Harvesting Households: A Study of the Pastor's Role in the Harvest Strategy of an Early Childhood Ministry

Abstract

"Several congregations in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod have created early childhood ministries (ECMs). While these schools teach Christ’s love to children, they have the potential to act as an arm for outreach extending from the congregation to the families of students. This study gathers information from various pastors in ministry settings of a congregation working with an ECM who have implemented harvest strategies to reach school families with the gospel. The goal of these interviews was to learn what principles and tactics of harvest strategies were effective in different ministry settings. While there is no specific harvest strategy that works for every ministry setting, several trends of successful principles and tactics were identified throughout the interviews."