In August, Harvesters marked a milestone in God’s story for this ministry. Through a series of conferences and gala evenings, we gathered to thank the Lord for 27 years of church planting, discipleship and transformation — and to honour the efforts of many supporters, partners and staff.
One of the most significant moments of the evening was a time of tribute to our Founder, Steven Loots, and his wife Hannalie, who have obediently followed God’s call since day one. In a moving and prayer-filled handover, Steven officially passed the leadership baton to our new CEO, Francois Rauch.
The mission remains unchanged: GO where no one is going, TELL the Good News of Jesus, PLANT a church to DISCIPLE new believers, TRAIN a pastor right where they are, and REPEAT the process — until every nation hears.
It was an unforgettable night, full of gratitude for the past and excitement for the future. Here are just a few powerful excerpts from the speeches delivered by Steven and Francois:
Steven:
“Tonight is most certainly not just about me. it’s also about the future. It’s always fantastic looking back. We need to have times when we look back and say thank you and so on. But we also need to look forward. And there’s a part of me that’s excited about this. I know that there will probably be a bit of grief later on. You hand over something, suppose like a father who hands off his daughter… But it’s time. What’s coming is huge. The growth curve is at a point now which takes us into the stratosphere in terms of church planting. 130 churches a day is going to become 200, it’s going to become 400, it’s going to become 500. Purely mathematically, there’s just an inevitability to it, but it still remains a spiritual thing to stay on track, do the right thing, do the process, train the pastors and so on. So a part of me says, well, it’s the end of a journey for me. But a part of me says, this is exciting to see someone else take what you’ve devoted most of your adult life to, to take it further. Further than you can. And I recognise that it’s time for someone to take over the reins. Francois loves Jesus dearly. He has a passion to see the gospel preached globally. He has the ability to communicate the gospel and the vision in extraordinary ways. And so, Francois, I symbolically hand over the leadership of Harvesters Ministries and I bless you as the new chief executive officer. The ministry leader. My prayer goes with you, my brother, that you would experience the blessing that I have experienced of the Lord and the support of people that I have enjoyed. And may the Lord use you in a mighty way.”
Francois:
“It is impossible to do any of all whatever we’ve done all alone. These men and women that you see around you have spent many nights, some of them in jail, some of them being arrested, chased by safety officers, chased by police and security staff and personnel. But these are the people that’s paying the price. And I just want to say truly they have done whatever it took to get the job done and it’s not finished yet. And I truly want to say these are the generals of God, I call them the Christian barbarians of God, because that’s how they live and that’s what they do, and there’s never a no, ever. If God has said yes, that’s the yes. And I salute you.
“What Steven told me and taught me was, never underestimate the power of one church. You see, this is what Harvesters is. We love the church. We believe the church is the hope of the world. And we love pastors. We truly love pastors. And we love the lost. We plant rapid growing churches. That’s our business around the globe. How do we do this? We do it through evangelism. We plant a church just about everywhere. We can’t control our church planting anymore – and isn’t that fantastic? Harvesters Ministries is more than just a church planting movement. It is a kingdom church planting movement driven by a divine calling from God to reach the unreached and to cultivate indigenous leadership. And to expand the reach of the Gospel to every corner of the globe. Every village, every tribe, every nation, every language. That’s what God has called us for. But to be responsible, and Steven said it, we have to train a leader for every single church and never leave any church fatherless or motherless. But to make sure there’s enough leadership. We realised that indigenous leadership and local ownership is everything for us. And that’s what’s happening in the mission world.
“Throughout this journey, Steven has demonstrated, and with honour, a radical faith. Steven’s leadership has inspired countless ministry partners and wonderful leaders and supporters worldwide to embrace the vision of church planting and this movement that can still truly change the world. And Steven, tonight I do not understand the price you’ve had to pay totally. Tonight giving over, that pain I do not understand. But I know one thing. That as a team, as a group, and with many partners… What’s about to happen in the next few years would be just simply awesome and amazing. And we give all the glory to God because it’s all about Him. And Harvesters is in good hands. Not because it’s in mine. And I thank you Steven for trusting me. But because Harvesters is in the hands of a living, wonderful, miraculous God that brought salvation through Jesus Christ. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, I believe we’re in for a very fast, tough, adventurous ride. God bless you. God bless you, Steven. Thank you very much.”
