About

We're so glad you found us. Our church is here to glorify God and serve our community, hence our motto: "Love God. Love People."

The idea for Harvest Hill was given by God to a couple of young Christ-following church planters back in 2009. Craig Coppenbarger and John Edwards had attended Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri, and had family connections in the Strafford area. They prayed through how to better serve the Strafford community, and soon thereafter, began meeting: first in John's house and then at Strafford City Hall. The group quickly grew, which moved the burgeoning congregants first to the Strafford VFW Hall and then to Strafford's Early Education building. The church officially formed there on August 8, 2010.

After meeting there for a time, the group outgrew that building and moved to Hickory Hills Elementary School in Springfield. Feeling a little disconnected from the Strafford area, a group from the congregation began searching for a place back in Strafford. Sure enough, after searching and seeking the Lord's will, the Colonial Freight building on Evergreen Street came up for sale. After some negotiations, the building was purchased, cleaned, and completely remodeled. The congregation has been meeting there since January 6, 2012. 

Our church was officially planted with the Greene County Baptist Association on September 13, 2015. The two Craig and John felt called to move on to other ministry opportunities, and the pastor search committee was led to call Pastor Mike Hurtgen from a community in another part of Missouri on October 16, 2016. Since that time, we've rid ourselves of some outstanding debt, become stronger followers of Christ, and become more connected to the local community. 

Where to from here? The sky is the limit! We are trying to pay off our church building to free up some money to reach more of our community, state, region, country, and world. Debt is never a good thing, so that is a major focus of ours right now. We are also actively seeking opportunities to help people impacted by the heinous COVID-19 virus and the fallout thereof. We continue to trust that God has a plan and a purpose for everyone on the planet, and this trial will pass.