23rd September 2025

 

Hello Harvest family,

What an incredible Sunday we’ve just had! It was such a joy to baptise seven people and to see the church full to bursting with worship, celebration, and the presence of God. Truly, these are days of momentum and excitement for us as a church family.

 

I also have some really exciting news to share with you today.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been on a journey of prayer and discernment as we’ve sought God’s leading for the appointment of our next Senior Pastor. The Pastoral Vacancy Committee carefully reviewed all the applications, held interviews, and unanimously recommended Pastor Sven Steffens to the Elders. The Elders, in turn, were also unanimous in affirming that recommendation.

On Monday evening we gathered for a special church meeting where we worshipped together, heard from Sven and Laura by live link, shared communion, and then held a vote of our members. I’m delighted to tell you that the result was a 100% “yes” in favour of appointing Pastor Sven as our new Senior Pastor.

We believe that God has clearly been at work in bringing Sven, his wife Laura, and their son Samuel to us at this time. They bring with them significant experience in church leadership, along with a deep sense of calling from their home in South Africa to the UK, and specifically to join with us here at Harvest.

It was such a joy to have them in worship with us on Sunday, and they shared how much they loved the vibrancy and faith of our church family.

We have already begun the detailed work of obtaining visas for the family, and our hope is to be able to welcome them before Heather and I move to Nottingham. Please continue to pray with us for a smooth and timely process.

This is truly an exciting season for our church family. Let’s thank God for His leading, and continue to pray for Sven, Laura, and Samuel as they prepare for their move and for the new chapter ahead.

 

And while we’re talking about the future, I also want to remind you of another important moment coming up in our church life. On Sunday 26th October we will be holding our Vision 2025 Offering Day.

As we announced back in June, this will be a special opportunity for us to bring our gifts for the vision offering. That offering will go towards three key areas:

 

• The development of new services and locations,

• The strengthening of our staffing structure, and

• Our new Atrium extension, for which we have now received planning permission.

 

More details will be sent to you soon, but I want to encourage you now to begin praying and asking God what He would have you give. Whether your gift feels large or small, the most important thing is that each of us listens to the Lord and responds in obedience to His prompting.

 

Finally, I want to share a quick update about moving to two services on Sundays.

As Elders, we are fully committed to this step because it will help us make more room for people and provide an accessible space for those who want to worship with us but cannot manage the stairs. However, we feel it is wise to wait until our new Senior Pastor is in place before making that move.

In the meantime, we will continue with our 10:30am service each Sunday, which is also livestreamed to YouTube. As usual, we will have multiple services at Christmas to make space for everyone who wants to join in celebrating with us.

 

Harvest, this is an exciting season. God is leading us forward. Let’s continue to pray, to give, and to step boldly into all He has prepared for us.

I look forward to seeing you over the next few Sundays - be sure to invite a friend too.

 

Peace and grace,

Pastor David