There are pilgrimages and gathering events all the way through the Bible. There is power in these moments. This is what keeps us energised – knowing that when we come together to encounter Jesus, however young or old, whatever our circumstances or abilities, we are empowered for living out the greatest commandment and the great commission. We are changed to be change-makers. We gather, we grow and we go.
For 45 years, Spring Harvest has created the opportunity to step out of the ordinary and commit time to connect with God.
This year, over 600 children and young people made a decision to follow Jesus at Spring Harvest. Hundreds of others took important steps forward in their journey of faith. We recently met Fraser, whose mum kept the letter he wrote at Spring Harvest as a child, telling her he was called to be a missionary. He now serves remote communities around the world with Mission Aviation Fellowship.
One of our favourite recent emails came from a parent: “My 8-year-old daughter has had an awesome week. She gave her life to Jesus. We go to church as a family, so I asked her what was different. She said, ‘Before, I knew about God, but this week I met Him’. She woke up on the morning after making a commitment to follow Jesus, and immediately was reading her Bible, instead of playing on her tablet.”
We receive so many messages that fill us with hope and excitement. There are testimonies of physical and emotional healing, relationships renewed, faith ignited and callings received:
“We came to SH exhausted and weary. We are coming home with our hearts fed and alive again. Praise God!”
A new joy we have discovered is that it’s not just being at the event itself that can have this impact. We’ve pioneered ways of enabling encounters in the post-pandemic world. Digital spaces have become more important than ever in accessing worship and Bible teaching. Having a livestream as an additional event space has meant that many have been able to meet with God wherever they are, be it the Shetland Islands, a hospital bed or a prison cell.
We’ve also expanded access to encounter and equipping throughout the year. My Spring Harvest is a free web-based resource area, and My Spring Harvest Plus is a subscription site with thousands of hours of great teaching recordings, many with captions and Sign Language interpretation.
We hope that our work looks something like what we see in Nehemiah 8; all ages getting together, squeezing into a square within the walls of Jerusalem, Ezra reading the scriptures aloud and all the people are helped to understand. They respond in praise and worship, led to tears as they hear God’s word afresh. Nehemiah declares that this is a holy moment – a time to celebrate, share food, share the good news and find their strength in the joy of the Lord. So begins a hearty knees-up, intermingled with mission and evangelism. It’s one of my favourite Bible passages, showing the power of a large group encounter with God.
But right at the start of anything, is an individual discovering how much they are loved by God. This year, we heard from someone who turned up at Spring Harvest reluctantly, following loss and struggle:
“I’d lost any sense that God might love me, be for me, and be with me as a friend… [but that evening] I knew something had changed. The dark cloud that had been hanging over me had lifted, there was a new lightness in my heart that has remained since then. My circumstances haven’t changed much… but I can honestly say that I feel I’ve got God’s smile back.”
Encountering God’s smile is the beautiful beginning of being empowered for the spiritual adventure we are called to live. Those are the encounters Spring Harvest hopes to keep making space for.
