2021 Mid-Year Update
Celebrating a year of launching, leading, and multiplying thriving churches together.
Harbor Friends and Family,
As we cross the mid-year threshold, our team spent some time reflecting on God’s grace to us over the last six months. After two hard years of organizational transition, a pandemic, and a comprehensive rebrand, an exciting season of forward momentum seems to be surfacing. So many things come to mind for which we are grateful, and this update will include much evidence of God’s grace in the form of ministry updates, stories, testimonials, answered prayers, and more. Before you dive more deeply into these updates, here’s a quick update on three high-level priorities we’re pursuing.
First, we’re growing.
Harbor Network now consists of 100 churches across 23 states. Since January we have added 9 new churches to the network, and we’re now supporting more church planters financially each month than we ever have — 27! In total, we have given $235,847 to church planters in the first 6 months of 2021. We also support five additional churches that expressed a specific need at the beginning of this year — the total amount for this “above and beyond” giving for church planters is $20,000 through the end of June.
It appears this growth is going to continue — and at a quicker pace than our first ten years. More existing churches and church planters from across the country are reaching out than at any time in our ten-year history, curious about what partnership might look like with Harbor. Growth is hard and it comes at a cost. It will require changes and adjustments — organizational and personal. But growth also brings opportunity. For us, that means an opportunity for more thriving churches across the US.
Second, we’re leaning more deeply into our vision to help launch 125 new churches.
Since launching our “125 by 2025” church planting vision at the beginning of 2020, Harbor has now helped launch 13 new churches! We praise God for each of these couples, knowing that planting churches during a pandemic is exceptionally challenging. We have invited another four couples to our August church planter assessment and have more than two dozen church planters actively exploring planting with us in the next few years.
Third, we’ve been working on the final phase of our rebrand.
Having launched the Harbor brand last October, the last six months have given us time to work on The Harbor Way, a vision piece that will bring all the key elements of our mission, vision, and values (who we are and where we’re going) in alignment with an updated ministry model (what we do) to serve a growing network. In essence, we’ve been clarifying the “blueprints” for what we want to (re)build now that we’re Harbor—the trellis supporting the vine of more church multiplication. This document will provide the foundation for future organizational decisions including our ministry offerings, staffing, and fundraising initiatives. It’s been hard, but exciting work for our team!
More than 100 people are serving Harbor!
Beyond these three priorities, we now have over 100 men and women serving across the network providing counsel for our board and staff, care for pastors and their wives, content through Harbor Media, assessment for church planters, making trips to visit future Harbor churches, and cultivating deeper relational connections with pastors, wives, and ministry leaders. I love our deep, dynamic partnership culture here at Harbor!
Why we do what we do!
In all these labors, we find our joy and hope not in stats or in our efforts, but in the beliefs that as we help pastors and leaders launch, lead, and multiply thriving churches across the US, more people — both now and in future generations — can experience lasting renewal through Jesus Christ through strong, healthy churches. We imagine a day fifty years from now when there exists across this country a movement of hundreds of thriving, multiplying churches displaying the beauty, diversity, unity and goodness of our great God through the gospel of Jesus in the power of his Spirit so that every man, woman, and child across this country might hear about, respond to, and live their life serving Jesus Christ.
Until then, we partner together in this work God has given us.
For more thriving churches,
Dave O.
Executive Director
Church Planting
& Multiplication
Building off of the tremendous work of Jamin Stinziano, Nate Johnson, and the team at Summit Church, we hired Ed Marcelle as the full-time Director of Church Planting & Multiplication (CP&M). Looking forward to a new season of planting, Ed onboarded in April and spent the last quarter getting to know our network—our people and history. If you haven’t heard Ed’s story yet, we encourage you to listen to his episode on This is Harbor Network.
We aim to launch 125 new churches over the next five years, nearly doubling the number we have started in our 10-year history. It is a large task and more about need than numbers. The post-Christian America that we were once warned of has been the norm in the Northeast for a decade now. It happened in America's original bible belt, in the shadow of pulpits where puritan preachers thundered words that accompanied revival, and it is coming to a bible belt near you.
“We aim to launch 125 new churches over the next five years, nearly doubling the number we have started in our 10-year history.”
This is a challenge for us all, and one we are eager to accept. In the year ahead, we will be sharing more about the work of surfacing more planters, equipping them, and seeing new churches become active parts of our Harbor family. To further the vision of launching 125 new churches, we will need a threefold increase in the number of assessments. Focusing on an increased “funnel width” to connect with potential planters, training post-assessment planter families in residencies, and developing area collaboratives where we have clusters of Harbor churches to work better together are the places where our current strengths can help build the future of our CP&M ministries. As we send more planters, we will provide them with a cohort centered around two new retreats built for plant leadership and spiritual health. We humbly seek a future only the Spirit can supply—Harbor churches working together to plant more thriving churches that make more disciples for the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
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Leader Care
& Support
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Lead Pastor and Wives’ Retreat
After a year off due to COVID-10, our lead pastors and wives’ retreat was able to move forward this year, providing 180 pastors and wives with much-needed rest and renewal to fuel their return to the open waters of ministry. This is a huge investment of resources for us, but the fruit each year is so evident. We heard from so many who came that it breathed fresh life into your marriage and ministry. That’s why we do this each year! Here’s a testimony from one of our pastors:
“Krystal and I are so grateful for our time at the Harbor Network Lead Pastors and Wives Retreat. The relaxed schedule gave us space to press into the Lord, to connect with one another, and to have so many meaningful and encouraging conversations with other ministry leaders. We left the retreat renewed and so encouraged to return to our church ready to serve from a place of resting in Christ.”
— Chris Jones, Redeemer Community Church
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Harbor Media
Led by Casey and Jess Smith with support from Ronnie Martin and Mark Owens, we launched Harbor Media this spring! This content arm of Harbor Network is now home to our This is Harbor Network podcast and a new blog featuring articles centered on our core values.
“Around the time we joined the network they were quoting this old maritime proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” That’s been our experience with Harbor Network. The waters of church planting can sometimes be dark and murky, and we wouldn’t be where we are without this network joining us in voyage. We found encouragement, resourcing, and coaching, but above all: family.”
— Sean Nolan, Engage Albany
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Care & Counsel
Led by Ronnie & Melissa Martin, our care and connect ministry is regularly serving pastors behind the scenes in a variety of ways. We’re currently assisting elders teams at over a dozen network churches working through specific issues such as the transition of their lead pastor, elder conflicts, building campaigns, mergers, and strategic planning. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our churches in these ways as a trusted place for support and counsel.
“Being adopted into Harbor is a highlight of 2021 for Renew Church. We are convinced that collaborating together with other like-minded leaders was the next step, but it’s more than strategy and impact. There’s truly exceptional power in gospel friendships. At the LP&W Retreat, Kari and I stood with arms raised high, praising Christ alongside so many who have patiently endured and served through this season of impossible ministry. Tears flowed and perspective followed. We have benefited tremendously through connection, care, and especially the camaraderie of going the same direction with 100 churches. We thank the Father for a place at the Harbor.”
— Jeff Patterson, Renew Church
2021 has been a year of new beginnings…
New Planters
Five new church plants have been launched through Harbor this year:
King’s Cross Church, Plymouth, MA - Led by David Duran
Immanuel Church, Petaluma, CA - Led by Kelly Graham
Capitol City Church, Austin, TX - Led by Robby Moore
Jacob’s Well (Antioch First Baptist), Nashville, TN - Led by Matthew Gray
Proclaim Church, Boynton Beach, FL - Led by William Torres
As a healthy family does, continue reaching out to these leaders, praying for their families and churches, and supporting the work God is doing in and through them.
“I saw in Harbor a network that financially resourced church plants generously, cared deeply about the soul and health of planters and their wives, and I saw a vision I could believe in. I valued how Kristin (my wife) was treated as a partner in ministry and not a trophy wife, I valued how much my soul/heart were emphasized, and I saw a track record of planting churches that were healthy and multiplying. Lastly, I saw a network that would challenge me to take my aspirational values and see them come to fruition personally, as a couple, family, and church here in Austin. I believe Harbor is a family that'd help me endure to the end.” — Robby Moore, Capitol City Church
New Churches
When an existing church (self-supported, self-governed) joins the Harbor Network family, we call this Church Adoption. Our growing Church Adoption ministry, under the leadership of Casey and Jess Smith, has been busy serving many churches that are in our process.
Four churches have been adopted this year:
Grace Church Dallas, Dallas, OR | Lead Pastor: Dave Bertolini
Renew Church, Oregon City, OR | Lead Pastor: Jeff Patterson
Gospel Life Mission Church, Anaheim, CA | Lead Pastor: Thomas Hwang
Missio Dei, Cincinnati, OH | Lead Pastor: Kurt Hannah
If you know of an existing church that may be well-aligned and interested in joining Harbor, please email Casey Smith to begin a conversation.
new staff
Over the last six months, we welcomed three new staff to our team!
Ed Marcelle, Director for Church Planting & Multiplication
Jess Smith, Communications and Admissions Coordinator
Jerrica Baxter, Events and Operations Coordinator
Stories
In addition to all that is new above, here’s a few stories that will inspire and encourage you. Feel free to share with your team!
Brandon Woodard and Reconcile Community Church
During the pandemic, they were feeding 300 families 5 days a week!
God sustained their efforts, sending checks from all over the country.
RCC received enough gifts in December 2020 to fulfill their entire 2021 budget, allowing Brandon to step down from one of his jobs!
Matthew Gray and Antioch First Baptist Church
In January 2020, Matt’s church plant (Jacob’s Well) started meeting as a core group, then hit COVID and the “pivot to Zoom” was made.
Shortly thereafter, a visitor attended the core group meeting and connected Matt with her mom’s church, who just had their pastor put in his retirement notice. The church was planted in 1810!
Since that time, Jacob’s Well has merged with AFBC, now a Harbor Network church, and has called Matt to be their pastor.
Jeremy Linneman and Trinity Community Church
COVID brought many challenges for churches and church plants, but TCC managed to grow and thrive in every quarter of 2020—numerically, financially, and spiritually.
When the need for a new gathering space became apparent, the Lord provided an excellent partnership with a local church in search of a church plant to bless. The Lord is faithful!
Financials
Financially, God has been kind to us. While we are slightly behind our mid-year projections, we have historically enjoyed higher giving in the last two quarters of the year than the first two. Our cash position remains fairly strong due to managed spending over the last 18 months, a second Paycheck Protection Program payment, a generous donation this spring, and a $15,000 grant from the Carson-Myre Foundation.
All of our budget projections are based on anticipated financial contributions for the year. If you have not been able to give your expected amount (currently 3%) and need to modify your pledge, please let us know. We trust that you will continue to give generously, as the majority of our funding (currently 90% of it) comes from our network churches! We want to finish the year strong, so please continue to give.
And - great news - you can now make your check out to Harbor Network, officially, and either give online here or mail a check to PO Box 4819, Louisville, KY 40204.
advisory councils
I am incredibly grateful for the service of our two advisory councils. Our General Advisory Council meets monthly, providing valuable and timely counsel on our conferences, ministry offerings, and fundraising.
Building off the great work done in 2020 to bring clarity to 13 theological distinctives, our Theological Advisory Council has been working this year to create short, 3-5 page “guides”, for each of our distinctives. These guides aim to provide an additional layer of clarity to our pastors and church planters desiring to know what our network believes and some guidance on how they can craft more contextual positions for their own congregations.
Coming this fall!
Leaders’ Summit
We’re also excited to announce that registration will go live this month for our fall Leaders’ Summit! This year’s summit will be October 12-13 in Louisville, KY. We are anticipating between 500-600 attendees for this year’s in-person event.
We believe this year’s summit offers an opportunity to explore one of our core values: renewal-driven mission and, more specifically, the idea of renewal being at the heart of sustainable ministry and mission. Our theme is dynamics of church renewal. We want to help our network think about all that God is doing in and through the church to renew his people and, through this renewal, sustain and strengthen pastors and church leaders to stay on mission and thrive in ministry. We also believe that renewal must be the center of our vision to launch 125 new churches.
Through practical training, inspirational main sessions, diverse & creative worship, testimonials from leaders throughout Harbor, and dedicated time with other brothers and sisters from across the network and nation, we want attendees to leave with their faith strengthened, their hearts stirred, their callings freshly fanned into flame, and their eyes on their God who is always at work renewing his people and especially those he’s called to lead his church.
The Post-COVID Church fall webinar series
While we wait for the Leaders’ Summit, we know that fresh questions are surfacing among our network regarding local church ministry in a post-pandemic US, questions like when our people will return to corporate worship, where new leaders will emerge, when giving will improve, and how to reinvigorate discipleship, commitment, and church planting & multiplication efforts. To help, we want to provide some webinars in August and September, safe places to talk through your questions and seek help from your network. More info will be coming soon.
Shareable updates
To help you share this mid-year update with your leaders and congregation, our team has created some helpful and very shareable resources. Enjoy and share!
