Church News

Harbor Family,

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

1. The locks have been changed on the church due to the burglary that took place last month, so if you try to use your old key it will not work.  We will be using a numbered key system whereby leaders will sign for a key that is numbered and assigned to them.  These keys cannot be duplicated.  This will stop the problem of have keys that are just, "out there" somewhere. 
2. I am waiting right now for Wes Hardin and our civil engineer to go out to the property and start the evaluation process for our new church.  This civil work is work that must be done in order for us to get down to the real numbers of what its going to cost to build the church. 
• Wes' Company, PAR construction,  has built many churches across south Georgia and have saved congregations literally hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It was totally a God thing for Wes and I to meet; it happened through a mutual friend (Rev. Steve Brown).  That being said, God connected us together in order to get this church project moving along. 
• Wes also pastored for about 15 years in Georgia, and grew his church to 1,000 in attendance. 
• He has been a tremendous help to me in the process of trying to understand all that goes into building a church.
3. The Catfish Festival is this weekend and the Harbor Worship Center Praise Team will take the stage at 5:15 and sing until 6:00 P.M.  We would love to see you standing out in the crowd wearing a "Harbor" shirt, and passing out information about the church.
4. Tevor Thomas, a Christian Comedian will be performing at the Harbor on Sunday night, Sept. 19, @ 6 P.M.  We are looking forward to a great time in the Lord.
5. Last but not least, the Camden County Wildcats will take on Miami this coming Friday night at Chris Gilman Stadium.  Go Cats!!!

P.S. College football also kicks off this weekend!!!  This ought to be fun.

Final note:  If you missed the Sunday evening service I encourage you to listen to the message online.  It is a message that speaks directly to the times in which we live, and the mindset of the people.

Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center

Illuminate Youth Revival 2010

Harbor News

Harbor Family,

God has so richly blessed us this week with the most incredible youth revival I've ever seen.  It was the culmination of tremendous teamwork, lots of prayer and sacrifice.  I want to thank the countless people who worked behind the scenes to make this the great success that it was.  This revival posted the greatest numbers that we have ever posted and you had a direct part it in. 

The Seven Teams that have recently started did and awesome job.

1. The Outreach Team called hundreds of people and promoted the revival through many different channels.
2. The Front Door Team met the people in the parking lot and did a great job with all the traffic that we had.
3. The Creative Team worked tirelessly to set the ambiance of the room to match the theme of the message.
4. The Worship Team led the church in awesome praise and worship employing new musicians and singers.
5. The Follow up Team will have their hands full this week following up on all the guests.
6. The Children's Team provided nursery care and kid's church ministries.
7. The Youth Team led the way in the revival.

If this revival don't show everyone that we have to get busy getting the new church built I don't know how one could ever be convinced.  Our crowds in the revival moved from 165, to 176, to 244, and we closed out tonight with 329.  I don't know how we put everyone in the building.  I would like to say thanks to all the young children who gave up their seats and come to sit around the altar.  This was a real blessing to the adults and displayed the heart of Christianity. 

Again, thanks for the Teamwork.  Notice the word TEAM.
T--together
E--everyone
A--accomplishes
M--more

Keep up the good work!  Together we will accomplish great things in the Kingdom of God!


Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor

Church News / Service in Valdosta

Harbor Family,

We had a wonderful service Sunday morning as we preached the message on "The Heart of Man".  It was a message that took a good look at the disciple Thomas, who was not present when Jesus appeared to the others after His resurrection.  Thomas refused to believe that the Lord had appeared to the others, in fact, he said: "Except I see Him, and touch the scars from the wounds I will not believe".  In other words Thomas was saying that seeing would not be enough by itself, but the evidence that he would see with eyes would have to be corroborated with another of his senses.  "I must feel the scars", I must handle Him to see.  It's not enough that I see Him, I must also touch Him.

Thomas had an unbelieving heart for over a week, then one day he was together with the others and Jesus showed up again.  He looked right at Thomas and said: "Handle Me and see", "It is I", "Don't be doubtful, but believe".  Thomas, I believe, looked right into His eyes and said: "MY LORD, AND MY GOD!"  At that moment he became a believer!

TRIP TO VALDOSTA: We had a great service in Valdosta at the "Abundant Life Church of God".  It was the first time that I've preached there in 16 years.  We have been gone from there 20 years this month.  It was amazing to see all the people that knew us back then and to renew acquaintances with people we haven't seen in so long.   God really anointed me to preach the message "The Cost of Giving Up", but with a little different conclusion.  The people were really blessed and touched my God.  To Him be all the Glory and Praise!

I am thankful to Adam for going with us to play in the altar service.  It really makes a difference when you're working with someone who is anointed, and who knows the way you think.  Adam, it was a real blessing to have you there with us.

I also want to applaud the Harbor family for coming out Sunday night.  I have been told that Ken preached an outstanding message.  Thank you Ken for stepping up while I was away

Wedding / Skydiving

This morning was unique; I had the opportunity to perform the wedding ceremony for two good friends of mine that I have known since I started skydiving about six years ago.  The wedding was held at the water front in St. Mary's this morning at sunrise.  After the wedding and taking some pics we went to the dropzone and made a jump together.  It was the bride (Emily), groom (Jared), photographer (Bill) and the minister (Myself).  We left the plane at 12,000 feet as the photographer shot the pics and video of the couple and myself.  There was a bride and groom kiss in free fall; it really was an amazing video.  I hope to have it posted to the blog soon.

I'm looking forward to church services tomorrow at the Harbor; tomorrow night at Abundant Life Church of God in Valdosta, Ga.  Kelly and I spent nearly six years in Valdosta.  I was stationed there while serving in the U.S. Airforce, then we went on staff at the Abundant Life Church of God (formerly the Forrest St. Church of God).  Please be in prayer for the services!

Pastor Mike Sanes

Church News/Update

Harbor Family,

The Youth Revival is almost here; it starts on Friday August 20-22.  I hope that you are inviting your friends and relatives to attend.  I know we are going to have an awesome time in the Lord.  Please remember that we will only have one morning service on Sunday the 22; it will be held at 11:00a.m.

I want to urge everyone to get involved in this ministry.  Please see the team leader that is over the area that your are interested in.  If you haven't taken the assessment yet to see where you are most gifted, please let us know and we will give it to you.  This way you will know the area that you are best suited to serve in. 

Love the Harbor Day:  On September 11 we will have "Love the Harbor Day"; this is a workday that the council has set up to show our love and appreciation for the house of worship that God has given us.  On this day we will start at 7a.m. and work till 12p.m.  We intend to accomplish a lot inside and outside of the church.  We are doing this as part of our effort to strive for excellence in the Kingdom work.

Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor

Church News

Harbor Family,

It has been a busy time since returning from the General Assembly.  This is my first post to the window since getting back, so needless to say things have been a little crazy.  That being said, God has really blessed the church with lots of new faces over the summer, even though out attendance was down.  This past Sunday we were back a little closer to what we should be doing. 

I am very excited about what is happening at the Harbor these days.  We are really starting to operate in the full swing of twenty-four to double church growth strategy (see earlier post for explanation of the program).  We have our seven team leaders appointed and they are working on filling the slots on their teams.  I encourage you to look at your assessment sheets that you have taken and then contact the leader of the team where you are most gifted to serve. 

The seven teams are:
1. Outreach/Evangelism--Becky Kneeland: this team markets all church events through various means.
2. Front Door Team--Windel Ward: this team welcomes people in the parking lot, security, greeters, etc.
3. Creative Team--Tonya Cribbs: this team creates the ambiance of the room to match the event, message.
4. Worship Team--Adam Sanes: this team involves singers, musicians, sound; they lead us in worship.
5. Follow-Up Team--Mark Presley: this team is writing letters, cards, baking and delivering bread, etc.
6. Children's Team--Dean West: this team handles all children's ministries of the church.
7. Youth Team--Josh Cribbs: this team handles all youth ministries of the church.
7b. Small Groups--TBA: this team will provide small group opportunities for discipleship and affinity groups.

At our staff meeting I explained in great detail the way this system works, and I think that many of our leaders are just now starting to come aboard and see the fullness of the plan.  It will work, it we will work it!

I am very excited about the second half of this year.  I really believe that we can consistently show growth as long as we continue help people find their giftedness and calling, if we continue to train them, then release them into ministry we will be amazed at what God will do.  He will surely reward our discipleship efforts. 

The Youth Revival is coming up very soon.  It's only a week and a half away.  I know that we are in for a real treat from the Lord.  Please continue to invite your friends and family!

Blessings!

Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, THWC