Harvest Outreach Sees 212 Decisions for Christ

It was a remarkably soggy Saturday in drought-stricken Antelope, California, on October 17, 2015, but that didn't keep thousands of children and family members from showing up to the Antelope Christian Center's (AG) Harvest outreach where the church gave away nearly 6,000 pumpkins to swarms of smiling, happy children.

According to lead pastor Bill Clements, the annual event has been taking place since 2002, with hundreds of tons of pumpkins being given away over the years. However, Clements is quick to point out that what local media calls "America's Largest Pumpkin Giveaway," has also been one of the church's most successful ministry events.

Clements says through the years, thousands have given their lives to Christ during the event. This year was no exception. "My Prayer and Evangelism Teams reported that 212 people made decisions to accept Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior at the Harvest outreach," he says.

He adds that his teams used the "Nothing's Too Hard for God" tract and gold pins (as team identifiers) from the Assemblies of God's national Nothing's Too Hard for God campaign materials.

"Asking an unchurched stranger about their personal relationship with God requires a tract with a contemporary design blended with the simplicity of the gospel message," Clements states. "Nothing's Too Hard for God empowered our Prayer Team and Evangelism Team to effectively share the gospel message with hundreds of unsaved families."

In addition to free pumpkins, the event offered children jump houses, a maze, caramel apples, hot dogs, face painting, musical acts, games, and other activities to enjoy all for free. "Putting a smile on the face of a child is our passion," Clements says.

To help make the event a success, Clements says nearly 300 volunteers braved the early morning rains to set up and serve for the outreach.

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.