Case Study:  Harvest Bible Chapel Granger, IN

Harvest Granger began with 13 people interested in founding a new church.  They launched in an elementary school in February of 2009 with 250 people.  They settled in at 150 and then began to grow. 

They formed a facility team.  They collected a $13,000 facility offering initially, and began searching.  The team got excited about a 24,000 sf. warehouse on a major road.  However, the Elders were not excited because the site was landlocked, and the price was high.  The owner stopped communication, and God closed the door.

But Pastor Trent was building a relationship with the Pastor of a local church that was dying.  They began to discuss a “Church Adoption” where this church would join Harvest.  They worked on a plan for an entire year, and things were looking promising.  Then in January of 2011, the pastor resigned abruptly, and the deal fell apart. 

Nothing happened for 6 months.  Then, Pastor Trent got a call on Friday.  The elders of this other church said, “We’re in.”  The leaders from two churches met on Saturday, and announced the adoption on Sunday.  God did it in just 3 days. 

This happened while Granger was at about 300.  The new building needed to be renovated and expanded.  It was only 4,000 sf., so they hoped to add another 3,000 sf.  The new building would seat 600.  The project would cost $850,000. 

In July of 2011, they held a facility offering and collected $400,000 in cash and $200,000 in pledges over a 3-year period.  They had saved up $250,000, and they borrowed $200,000. 

After 3 years of worshiping in a school gym, they moved into their new facility in February of 2012. 

They had 470 at their last Sunday in the gym.  They had 601 people at their first service in the new building. 

The new facility accelerated the ministry.  “Whiplash” is the word Pastor Trent used to describe the experience.  The new building is surrounded by 60 acres.  The owner attends the church, and the leaders are praying he will donate the land to the mission.