We are so glad you found us. Our church is here to glorify God and serve our community, hence our motto: "Love God. Love People" (Matthew 22:37-39).

You may read the story below, or you can get a visual timeline here!

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 at the Early Education building 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 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. Craig and John felt called to move on to other ministry opportunities, and the pastor search committee was led to call our current pastor, Pastor Mike Hurtgen from a community in another part of Missouri on October 16, 2016. Since that time, we've rid ourselves of outstanding debt, become stronger followers of Christ, and become more connected to the local community.

Where to from here? The sky is the limit! In 2022, we officially paid off our church building! This was accomplished through diligent giving by the congregation, a temporary interest free period on our debt from Second Baptist Church of Springfield, and other kind souls who heard of our desire to reach this community more effectively by getting rid of our debts! 

We desire to send missionaries across the world to spread the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, and we want to make more meaningful financial contributions to others that are doing the same. Closer to home, we'd like to pave our gravel parking lot, shore up some landscaping projects, and maybe even add a cross to our grounds as a marker of Jesus's impact on our lives. If you are a fellow believer, we ask that you pray with us about what our future will hold and that we'll walk through the doors that God opens for us.