Date Announced for 2011

This year's Harvest Sunday is scheduled for Sunday, October 9, 2011. Begin to make plans now. More details will be announced soon.

Did You Host a Specific Prayer Time on Sunday?

We'd love to hear what you did. Post how you handled "Harvest Sunday" below. We'll send you a free "Harvest Sunday" VFY T-Shirt to the first 10 people who post. Thanks.

YOUR CHURCH CAN PRAY FOR NEW HARVEST WORKERS

I love this time of year. I had the privilege over the past weekend to spend several hours in my car driving through the gorgeous countryside of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains and the Southern Tier of New York State. Although not quite peak “leaf viewing” season, I enthusiastically admit that the spectacular views of the forests ablaze with autumn colors were absolutely amazing. The orange, yellow, and red, blended together with the green, formed breathtaking panoramas of our God’s creative genius. I love this time of year!

My travels also took me past field-after-field of busy farmers who were utilizing the weekend’s beautiful weather to harvest their crops before what soon will be a dark, long, and cold winter. This visual aid reminded me again of the great need for a new generation of “harvest workers” to head into God’s global harvest. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself put it this way, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2)

Truly the harvest is great! If the world’s population was significant back then, it is truly enormous now. Statisticians tell us that the population of the world is growing by a BILLION people in just over 12 years. Look around. People who need the Lord are everywhere. It doesn’t take “rocket science” to see a lost and needy world in desperate need of a Savior.

The laborers are few! It’s also quite obvious to see that the world’s mission fields need new workers. New Christian workers, church planters, and missionaries are needed immediately in every country on every continent – including the United States. For years and years, many Christian leaders have referred to the statistic about the great number of retiring evangelical missionaries. If that particular statistic was true back when the Moody Monthly magazine reported it; it must be exponentially true now. Members of what Tom Brokaw called “the Greatest Generation” are dying. The once-dominant Baby-Boomers are soon to retire in record numbers; while the Gen’X’ers and Millennials are still trying to make their way in vocational ministry.

Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers! The harvest IS great – and the laborers ARE few. God’s solution is to pray!

The Lord Himself gave us His plan for impacting the world’s ever-growing population – we are to pray! Friends, when was the last time your church prayed specifically and intentionally for the Lord to call a new generation of harvest workers in His harvest?

Let me be even more pointed. When was the last time your church sent out a new missionary? Of course, some readers are active in churches that continually equip, train, and send new missionaries and Christian workers into the world’s needy mission fields. But, many are not.

We must be intentional about asking God to call a new generation into His global harvest! He has commanded us to do that.

That’s why Vision For Youth has instituted this international campaign called “Harvest Sunday.” We’re calling all churches everywhere to carve out some time on Sunday, October 10, 2010 (10.10.10) to pray for God to send new workers into His harvest. This won’t cost you any money, and it doesn’t require a huge promotional effort on your part. All we’re asking is for you to schedule some time on Sunday, Oct. 10th to pray specifically for God to call a new generation of people into vocational ministry.
Some churches will take some time during their morning worship service to pray. Other churches will take the entire Sunday School hour to pray, and other churches will schedule an early morning prayer meeting. The ideas are up to you. The important thing is to pray.

Please use whatever influence you have in your church to call people to pray. Send letters. Make phone calls. Send text messages or e-mails. Ask your youth group or Sunday School class to pray. If nothing else, drop to your knees that morning and ask the Lord to call new workers into His harvest. In doing that, you’ll join others, from Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and even North America, in calling out to God to call new workers into His global harvest.

This is what the Lord Himself asked us to do!

-Mel Walker, Vision For Youth, Inc.

ABWE Joins "Harvest Sunday" Campaign

We just received word from Dr. Tony Beckett (vice president of church ministries) at ABWE that they will join our international campaign for “Harvest Sunday” on October 10, 2010!! We are very thankful for their networking with us to ask our Lord to call a new generation into His global harvest. Take a look at: www.abwe.org. We'll post more information about this in days ahead.