The Harvest team, led by founder and President Ed Silvoso, is dedicated to serving the entire Body of Christ around the globe by instilling vision for city, regional and nation-wide transformation. This vision focuses on Five Pivotal Paradigms for Nation Transformation and the biblical principles of prayer evangelism (Luke 10: 1-9, I Timothy 2:1-8), to see transformation take place in the church as well as in the marketplace (Acts 2:17-21).
That None Shall Perish
It all began in late 1992 when then businessman Rick Heeren, and his wife Rachel, journeyed to Argentina and witnessed the transformation that was occurring there through prayer evangelism. Pastors there were praying together, breaking down the walls that had divided them ethnically and theologically, and equipping and releasing their members to pray for their neighbors and co-workers. On the plane trip home, the Lord spoke to Rick and asked him to bring what he had seen God doing in Argentina back to his own country, beginning in his own home town—the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Rick left his job and began meeting with pastors all over the Twin Cities. Many pastors’ prayer groups were formed, but it was not until 1995 when Rick had lunch with an Elk River businessman by the name of K.C. Foster that the seeds of what had been brought from Argentina began to germinate. Rick told K.C about the transformation of an Argentine city named Resistencia. He told him that this transformation had been documented in Ed Silvoso’s book, That None Should Perish. K.C. was so impacted by this conversation that he bought two cases of the Silvoso book and began to distribute them to the pastors in his city. Soon these pastors were praying together on a weekly basis in the Elk River Library.
The Elk River Story
In February 2004, the book The Elk River Story, written by those who have had a key role in the process and edited by Rick Heeren, was released. As of July, 2007, over 12,000 copies of The Elk River Story have been sold, influencing leaders across the US and around the world. The Harvest Evangelism DVD, "Transformation in the Marketplace with Ed Silvoso", captures in a compelling visual testimony the essence of the Elk River Story. Rick sees both the book and the DVD as examples of Habakkuk 2:2, "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it."
Marketplace Miracles
Transformation of the marketplace is the key to transforming society. Egypt was changed because Joseph had supernatural insight about a problem facing its economy.
The government of Babylon was changed because Daniel miraculously interpreted the king's dream. Jerusalem was changed in the first century by fishermen and business leaders. Asia Minor was changed because Paul left the pulpit and entered into collaboration with entrepreneurs in innovative business strategies. Each of these people influenced the marketplace because God performed extraordinary miracles through their hands (Acts 19:11).
In modern times, California, and indeed the entire nation, is being influenced by the excellence of a private school in San Jose. When Dr. Clifford Daugherty became its president, Valley Christian Schools was unprofitable, had no facilities and had poor academic and athletic performance. About fifteen years later, after a spectacular turnaround, that same school was profitable, had its own campus valued at over $100 million, had student academic achievement scores that ranked in the top 10% of the nation, and had a football team and a baseball team that were ranked number one out of 995 high school teams in California.
A Detonator City
By the fall of 1999, it was becoming apparent that the Spirit was moving in Elk River. Ed Silvoso saw in Elk River the potential to become a prototype for prayer evangelism that would “detonate” other cities to follow their lead. Rick took this message to the pastors in Elk River and they accepted it wholeheartedly.
In September of 2000, seven congregations from different denominations gave up their Sunday morning services to come together for a Celebration of Unity at the local high school and committed together to see the kingdom of God come to their city. An acceleration of the prayer evangelism process in Elk River was launched. It was then that Elk River became a detonator city.
A detonator is a small explosion that sets off a larger explosion. That's what Elk River has become. From seeing a nation-leading teen suicide rate dwindle to nothing, to seeing a community bank become world-renowned for the way in which it combines faith and business, to seeing the counsel of God in operating in the halls of government, Elk River has indeed become a "a detonator city." In the ensuing years, over 300 leaders from more than 60 cities and 20 states have gathered in Elk River to see how to set in motion a strategic path towards transformation. Today, there are dozens of similar city reaching efforts being developed across Minnesota and the Central Region.