Our Thanksgiving this year had an early start with a Christian concert, featuring nationally acclaimed artists Unspoken, Stars Go Dim, and Caitie Hurst on the Reason Tour.
The concert was paid for by 20 local businesses, so the ticket proceeds could support Harvest Bridge. Six local ministries and churches, several Christian motorcycle clubs, and over a hundred volunteers made the concert a huge success.
During the concert, the organizer, Cliff, said that he is enthusiastic about Harvest Bridge because it is real.
With this one word, Cliff captured an essential part of HB’s DNA.
From time-to-time, we tell our donors about the thousands of people who are blessed by our ministry, but HB is not focused on numbers; we are concerned with real individuals with real potential, hopes, and dreams. These people live in places with real needs – dire poverty, lack of education, homelessness, addiction, and spiritual darkness.
We understand that you have trusted us with real money requiring real sacrifice, so we spend carefully.
We don’t waste money on unnecessary facilities, or send people halfway around the world to do what local people can do. We invest in talented and committed people who have proven their ability by getting real results in spite of opposition and scarcity.
Our missionaries endure real persecution – beatings, imprisonment, and worse. These missionaries are not superheroes; they are real women and men. They are not fruitful because they are perfect, but because of their real callings and commitments to serve.
Reality focuses missionaries on what matters.
Comparing himself to an athlete, the Apostle Paul wrote that he doesn’t run aimlessly, but with a goal in mind (1 Cor. 9:26). Paul continued, “I do not box as one beating the air.” In other words, Paul wasn’t shadow boxing or “working out.” He was fighting a real battle, against real spiritual darkness, and he wanted each blow to count.
Like Paul, Harvest Bridge’s team knows that it is engaged in a real battle, with high stakes, so we use the methods chosen to get real results.
Last but not least, our work produces real joy.
While the challenges and disappointments can be daunting, everyone at Harvest Bridge has experienced the unspeakable joy of seeing lives transformed as extremely poor families become self-sustaining, children without a future succeed in school, despairing people find hope, and lost people find Christ.
So as I reflected on Cliff’s comment, I realized that his description was apt: Harvest Bridge is real. There are no frills, no pretense. Instead, as God leads, we meet real needs and address real opportunities, with the most practical means at our disposal.
As you count your blessings this Thanksgiving, please join us in celebrating what God is doing in the dark corners of the world through Harvest Bridge.
Thank you for your prayers and donations. In God’s hands, they are the seeds of good works that bring real thanksgiving and joy to hard places!
Sincerely,
Tim Mech, President
“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” ~ 2 Corinthians 9:12