Pasadena Church Expands International Legacy of Service During Covid 19
Sozo is a Greek word that means “you were made to be free, saved, healed and delivered.” Harvest Rock Church (HRC) has indeed freed, saved, healed and delivered hundreds of thousands of people from all corners of the globe, advancing the kingdom of God. HRC’s vision is to “empower, equip, and release revivalists and reformers into their destiny and fulfill the Great Commission.” HRC, a worldwide charismatic movement, initially started with prayer meetings at the home of its founder Ché and Sue Ahn in Los Angeles. Throughout the years the church has grown to become Harvest International Ministries (HIM), one of the world’s largest church movements, spanning 65 countries and connecting over 25,000 diverse affiliated ministries globally.
Ché Ahn followed his father’s footsteps of Pastoring, and graduated with a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary and received excellent mentorship under Dr. C. Peter Wagner, who was also his spiritual mentor who would later name him as the successor of then Wagner Leadership Institute (now Wagner University.) For Ché, it was more of a spiritual calling. In 1982, Ché received a prophetic dream, in which the Lord called for him and Sue to come to LA and pursue a Great Harvest and Revival. His efforts have helped radically transform and heal thousands of worshippers from all backgrounds. “Our international footprint and influence is even much greater than in the US. My whole passion was missions with nations. So I travelled a lot globally.” Through various diverse conferences, HRC connects communities using the manifest presence of God.
“We’re the largest charismatic church that has a minority pastor,” says Ché. “While there are other churches where there are minority senior pastors because of policy, HRC is built by people who say explicitly, ‘I want to follow this Korean American Pastor,’ which is an anomaly that makes HRC stand out from the rest.”
His spirit as a leader in both the church and the community is captivating.
In 2018, Ché & Sue Ahn resumed as Senior Pastors of HRC after years of being on the international scene. Even today, they continue to play a key role in outreach on a local and international scale inspiring a large following with apostolic insights. The recent outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has not stopped them from doing their good work. Via online streaming, HRC has been spreading the word of the gospel with their members and maintaining community links. Remarkably, not even Covid-19 was able to stop Pastor Ché Ahn and Harvest Rock Church from serving the public and carrying out the Great Commission.
Also in 2018, Pastors Che & Sue Ahn launched California Dreamin’, an initiative of Harvest International Ministry (HIM,) an international faith-based intermediary, to establish churches and faith-based community organizations (FBCO) dedicated to creating a better California and beyond within both the rural and urban communities and neighborhoods by serving those who are the most vulnerable, marginalized, disenfranchised, and those in need. The mission of California Dreamin’ can only be possible with the help of strategic partnerships - leaders and friends of our HIM network. Faith-based organizations, including churches, must continue to be part of the mainstream leadership on a grassroots level to provide the most essential and expedient direct services to provide hope with the good news of the Gospel — mobilization of volunteers, financial support, providing food baskets, physical, emotional and spiritual support, etc; for a spiritual renewal beginning in California.
While abounding with international miracles, Harvest Rock Church has become a pinnacle of the community in Pasadena, California — often seeing the inside of their Ambassador Auditorium campus utilized for event such as the Pasadena police department awards ceremonies, the Pasadena symphony orchestra performances, and graduation ceremonies of local schools when not in attendance by the congregation for the biweekly services held under normal circumstances. These days, the pastors have kept busy by attempting continued outreach to the congregation through online sermons, youth group Zoom meetings, personal prayer and counseling phone calls, and even distributing monetary as well as in-kind donations to parishioners in need. Pastor Ché, himself, has offered free grocery delivery services to his neighbors and infirmed members of the congregation who may not feel comfortable performing these usual necessities themselves. In these trying times, HRC and the pastors will not be swayed by any enemy — visible or invisible, from tending to the needs of their congregation. Today, like every day, Harvest Rock Church and Pastors Ché and Sue Ahn are committed to service, spreading the love and word of Jesus Christ.
