SUGGESTED ORDER OF SERVICE
Welcome To The Celebration!
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper timewe will reap a Harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
Celebrate Through Singing!
(Option 1)(Option 2)
“Majesty”122“Blessing, Honour, and Glory” MSPW - 21
“All Hail King Jesus” 123“Lord, Reign in Me”MSPW2 - 96
“All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” 124“Great and Mighty is He” MSPW - 11
(pause here to open the altar)
“Give Thanks” 770“We Declare Your Majesty” MSPW -43
“I Exalt Thee” 72“In the Presence of Jehovah” MSPW2-113
Celebrate Through Adoration – Open Altar Prayer
Celebrate Through Giving!
Three Suggested Video Vignettes (explain the JESUS Film ministry)
All video clips can be downloaded from
- "Holistic ministry using the JESUS Film" – (1:01)
- "Nazarene Mission Aviation uses the JESUS Film" – (1:28)
- "Transforming Communities with the JESUS Film" – (1:19)
“My Story…”
(Testimony from “John Smith”)
Celebrate The Good News!(Harvest Celebration Sermon)
“Partners in Miracles: A Celebration of the Lord of the Harvest”
Video clips include & can be downloaded from
- "Rescued From the Fire - Diego's Story" – (7:01)
- “Fred Huff – Africa Region" – (2:48)
- "Sharing JESUS, Making Disciples" – (6:23)
Responding To The Celebration!
The Celebration Continues!
SERVICE NOTES
General Information: A PowerPoint presentation has been produced for the sermon. A blank slide has been inserted at the beginning for the worship service. Create as many slides as necessary from the master for all the components of the service (i.e.: welcome slide, song slides, prayer slide, offering/special, etc.). All the materials have been created for your ease and convenience. Feel free to “cut & paste”, edit, add or change any of the material into your local format.
Welcome: This is a CELEBRATION! The welcome needs to be exciting! People might have forgotten how exciting “new birth” is. This service is designed to focus on “the birthing ward” where everybody makes faces at cute babies and generally celebrates their arrival!
Many times, our people serve faithfully in “support ministries” of the church. They can lose sight of the “Why” of ministry. This service allows us to focus on the incredible salvation growth that is occurring around the world because of their diligence. Beginning with the welcome, they need to know that they are, or can be, a vital link in God’s redemptive purposes for the world!
Singing/Worship: essentially, there are 3 options:
1)The first option is from the latest Nazarene Hymnal, “Sing To The Lord”.
2)The second option is from the chorus hymnal, “More Songs for Praise and Worship 1 & 2” which is published by WORD Music (
3)The third option is to develop your own worship service based on your particular
worship/music culture.
Prayer Focus: In any celebration of what the Lord has done IN our lives and THROUGH our lives, there needs to be a time where we bow before His throne. In humility, we acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father. We are a blessed people! And the Lord has blessed us so that we might be a blessing to others!
Giving: This is the time for your regular tithes and offerings. The video: “Three Vignettes” on the enclosed DVD would be an excellent resource to play while the offering is being received. It is 5 minutes in length and includes three separate stories and highlights the tremendous results of the ministry’s evangelistic effort worldwide. It also emphasizes the synergy that is produced as the JESUS Film is used in harmony with Compassionate Ministries, Leadership Development and other ministries of the World Mission Department of the Church of the Nazarene.
NOTE: If you have a choir/musical special, it could be placed immediately after open altar prayer time.
“My Story…”: There are literally hundredsof people who have seen a JESUS Film showing through a work & witness trip or in other “hands on” ways. If there is someone who has first hand experience, this would be an excellent place to have them tell “their story”. Have them write it out, begin and end their testimony with the phrase, “I’m John Smith and this is my story…”, and share with the congregation the excitement of being on the front lines of evangelizing the World!
Sermon Notes: The purpose of the sermon is to show how important people are to JESUS. His plan all along is to include them as partners in His redemptive work in the world. Also, people need to be reminded that they possess the “makings of a miracle” as they give Him a lunch…or a life. Consider putting in personal congregational illustrations of times they have been “partners with God”. Show how God has used their dedication, service and sacrifice. In essence, CELEBRATE THEM!
There is a tendency for people to be overwhelmed with the need/expansiveness of the world. They need help to see what God wants to do through them. Literally, for every $1 given to the JESUS Film Ministry, 3 evangelistic contacts are made and for $3, one person makes a decision for Christ ($1=3 evangelistic contacts / $3 = 1 person makes a decision for Christ)!
There are three video illustrations within the body of the sermon. Watch them in advance and plan an appropriate lead in. If you feel this is too long, feel free to eliminate one. Each one is no more than 5-7 minutes in length, with a total play time of 18 minutes.
Response: After the message, people will have a need to respond. Like the crowd in Acts 2 after Peter’s sermon, we need to give them an appropriate answer to their question, “Brothers, what shall we do” (Acts 2:37b).
Obviously, it is the pastor who decides the focus and strategy for the response. Remember the purpose is “to ignite the passion for lost people in the local church”. The challenge becomes, “once ignited, how do you keep the passion burning bright?” A Response Card included in the material that can be utilized in several ways:
- Individually, people can be encouraged to become involved in the harvest of souls through the JESUS Film Project. Brochures are available that explains the different partnerships that they can participate (see list and summary below). Each partner will receive regular quarterly reports concerning their JESUS Film team/field of interest, showing the large impact of their involvement. This provides wonderful reinforcement to the central message of the Harvest Celebration Sunday that “lost people matter to God and ought to matter to us”. (suggested partnership(s): $1 A Day Harvest 120)
- Small Groups can participate in a partnership collectively. They will receive the same quarterly reports and updates as individuals. The difference is they have the other small group members (Sunday school classmates, choir members, children’s groups) to continue the Celebration! (suggested partnership(s): $1 A Day Harvest 120/ JF Trip/ Team)
- The Local Church can participate in one or several partnerships together. This allows for regular reinforcement of the central message and a regular reason to celebrate the tangible impact of the local church on reaching lost individuals!
(suggested partnership(s): JF Trip/ Team/ Country/ Offering/ include in Faith Promise)
TYPES OF PARTNERSHIPS/PARTICIPATION
$1 A DayHarvest 120:
Everybody can participate in this partnership. At $1 a day, for 12 months, over 1,000 people will SEE JESUS and 120 (hence the name, Harvest 120) will make a decision for Christ! For less than a dollar a day, 120 people will accept JESUS as their personal Savior! If your church developed 5 Harvest 120 partnerships, you would be responsible for 600 people accepting Christ! 10 partnerships equal 1,200!
JESUS Film Trips:
This exciting partnership is linked to new field equipment. For $6,000, a team of 7-10 people takes a new set of equipment directly to the field and delivers it to a JESUS Film team. While there, they set up the equipment and show the film several times. This works great with traditional work & witness projects or as a stand-alone project for those less construction oriented. One church took 2 sets of equipment that was used to touch 8,393 people and begin 10 new mission churches in 6 months!
Team Partnership:
This is a personal partnership between an individual, small group, or church and a specific JESUS Film Team. For $15,000, your church/small group is linked to a team that reports its results on a quarterly basis. Many teams show the film to over 45,000 people each year and 5,000 receive Christ as their Savior! Additionally, 10-12 mission churches are planted!
Harvest Offering:
This is a valuable way to partner with teams around the world. For every $3 given, one person makes a decision for Christ! An exciting way to proceed with this type of participation would be to set a “lost people” goal. Each person can be responsible for at least one soul.
Faith Promise:
Many churches have begun to include the JESUS Film Ministry in their Faith Promise budget. This strategy allows for participation or a Team/JF Trip partnership without an additional offering. People are informed of the results of their mission investment as a part of the overall mission giving strategy of the church.