FAQS

UHM is a 501(C)(3) organization. Under the umbrella of UHM are five areas. The areas include Harvest Center in the South Bronx, Hope for the City which began in Detroit, IGNITE young adult mentoring program, The Bridge School of Mission, and Go-Mission.

UHM is called to reach people of all ages who feel hopeless with the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our support comes entirely through generous donors and churches who partner with us for the fulfillment of the mission to reach and empower the poor and disenfranchised with the hope of the Gospel.

Two scriptures are foundational to this ministry. God speaks to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 and says, "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I ordained a purpose for your life." We believe that everyone is loved by God and created with a divine purpose, a destiny. Pursuing God is the pathway to the discovery and fulfillment of that destiny.

A second scripture foundational to this ministry is Isaiah 61:1-4. This scripture speaks about the purpose of the Gospel among the poor and suffering, bringing "beauty from ashes, joy in place of mourning, hope instead of despair." This scripture goes on to speak about the destiny of the poor and suffering to rise from their suffering and become world changers. Urban Harvest exists to reach the poor, hopeless and broken and empower them to change the world around them.

The primary methods that we use to share the Good News are serving people and building relationships of trust that open doors to share the hope of the Good News with the lost and broken.

The basis of discipleship and evangelism is relationship. We truly have no right to share what we believe with anyone unless we develop trust in a relationship of unconditional love. From this foundation, God will open doors to share the Truth with relevance, speaking in a heart language that relates to people and touches their innermost needs. People then own the message and hope becomes reality in their lives.

As relationship is the basis of our discipleship and evangelism, so relationship is the basis of building trust in communities. Our first step in planning outreach is to build relationship with the leaders and people of the community. We listen closely to the community needs as expressed by the people, and we base our outreach on those needs. Listening and responding to their felt needs builds trust and strengthens outreach ministry. 

The most effective methods of follow up are those that build relationships with people: spending time with the person, listening to his/her needs, and learning how to support the spiritual journey of that individual or family most effectively. Through this, we also encounter ways to empower the individual and family related to the felt needs in their lives. This is not a rushed process. It is carried out over time in a growing relationship of mentoring and discipleship.

Partnership is vital to our ministry. We build networks of churches and organizations who are compatible with the vision of Urban Harvest. We share vision for their communities, impart our principles and methods, and then empower and equip servant leaders to share ownership of the outreach and to prepare them to lead. Giving ownership and preparing their leadership is what makes the work sustainable.

Nothing is sustainable without the empowerment of servant leaders to carry out the work. We focus on empowering and equipping servant leaders. We do this through teaching and example. We follow the old adage, "We do it, you watch. We do it together. You do it, we watch." Then, we move on and do it with someone else.

The two most central tenets of our philosophy of ministry are: a) reaching the lost and hurting and b) empowering them into servant leadership. We share ownership of ministry and position people to become servant leaders among their own people in the areas we work. It is one of our greatest blessings for people to grow in their faith and become empowered servant leaders changing the world around them.

Many years ago, we developed training for servant leaders that focuses on building their foundations and equipping them for ministry. We continue to do this today, recognizing that each life can change the lives of many others. Those who are not a part of one of our ministry locations can still receive this training through The Bridge School of Ministry. More info on that can be found here or by contacting us directly at urbanharvest@uhm.cc

The safest place to be is in the center of God's plan. We are always careful and wise on the streets, but we know most of all that God is with us. We also have many relationships on the streets and the people of our community know us well, but we do not trust in man; we trust in the Lord.

UHM is supported entirely by people like you, people who stand with us in partnership to carry out the vision of this ministry to bring the hope of the Gospel to the hurting and those who have not heard. Prayer is the most vital. There have been so many times that people called or wrote us that they felt the need to pray, and it was a time of urgently needed prayer. Through prayer and support, people stand with us everywhere we go.

Click here to find out more about partnering with UHM or contact us at urbanharvest@uhm.cc