we’ve been a part of, thousands of people have developed a relationship with Jesus,” Steve Adams said. “The main focus of course is that, but then to reach the needs of the people.”
Steve Adams added that it’s not just a church, but a ministry.
“I think God knew what we needed when we stumbled upon this building, and we’ve used every square inch,” Steve Adams said. “Whosoever will; that scripture is the epitome of this church.”
Harvest membership has included everybody, from doctors, lawyers, clerks, etc. Steve Adams said God has had his hand upon them, throughout the highs, lows, and in-betweens.
“For a ministry like this, which everything that comes in goes right back out, it’s got to be his faithfulness,” Steve Adams added. “God has given us favor.”
