Harvest Christian Church celebrates 40 years
From humble beginnings with just five Gqeberha families meeting in each other’s homes to a congregation of about 3,000 people, Harvest Christian Church celebrated its ruby anniversary yesterday.
Senior pastor at the church, Mark Scholtz, 44, said he was thrilled to be celebrating the momentous occasion with his leadership team and congregation.
“Being 40 years old, Harvest is almost as old as I am, so it’s already had two generations of leadership and we are the third.
“It’s a privilege that we get to be the generation that celebrates this milestone.
“I feel like we’re celebrating on behalf of all previous generations and perhaps even those to come,” Scholtz said. Ten years ago, Scholtz took over the church’s leadership from his father, John.
“There’s something about Harvest, which I’ve noticed over the years and I’m so thankful that it hasn’t changed: it’s never been known as Ivan’s church or John’s church and it’s not known as Mark’s church either.
“Harvest has always been bigger than those leading it.
“It’s God’s church, made up of a wonderful group of leaders and a congregation who make it what it is.”
Harvest was founded in 1983 by pastor Ivan Vorster.
As the church grew, Vorster secured two classrooms at Marist Brothers school — present-day Walmer Park Shopping Centre.
Sunday services were held in one classroom and children’s church in the other at the new Harvest centre, while fellowship and ministry continued during the week in people’s homes where baptisms were often conducted in swimming pools.
John and Jayne Scholtz and their family arrived in Gqeberha in 1984 from a mission hospital in Manguzi on the Mozambique border.
John was told by his medical practice partner to consider joining a fledgling gathering of “on-fire believers” who called themselves Harvest Christian Fellowship. Within a year, the classrooms had become too small and the about 100 congregants merged with the Pentecostal Holiness Church, and took ownership of the grounds in Albert Road, Walmer.
But once again, just a year later, the new Harvest church building was no longer able to accommodate the growing congregation, and a bigger venue was needed.
Back to Marist Bothers it was, but this time to the school hall, which served as an ideal facility until more space was needed for the ever-expanding church.
In 1986, plans were drawn up to build a bigger auditorium attached to the existing building in Albert Road
And 37 years later, Harvest church celebrated the completion of its latest building project.
The new building in Albert Road will be able to accommodate about 2,000 people.
“Our new building is a testimony to God’s faithfulness,” Scholtz said.
“We knew in our hearts that this would be the year we’d complete the final phase of the project.
“We started 2023 with no money left in our building fund and an economic crisis in the world, but with one miraculous provision after the next we marvel at how the Lord has provided everything we needed to complete it and move in.
“We believe that along with all the other wonderful churches, we are part of the answer [for this metro]. We want to keep playing our part for the next 40 years.”