Harvest Davenport Case Study

The Vision
It was an absurd thought. It sounded even more absurd when he said it. Rob Willey and his wife, Becky, were driving past a huge electronics store that was on prime land in Davenport, Iowa. And Rob said, “That’s where our church should be. That would be a great place.”

It was May of 2004, and the church was just a vision that, for the time being, consisted of the Willeys and a few other couples. They were just a handful of ordinary men, women and little children. And it was a multi-million dollar, 52,000 sq.ft. building...that wasn’t for sale.

So Rob dismissed the thought, and went on about the business of planting a church, which launched on Sunday, November 14, 2004. Yet less than three years later, they were indeed worshiping in that building!

Amazing as it was for a church plant to be blessed while so young with an incredible facility, this church kept it in perspective: the building is just a tool for the work of ministry. And it is concrete evidence of the faith, vision, conviction and character of a church that started small, but now draws approximately 2,000 to its weekend worship services.

The church has large attendance not only at those services, but also throughout the week at its many other ministries. Yet Harvest Davenport's leaders do not evaluate the church’s success by its size. The leaders reject what seem to be intuitive strategies to spur numeric growth. Despite the church’s fast growth and large numbers, church leaders embrace the assertion that smaller churches have significant eternal impact.

And Pastor Rob Willey is certainly no salesman. In the early days, while recruiting the curious to help plant the church, he posed a challenge, “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s going to be a lot of work. Is God really calling you to do this?” A worship leader, children’s ministry leader, and small groups leader were likewise enlisted with, “I can’t pay you anything for about 12 to 18 months. How about joining the staff?”

The Lord used those and other novel approaches to build the core group to 50 men and women, who prepared for the church’s first public worship service in November 2004.

Developing leaders requires exposure to Harvest
distinctives and commitments early and often.

A short list of distinctives applied by Harvest Davenport:

Lean into relational and performance problems early, rather than letting them fester to become poisons in the church.
Leaders need to shoulder ministry responsibility, rather than simply exercise authority.
Don’t let people’s expectations drive or control decisions.
Humility is required for anything good.

This pastor was after people who were compelled and committed to plant a new church in the Quad Cities area along the Mississippi River (consisting of about 350,000 residents in four cities, straddling the Iowa-Illinois border).

They also needed to be contagious—excited about the prospects of church planting, willing to tell others about it, and willing to throw themselves into the work.

Launch Time
By the time the church was ready to launch, the core group had not only tirelessly worked and faithfully prayed, they were prepared—trained in small group leadership and Peak Performance, the Harvest church membership curriculum.

They learned about and participated in the dynamics of welcoming visitors at “Party with the Pastors” (PWTP) an informal meeting in which leaders share the history, vision and passion of the church.

As part of PWTP, an event hosted every six weeks, newcomers have opportunity to meet the church’s leaders and ask questions. “I still get with new people constantly,” offers Pastor Rob. “In the early days of the church, I would make about 50 phone calls every week in order to meet with new people. I’m always looking for soft hearts, for people to serve, and for leaders.”

Dynamic preaching is key to the growth of a new church. Rob Willey agrees, but insists that effective worship leadership, faithful prayers, and solid leaders are keys as well.

A crucial element of the worship service's effectiveness is the church’s worship leader. Required for excellent worship leadership: a heart for God; a heart for leading God’s people to worship in music and song; musical talent; a teachable spirit; and a willingness to follow pastoral leadership. “You have to make sure the worship leader is on the page of what you’re trying to do in the worship service,” says Pastor Rob.

Worship services at Harvest Davenport emphasize honoring God

and creating a longing for Him.

“Effective and fervent prayer makes the church grow or fall flat,” declares Senior Pastor Rob Willey. “We want to make each weekend service a worship and preaching event. Worshiping God is an exciting thing!”

For its first worship service, Harvest Bible Chapel Davenport met in the auditorium of Bettendorf High School—a surprise school board decision, as for 30 years no Christian ministry had been allowed to gather there. But after persistent prayer and eventually gaining approval from administrators, the core group set its sights on the specifics of launching the church at the high school.

More than 400 people came to the first worship service, and by the summer of 2005 the church was holding two services and had 550 regular attenders. The leaders began praying and hunting for a building and land...and in the fall of 2005, a sign appeared in front of that big electronics store: Going Out of Business.

Prayer Time
The store—sitting on a large land area of a high-traffic intersection on Interstate 74—was closing, but a real estate company owned the building. When the church inquired of their interest in selling, the owners asked for a cool $10 million, and the church leaders decided to keep looking...elsewhere.

Then one month later, the building owners contacted them with the price reduced by half—much closer to the property's market value, but still more than a stretch for this young church.

So the elders called the church to three months of intense fasting and prayer. And in February of 2006, Davenport's leaders signed papers to buy the building for $4.7 million.

After raising $125,000 in earnest money they announced the purchase to the body. The leaders discerned the need for an additional $1.3 million within six weeks and, while meeting at the building (which at that point was nothing more than an empty shell) challenged the congregation with that goal. At that meeting, fourteen key leaders gave $325,000 toward the $1.3 million goal.

God Provides
At the close of those six weeks, on what was dubbed Giving Sunday, Pastor Rob announced to the body, “We needed $1.3 million, and God has provided $1.6 million!” The congregation immediately broke into weeping, hugging, and what Rob called “spontaneous joy”—and closed the service with “Not to Us,” a song taken from Psalm 115:1: “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.”

“The building has given us legitimacy and a sense of permanence in the community,” praises Rob. “And it’s allowed us to do ministry that we couldn’t touch before.”

Yet from the beginning, this body’s foundation of faith was not contingent on a building, but rather rested fully on the Lord, regardless of the outcome. “We trust God’s sovereignty, thank Him for His blessings, and rest in His goodness.”

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