Harbor Church

News Archives

Harbor is in Transition

July 17, 2012

As Jim retires as senior pastor of Harbor Church, we are working on a transition plan for new leadership. Stay tuned......

Serving the Common Good Gets Attention of Community Leaders

July 23, 2011

The stellar moment of the week for me happened on Friday morning. Pastor Cerritos invited community leaders from across the Villa Nueva area to come together, and he asked the Houston Harbor team to provide a time of encouragement and...

Finding Courage to Risk and Hope

July 21, 2011

While most of our team has been working in a teacher training project, three of our team (Todd McCombs, Ryan Donovan, and Jovon Tyler) have been working to explore the possibility of fostering the development of small business initiatives in...

A day filled with moments - Guatemala Day #3

July 20, 2011

Praying Friends: The training went exceptionally well today. Fifty- three (53) teachers attended the morning training and forty-six (46) were in the afternoon session. They were mostly woman and about 10 men. They were mostly elementary teachers and there were...

Why Do We Choose?

July 20, 2011

I spotted him across the room during the meeting. He seemed very engaged and full of life, and he participated freely in the meeting. I was looking for someone to interview and was drawn to him. “Why do you choose...

Greetings from Guatemala: Day 1

July 18, 2011

Seven years ago, when I first came to Guatemala City, Steve Osborn, a brilliant missionary strategist who, along with his wife, Cheryl, has served in Guatemala for the past 15 years, said to me - with some passion in his...

Pancakes for La Paz was a Great Success!

July 14, 2011

Thanks to the support of our family and friends, Pancakes for La Paz netted $999.47 for a building project at the La Paz public school in Guatemala City. On Harbor’s next trip to Guatemala departing on July 18, several...

Pancakes for La Paz (OneAccord.org)

June 24, 2011

PLEASE VISIT OneAccord.org for more information, to register, and to donate. A group of us from the Harbor Community have made a long-term commitment to the restoration of a community in the Villa Nueva region of Guatemala named Linda...

Alpha House Fund Raising Progress

November 30, 2009

Harbor Church has never been a church that wants or needs a church building. We are, however, a church that recognizes that property serves the purpose of sustaining long term service in our community. We are working to pay off...

What's Been Goin' On At Alpha House?

February 5, 2009

Since Hurricane Ike, Alpha House has been in a holding pattern. Most of our guys have moved out and started new lives in their own apartments and they are doing very well. One of our guys moved out and is...

How Can You Help?

November 13, 2006

We are frequently asked how an individual can help. Today we had an open house where we made some specific “asks.” If you want to read a little about the open house, go to Jim's blog . If you want...

A New Beginning

April 15, 2006

Harbor's journey into discipling men in recovery (Alpha House) seemed like something we happened into. It's only in looking back that we can see God's hand at work. In a couple of weeks the Alpha House is moving from some...

Sharing a painful but fruitful journey

February 28, 2006

As a community, we are working a 4th and 5th Step together. As we press into learning to be more loving people and become a more loving community, we are sharing the experience of obedience and risky self-disclosure. Why would...

Working the 4th Step Together

February 22, 2006

Hearing Jesus’ words that we will love others as we love ourselves, we have been exploring our shame and guilt. One of the tools that we use as a community to do this exploring is the 12-Steps as they are...

Fearlessly Exploring What Keeps Us from Giving and Receiving Love

February 14, 2006

Thanks for the good feedback about the value of an ongoing conversation about being loving people and becoming a loving community. I hope that you are continuing to talk with and pray for each other as we press into this...

Praying For One Another To Be Free From Shame

February 7, 2006

So, we keep journeying together – learning to be more loving people and learning to be a more loving community. Believing that it is in our design to be intimately related to each other – and believing that when we...

How Does Shame Keep Us From Loving Others?

February 3, 2006

For the past month the Harbor Community has been talking about becoming more loving people. Jesus says that all the law is summarized like this . . . Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all...

Becoming A More Loving Person, Becoming a More Loving Community

January 23, 2006

Jesus said that the whole of his message could be summarized in this: • Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment....

Pray

September 14, 2005

Recently one of our pastors took an early morning bike ride in the heart of our mission field. Her reporter's eye gives you a glimpse of daily life in the place that we live and minister. On a bike ride...

An Abundant Life

August 25, 2005

Life can be difficult. Before I became a follower of Jesus, I had the expectation that if I went to church and was a law abiding, moral person, He would give me a good life....an abundant life. I believed that...

Training to godliness...

July 16, 2005

At Harbor we value living in community. Frequently I hear comments about how far short we fall in being the kind of community that our vision declares. I usually agree with these comments and acknowledge that we are in our...

Bling-Bling

May 31, 2005

Have you heard the expression “meeting jewelry”? It’s office slang, referring to the practice of inviting an extra person to a meeting because you think they add a sort of bling-bling, or dazzle, to your side’s presentation. They are not...

Values Anyone?

April 15, 2005

Yesterday, someone at Harbor said to me, "why do we always talk about our values when we meet corporately?" Great question! Ultimately, our values drive everything we do. At a deep, sometimes invisible level, our actions reflect what we value...

A Place for Ministry

March 1, 2005

We live and minister in a community that is being gentrified – I think that is the word. Old structures are being replaced with new. Poverty is being replaced with affluence. At a rapid pace the community is being changed....

January Update

January 31, 2005

I grew up in farming country. My first job, as a fourth-grader, was to walk with three other friends behind a tractor pulling a trailer in a field that had recently been cleared. In the clearing there were remains of...

Stay the Course

January 5, 2005

The day after Christmas a good friend called to say hello. In the early part of the conversation, he said, “You sound dead tired.” ”Really?” I replied. “I guess I am. I’ve got a bit of a cold and did...

December Update

December 7, 2004

December is a critical month for Harbor Church. So many of the people that God allows us to reach come from the streets, from broken families, and from a long history of medicating their feelings with drugs, alcohol, and sex....

November Update

November 9, 2004

Intercessors, leaders, and money – in that order. When people ask how they can help us in our work, these are the three things we need. We need intercessors! We have never lived in such a dark environment. Short of...

October Update

October 5, 2004

Don’t confuse the means with the end! Our mission is the transformation of Montrose. We believe that our part in that transformation is to equip followers of Jesus to be able to offer unconditional love to people in the darkest...

September 15 Update

September 13, 2004

It’s hard to express the joy we feel regarding this season of harvest. We’ve been in Montrose for six years. We’ve labored and persevered and sought the Lord – and for a long time it seemed that this was all...

September 1 Update

September 3, 2004

God continues to open doors of opportunity for us! Thank you for your encouragement and support. As He calls us to your thoughts please remember to pray for these things: On Friday, September 3, we will sign a lease on...

August Update

August 2, 2004

Our last report began with these words: Working in Houston’s Montrose community with ex-offenders, recovering drug and alcohol addicts, and street kids is the most challenging and rewarding experience of our lives. Sometimes the needs feel overwhelming – like shooting...

July Update

July 1, 2004

Working in Houston’s Montrose community with ex-offenders, recovering drug and alcohol addicts, and street kids is the most challenging and rewarding experience of our lives. God is stretching and blessing all of us as we seek to minister faithfully and...

Guatemala Update

June 21, 2004

A team of seven people will leave on July 21 for Guatemala City, Guatemala to visit three orphanages there and to determine ways that Harbor Church can serve these children. Would you join us in praying for God's favor in...