Harbor Church

Vision Statement

Download This

Why A Vision Campaign?

Site-Specific Initiatives:

 


How did we start?
Harbor Presbyterian Church was established in 2000 with a vision to ignite a church-planting movement that so fills the region of San Diego and Tijuana with the gospel of Jesus Christ that the people of the region are changed in every dimension—spiritually, socially and culturally. Our first site was located in downtown San Diego because of our desire to be a church in the city and for the city. Over the next six years, five additional sites were launched in La Jolla, Carmel Valley, Chula Vista, North Park and Mira Mesa. In addition to planting these six sites, we have reached out through a wide variety of mercy ministries to the poor and disadvantaged of San Diego and Tijuana, established a church-planting training center, initiated a marketplace ministry, and had a vital outreach to the campus of UCSD. Harbor’s multi-site strategy, as well as our team-based approach to ministry has served as an inspiration and model for other church-planting networks in the United States and other parts of the world. In March 2007, Harbor held a conference on multi-site ministry that was attended by over 100 church leaders. In the aftermath of the conference there have been a growing number of pastors and leaders who desire to join the team and plant churches with Harbor in the San Diego/Tijuana region. In addition, we have had increased opportunities to consult with other churches and networks that desire to implement our model.
>top

Where are we headed?
In the next three years, we are praying that God would plant ten additional sites of Harbor. In the fall of 2007, we are planning to launch new works in South Carlsbad, City Heights, and a Spanish-speaking ministry in Chula Vista. We also have a church planter on location in Ocean Beach to begin a work there in 2008. We will continue to recruit more church planters, offer both summer and year-round internships to future church planters, train our existing church leaders, and hire additional staff to meet the pastoral and outreach needs of our growing movement.
>top

Why should we do this?
We believe Harbor is uniquely positioned for the challenges of the next 3-5 years. We are located in an under-churched region that includes the seventh largest city in the United States. The combined population of San Diego County and Tijuana is estimated to be over 5 million, and the border crossing is the busiest in the world. Harbor’s emphasis on gospel-centered teaching, grace renewal and outward-faced missional ministry is desperately needed. With over 1,500 people who are already a part of Harbor’s church family, we have a tremendous opportunity, by God’s grace, to impact and shape our region for Christ.
>top

What will it cost?
We have already invested over $450,000 into church planting by committing 10% of our general offerings to our church planting fund. We will continue to do this, and we anticipate that the amount of money this will generate beginning in 2011 will sustain our church planting movement. Between now and then, we have a three-year window where our opportunities will be greater than our existing resources. Our options are either to slow down the progress of planting new churches and turn interested church planters away, or raise additional funds to meet the need and keep moving forward. We believe that the opportunities we would be able to seize in these next three years with a successful vision campaign will have an ongoing, exponential effect on our ability to fulfill God’s vision for Harbor in the decades ahead.

In addition to our financial need for church planting, each of our sites would also benefit from additional money that would raise the salaries of part-time staff, hire additional staff, and fund programs to reach our communities. So we have decided that one-third of the funds that each site raises will be used for site-specific initiatives.

Our total goal for the 3-year capital campaign is $2.25 million. The breakdown is as follows:

$750,000     Ten New Harbor Sites
$450,000     Harbor’s Church Planting Training Center
$300,000     Year-Long and Summer Internships
$750,000     Site-Specific Initiatives

>top

How can we do this?
We plan to raise these funds through a vision campaign that will be launched in the fall of 2007 and extend over a 3-year period. While we will need some large gifts to reach our goal, it is even more important that we have each and every family in the Harbor network excited, challenged and committed to giving what God lays on your heart to give. We serve a great Savior who has blessed us, placed us in a great mission field and promises to work through our sacrifices to advance His kingdom!
>top

 

Site-Specific Initiatives:

Downtown & Uptown Sites
We desire to take advantage of three areas of opportunity:
1) Community Life: We will offer a rich variety of church life events—friendship-building and educational—in order to enrich our community and reach out to our friends, co-workers and neighbors.
2) Mercy Ministries: We will strengthen and expand our mercy and justice initiatives in order to bring grace and hope to the poor and oppressed in San Diego and Tijuana, and to demonstrate to all God’s coming kingdom.
3) Faith and Work: We will accelerate this exciting new ministry in order to equip Christians and engage non-Christians through discussions about God and work: how to think about work, do it, and be people of integrity in it.
>top

La Jolla-UTC & Mira Mesa Sites
The funds we receive from the Vision Campaign would enable us to focus on three key areas:
1) Youth & Families: In the next three years, we are praying that God will enable us to touch hundreds of youth and families in our ministry communities. In 2006, we hired a part-time High School youth pastor who has met more than 200 students, assembled a ministry team and is positioned to lead kids and their families to faith in Christ. In 2007, we added a part-time volunteer Junior High youth pastor who is leading a group of 20 middle school students as well as a ministry team. We would like to increase our financial commitment to these leaders in order to increase the effectiveness of their ministries and our outreach to these students.
2) Mercy and Community Service: We are praying that in the next three years God will enable us to establish several significant mercy ministries in the Mira Mesa and La Jolla-UTC areas. We want to add a part-time mercy Director to our staff who can lead us to impact some of the most severe needs and bring healing to broken lives and families.
3) Campus Ministry at UCSD: The goal of our campus ministry is to establish college students in a lifestyle of faith that will continue after graduation. To accomplish this goal in our partnership with Little Spark, and to reach more campus ministries, a consistent staff presence at UCSD would be vital.
>top

Carmel Valley & Carlsbad Sites
The funds we receive from the Vision Campaign would enable us to focus on three key areas:
1) Increased Staff Support: Because of the high cost of living, our assistant pastors have been raising outside support in order to serve with us at Carmel Valley. Funds from the Vision Campaign will make it possible to increase their support to full-time status much more quickly. This will enable them to devote themselves more fully to their ministries.
2) Music and Worship Ministry: The Mershons have been a wonderful asset to our church family, and with increased funds, we would like to further enhance the quality and expression of our music and worship.
3) Facility Needs: Increased support will make it possible for us to search for a larger facility that would not only enable us to potentially combine both Carmel Valley services, but also allow us room to grow and further impact our community with the gospel in the San Diego/Carmel Valley area.
>top

Chula Vista Site
The funds we receive from the Vision Campaign would enable us to focus on two timely needs:
1) Youth Ministry: First, we would like to add a youth director to our staff, preferably bilingual, to develop our ministry to young people at our existing site and to our future site in West Chula Vista that we are planning to launch in the fall of 2008.
2) Infrastructure Development: This would include additional part-time staff that would enable us to make our ministry more effective on Sunday mornings, as well as meet more needs within our community during the week. Additional staff would enable us to better care for the people in our congregation as well as lead us in outward-facing ministries.
>top