Hosting conferences is one of our primary callings as a ministry. To date we have hosted about fifty. However, I have never felt the kind of anticipation that I had for Harvest Fest 2003, which was held last week. I was not disappointed. It surpassed all of my expectations. I have no doubt that it was the most significant meeting of any kind that we have ever hosted.

I want to personally thank all of you who attended, and those who could not, for your prayers for us during that time. I talked to one young man who arrived near the end of the conference after driving straight for almost eighteen hours. When I asked him why he would do that just to arrive at the end, he said, “I heard from friends who were here that this was not just another conference, but a historic event.” I agree that it was. I am confident that Harvest Fest 2003 will be looked back upon as a turning point for the church in our times.

What happened that was so significant? We prayed and prepared for this conference probably more than any other in our history, and worked harder to bring it all together, along with our co-hosts, Stony Point Christian Publications. Our main goal was to provide a place for the Holy Spirit to move as He pleased. He came and He did move. There was an impartation and a commission for a new breed of ministry in the church.

We knew beforehand that many of those attending would be true apostles and prophets in the last days, which are now being prepared to lay a new foundation in the church. This foundation is really not new, for the true foundation is Jesus Christ, who is going to be the Head of His church. There is a lordship of Christ coming to the church, which is going to release the true gospel of the kingdom in our times. Many of those who are going to be a part of this were at Harvest Fest.

There were a number of messages that came forth at Harvest Fest, which may have been some of the most powerful ever in our conferences. However, they were not the whole message. The worship hit levels of intensity and power, which caught even some of our most seasoned veterans off guard, and may have opened a door into a whole new realm of worship. Even so, it was not just the worship that made this a historic turning point.

The messages were more than just the spoken messages and the messages in the songs. A big part of the message was the event itself. An atmosphere was created that was different than anything we have experienced before. Part of this was the three thousand campers that camped on the grounds. Tents and campers were everywhere, and there were even little tent villages where groups had come together from churches or a city. There were bonfires all around, with other, sometimes ingenious, ways people had for stimulating fellowship.

Nearly one hundred other ministries, churches, artists, and publishers who hosted booths and set up exhibits, gave part of the message by sharing their vision and purpose. These ministries did not just provide exhibits—they provided ministry. Some even brought ministry teams. I spent a lot of time with the exhibitors and never felt the first hint of competition, but rather the opposite—they all seemed to be bonding with their neighbors so that a tremendous sense of fellowship prevailed over their whole area. This drew in, not only the campers, but the thousands of others who were staying in hotels, as well as the locals and day trippers. As we had expected, it was the spiritual atmosphere created by everything together that was a large part of the message.

It was because of this special atmosphere that many wonderful things started happening. Neil Blake set up a baptismal under the big tent and the shouting and hollering coming from it was like music. Some of the food vendors were not Christians, and I’m sure this was like no other event they had worked. As to be expected, they were ambushed by God. The “ribs man” was born again. He went right over to the big tent to be baptized. As his first day as a new Christian he led the “turkey man” to the Lord, and brought him over to be baptized.

There were reports of others getting born again. Over sixty children were baptized in the Holy Spirit, as well as some adults. There were reports of noteworthy miracles, and I’m sure we have only heard about a small number that took place. One of the most fulfilling things to me was the way most of this did not happen from the pulpit, or even in the meetings, but from the members of the body ministering to one another at the campsites, at the exhibitor booths, and around the food vendors.

Many were swimming daily in the large pool, skateboarding on the half pipe, as well as playing football, volleyball, and other sports and activities which took place all over the grounds. I did not hear a single report of any strife or even so much as an argument. As I looked out over the campground each day, I felt such a wonderful sense of community. I thought forty years in the wilderness with a wonderful group of people like this would have been a great way to spend that time!

As expected, there were groups from many nations and denominations who attended Harvest Fest. Even so, we are one community and one family. One of our most basic goals for the gathering was to provide a place and an atmosphere where the different members of the body of Christ could get to know each other, and minister to each other.

In this I think Harvest Fest was not only a great success, but also what could be the beginning of a big family reunion every year. Even though the meetings and worship went to a much higher level than we were even hoping for, if it had not been for anything but the interchange and fellowship that took place, the whole thing would have been worth it.

As many of our conferences have been described, Harvest Fest was “a happening” more than an event. We know that there were many things that could have been done much better, and we had numerous technical and other problems, some of which were major. At times we had traffic backed up to the Interstate. Even so, I never heard the first complaint from anyone.

The owners of the property said that they had never hosted such a wonderful group of people. They marveled at how clean everything was kept. You could not find any trash on the grounds, and the place was left much cleaner than before we came. They really want us to come back. We are.

It is no small feat to host approximately three thousand campers, as well as thousands of others who did not sleep there, but were with us for most of the time (estimates are that 10,000 to 12,000 people attended at least part of the festival). As it was our first time hosting anything like this, we knew that everything would not go smoothly, and it didn’t.

Even so, it actually went smoother than we had even hoped for. This could only have been the grace of God. Grace comes as a result of faith and seeking, and the teams from Stony Point Christian Publications and MorningStar worked for months planning and preparing for this event. We also had nearly eight hundred volunteers from our churches and Shiloh Christian Fellowship who worked hard while everyone else was enjoying themselves.

In every way Harvest Fest 2003 exceeded my expectations. I have no doubt that it was a historic event, which marked the beginning of a major change. I am not claiming that this is happening just at Harvest Fest, but Harvest Fest will certainly have a part in it.

These are important times. The seals in the book of Revelation are being opened, and the trumpets are beginning to sound. There was a clear trumpet call that went forth from Harvest Fest, but it was not just one note. I was shown before this conference that we were going to receive a trumpet blast right in our face. It would be a message that would wake us up like we have never been awakened before. However, as we are told in I Corinthians 13:9, “...we prophesy in part.” The message that came forth was not just a single note, but many. It was composed of what everyone brought which all fit together in a very remarkable way. That is the way it is supposed to be in the body of Christ.

We will be going over what we perceived the message to be from Harvest Fest 2003 and publishing it. We will also be making all of the tapes and videos of this event available as quickly as possible, and will give notice of their availability on our website and through our other publications.

There will be a Harvest Fest 2004. To date, there has been grace from God on almost every conference we have hosted to go to a higher level than the previous ones. As I was shown in the vision that I wrote about in The Final Quest, we are making a level by level climb up the mountain until we enter the heavenly realm. We want to go higher next year. The best way for that to happen is for all of us to be much closer to the Lord when we come together then.

It is no accident that the Van Hoy Campgrounds where we held Harvest Fest is on Jericho Road. It is time to cross the Jordan River and start possessing our inheritance. Harvest Fest 2004 will be around the same dates next September. Make your plans now to be there. We will be posting the specifics on our website within a few weeks.

O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.

For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.

He subdues peoples under us, and nations under our feet.

He chooses our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.

God has ascended with a shout, the Lord, with the sound of a trumpet.

Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a skillful psalm.

God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.

The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the
God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly
exalted (Psalm 47).