From the Directors of Harvest January 2013:

Dear young people, youth leaders and volunteers,

We would like to update you all on the future of Harvest, 2013 and 2014, as we know you are passionate about our young people and Harvest.

Since Harvest 2012 was cancelled, we have three consultative meetings around the North East, A Blank Piece of Paper. The resulting feedback was that everyone wanted Harvest to continue and preferably in 2013.

We then looked at and visited a number of new venues, juggled with dates and as a result booked Hollybush, Thirsk, as a venue just before Christmas for the August Bank Holiday, 23-26th August.

We met again 4th January for a final decision about running an event in 2013, and whilst we have every confidence in an event being able to run from a practical side of things in 2013, we have continued to have strong reservations about the sort of programme Harvest would be able to offer with the time left to plan and book. We feel it is essential to get the publicity, programme and venue right for 2014, so we will not be running Harvest in 2013.

We appreciate that there is a strong feeling to do a youth camping festival in the region this year, and we are more than happy to encourage that for 2013. There are other youth festivals running and a local group will be running an event, Kairos (“Kairos Christian youth Camp” on Facebook), at Hollybush. on the August Bank Holiday (23rd-26th) this year, which we are happy to endorse.

Dave Dixon resigned as Chairman of Harvest at the end of last year, also Gaz and Jill Jackson who served for so many years running the Loaves and Fishes, and Geoff Brown who worked on the afternoon programme. We will miss these amazing people, who for so many years supported and gave so much to Harvest and we wish them the very best in new areas of service for our Lord Jesus. You may want to send them your thoughts and best wishes.

We are grateful for the work and commitment people have made to Harvest over the years and trust many of you will be on board for a new and exciting Harvest 2014.

Blessings
The Harvest Directors

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT (11/07/12)

Following the tremendous difficulties we’ve faced over recent years to meet escalating event running costs and combining these with the significantly lower than expected pre-event bookings we’ve experienced this year, it is with great sadness and heavy hearts that the Harvest Directors have taken the decision to cancel the Harvest 2012 event.  

As Directors, who are financially responsible for the event, we have prayerfully scrutinised all aspects of the 2012 budget and identified, following realistic projections, that Harvest would be facing a £25,000 deficit if the event were to go ahead.  Whilst God has provided in many ways over the years and we are so grateful to Him for this, we also believe that we are called to be good stewards of our finances.  For this reason, after prayerfully considering all other options, we felt that we could not go ahead with this year’s event.

We recognise how deeply disappointing this news will be for those of you (including ourselves) who attend the event each year either as visitors or staff volunteers.  We would like to reassure you that we do not feel this is the end of the Harvest vision and we would ask you to join with us in prayer as we seek God’s clear leading for the future.

We would like to truly thank all of you who have supported the event over the years and we look forward to all that God is going to do in young people’s lives this summer and beyond.

In His name

Dave Dixon

Chairman

On behalf of the Harvest Directors/Trustees

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Harvest is a five day Christian festival held in the North East of England, that exists to help young people engage with God, each other and to go home better equipped to live out their faith.

Harvest aims to help every person have a living experience with Christ through:

• Meeting with Him in worship
• Hearing from Him through excellent Bible teaching that is relevant and applied to everyday life
• Sensing His presence as they pray together and interact with each other
• Serving Him through social action and outreach opportunities in partnership with local churches and community groups
• Enjoying quality activities, workshops, seminars, sports and games.

Harvest is overseen by a Management Group of local Christians, representing a range of denominations and organisations – who are all committed to working as one team in order to make Harvest a safe and extraordinary experience for all who attend.

Harvest is registered with both Companies House and the Charity Commission: