Summer 2026 has come to a close! We’re grateful for the ways God worked in and through us.

Wrap Up Video (Three Minutes)

From Tim:

I’m grateful to both lead and be a part of Harvest Ministry. It’s an incredible way to invest in the next generation, serve in the church, and use both skill and heart to share the hope of Jesus with others up close and personal. Below you can see videos, stats, team members, and the summer schedule. But what often gets missed in photos and videos are the moments that make the summer a powerhouse. It’s the altar calls, the Bible studies, testimonies, and worship times. It’s hearing students giving their lives to Christ or sensing a need to return to Jesus in faith and recommit! The testimonies are amazing. Often being directly involved in this, we don’t usually get photos of these moments. We witnessed baptisms, led devotions, shared the gospel through music, and spent nearly two months encouraging the church, being encouraged, and calling children and students deeper in faith in Jesus. We led children’s camps, VBS events, youth camps, college events, local churches, and many other places, too!

Among all the things for which to be grateful – safety in travel, a schedule that worked out, the prayer team, funding, hospitality, logistical miracles, changed lives, and fun – two things stand out. 1) God always sends the needed team members at the right times. And it’s such a joy to live life on the road together, thinking about ministry, praying, serving, and leading. 2) I’m humbled to have both of my daughters involved in music and ministry. Both Ruby and Macy took part in vocals, mando, bass, drums, and guitar in multiple settings. Both Suzanne and I are proud of them and the fun it is to be in ministry in this way.

Praise the Lord! — Tim Price, Director, Harvest Ministry, Troy, IL

This post is intended to document some of the details from the summer; keep reading.

Summer Closing Testimony Video (Twelve Minutes)

One Shot Wonder Video (Daddy Sang Bass)

This video was recorded in Rockbridge, IL, one evening. It’s only one take, no edits, and it was really fun to create!

2026 TEAM MEMBERS

CORE TEAM:

Ruby Price, Rex Repp, Madyson Schubert, Tim Price

Macy Price, Suzanne Price

SHORT TERM:

Caleb Simmons, Caleb Hasebe, Dylan Moore, Jayden McMinn, Jason Wickersham, Ion Tuttle, Jack Wilbur, Sophia Swinford, Jon Inskeep, Dave Jahn, Carter Campagna, and Caroline Stewart. Other guests included Jackson Sinks, Caleb Upton, Harper Smedshammer, Clint Benesh, and Elizabeth West.

PLACES WE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING:

• GMC GLC – Green Lake, WI
• Troy Methodist Church – Troy, IL
• Charter of Shiloh – Shiloh, IL
• Liberty Village – Maryville, IL
• Meridan Village – Edwardsville, IL
• St. John’s Community Care – Collinsville, IL
• Villas of Holly Brook – Collinsville, IL
• Benedictine Living – Belleville, IL
• Harvest at the Park – Troy, IL
• Mascoutah Community Church – Mascoutah, IL
• Beulah Bible Camp – Eldorado, IL
• Beulah: The Beginning – Eldorado, IL
• Merriam Community Church – Fairfield, IL
• Camp Point UMC – Camp Point, IL
• Illinois Veteran’s Home – Quincy, IL
• Bickford Assisted Living – Quincy, IL
• Chaddock – Quincy, IL
• High Point – Quincy, IL
• Rockbridge Methodist Church – Rockbridge, IL
• Bement UMC – Bement, IL
• Epworth Jr/Sr Camp – Greenville, IL
• Epworth Fledgling Camp – Greenville, IL
• Beulah Family Camp – Eldorado, IL
• Aldersgate Methodist Church – Midland, MI
• Simpson Park Youth Camp and ACM – Romeo, MI
• Big Kids Kamp (BKK) – Xenia, IL
• Mount Olive Methodist – De Soto, MO
• Family Bible Church – Highland, IL

Summer Stats

• Set up the sound system 24 times
• Only got the van stuck once
• 14 different housing accommodations
• Lead worship/music 77 times
• Ate Mexican food 15 times
• Sang roughly 85 different songs
• Played with 9 different drummers
• Broke one guitar string
• Listened to 57 sermons
• Visited the snack shack 30 times

Thank you!

Thank you to the prayer and support team! We’re grateful for your partnership.

Thankful for each team members and their families.

Thankful for the many ways people help send us into ministry.

Thankful for the leaders, pastors and camp directors who invite Harvest to serve.

The 2026 summer ministry came to a close this past week.

After splitting up for the final week of the summer, one team finished up BKK Camp, headed to a one-day event in DeSoto, MO, then to Family Bible Church in Highland on that Sunday morning. The other team made it home on Sunday evening from Michigan.

On Tuesday, we met together to create a summer video and do one final ShoutCo! Puppet event in O’Fallon, IL.

Some things we want to remember from the summer of 2026 – the 31st summer of Harvest.

1. The presence of God continually leads us – through sending the right people to join in the ministry to calling kids and students deeper in faith.
2. We had several people join in the summer due to scheduling and team configuration. In addition to the four core team members, there were also 18 others who played a part in serving in ministry.
3. We’re grateful for the prayer team, the financial supporters, and those who invite Harvest to serve in their churches or events. The generosity and sending is a powerful force. And though we had a couple minor travel snags, we chalk up the safety of the summer travels to God’s work through the team’s answered prayers.
4. We had fun! The memories made during a summer of day-in-and-day-out ministry are powerful. Thank you to the team and the people we crossed paths with!
5. We’re praying for the school year and for next summer.

We want to thank each team member and each event we were privileged to serve!

It’s a beautiful Tuesday morning and here’s what’s going on with Harvest:

— Madyson, Sophia, Jonathon, Rex, Caleb, and I (Tim) are here in Xenia, IL, leading the Cumberland Presbyterian BKK Camp (Big Kids Camp, high school and college age).

— Ruby, Macy, Caleb, and Suzanne are in Michigan leading worship at Simpson Park Camp.

— This past weekend, we led for the student ministry at Beulah Family Camp, and Ruby and the group led worship at Aldersgate Methodist Church in Midland, MI.

— We were kind of sad to split up for the week, but God has used this time to help connect with new people and invite others into ministry.

Grateful for both times of worship and ministry yesterday. God’s presence is moving, and lives are being changed.

In addition to music, which is really a small percentage of each day, we also lead groups, teach lessons, share devotions, pray with people, play games, spend time with people at camp, and, in general, serve in this fun and unique kingdom ministry of Harvest.

Thankful for each person who helps send the groups, thankful for the borrowed vehicle for this week, thankful for the new connections in ministry, and thankful for the health and energy of all the young adults who are traveling, leading, singing, and serving day and day out this summer! It’s an investment; we’re planting seeds, and we’re watching God work.

We just wrapped up an incredible week serving at Epworth Camp, where two camps were packed into one week. The week began with Epworth Youth Camp for students in 6th-12th grade, followed by Fledgling Camp over the weekend for younger campers and their families. It was a joy to be part of both camps and to watch God at work in the lives of so many students and children.

One of the blessings of the week was serving with Harvest and the great leadership crew for Epworth!. Harvest included Ruby, Rex, Madyson, Carter, Jack and Tim, invested heart and skill into the week. Throughout the week, they helped lead worship, organized games, shared devotions, created videos, assisted with assemblies and classes, participated in cabin inspections, and invested in campers through countless conversations and moments of encouragement.

We were also grateful to have Dave Jahn join us for the week on electric guitar. His leadership and heart for worship were a tremendous blessing to our team and to everyone at camp.

As always, camp ministry is about much more than music or activities. It’s about creating space for young people to encounter Jesus, build friendships, ask questions, and grow in their faith. Thank you to everyone who prayed for this week. God is at work!

With a recent change of plans, we’ll be heading to Beulah Family Camp for a couple of days to help with student ministry before traveling to Brush Creek Camp (BKK) to serve the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. After that, we’ll be in De Soto, Missouri, for a kids event at Mt. Olive Methodist Church, then to Family Bible Church in Highland, Illinois.

During that same time, we’ll be leading worship at Aldersgate in Midland, Michigan, before spending a week of ministry at Simpson Park Camp in Romeo, Michigan.

We would love your continued prayers as we travel these final weeks of the summer. Pray for safe travels, strength for our team, and most importantly, that lives would continue to be transformed as we have opportunities to sing, serve, and share the love of Christ.

Thank you for partnering with Harvest Ministry. We can’t wait to share more stories of what God continues to do.

✅ Follow along on Facebook or Instagram

✅ Take a look at our full Harvest Chronicles

✅ Text PRAY To 618-243-7476 to join our prayer team

✅ Join our Partnership Team and support the work of Harvest this Summer.

We’re on our second day at Epworth Camp! Yesterday, students showed up. Harvest led get-to-know-you games, led worship, and led the evening activity. God is always at work, and we’re thankful that we’re seeing some of the fruit as we go along. It’s amazing.

Praise the Lord for the many ways we’ve watched the church connect in worship, spend time meeting Jesus at the altars in prayer, and catch the messages, lessons, and devotions! It’s been an incredible few days.

At about 8:30 pm on our first evening here, we pulled the van around to unload into our cabins, and it got stuck. Everyone pushed, but it wouldn’t go. Thankfully, and for the second time in two years, Corben Roth came to the rescue and pulled us out!

We’re grateful to have gotten here and for all the great ministry opportunities we’ve had. Wanted to document some of it here for all our prayer partners, supporters, church, and families.

Last week we finished up Camp Point / Quincy Ministry and had a great time! On Friday, we drove to the Price Farm in Rockbridge, IL, to have lunch with Greg and Debbie Price. From there, we headed to the church to set up for VBS.

Friday evening, we had dinner with Dennis and Iris Price, played some games, swung on the rope swing (everyone is mostly ok), and did some folk dancing.

Saturday was amazing as we led kids from Rockbridge from 9 am to 2 pm! What a great group, and we got to invite those kids to respond to Jesus’ call—he seeks the lost.

On Sunday, we split up – Tim drove to preach at Troy Methodist and the team took off to lead at Bement UMC for the morning. That afternoon, we all met in Greenville for a worship night at Durley Camp. Praise the Lord for effective ministry, health, energy, and travel safety.

Thank you to the Repp Family for hosting dinner on Sunday evening at Kahuna’s. And thanks to all of the recent host families.

Don’t miss watching this ONE SHOT WONDER, a video we challenged ourselves to make one evening. For a One Shot Wonder, you choose a song, rehearse a little, then record the whole song in one take. No editing. No post-production. You just get what you get. We chose the song Daddy Sang Bass (Will The Circle Be Unbroken). YouTube | Facebook

We’re continually praying for our ministry this summer and for each student we minister with. Thank you for your partnership, prayer, encouragement, and support!

We’ve had a great couple of days here in the Quincy area! Praise the Lord for continued favor on our team as we have traveled and served.

The Camp Point kids event had grown in attendance each night! What an amazing thing to be a part of the ministry with this church. Last night there were 73 children in attendance plus the 30 or or more leaders! Thank you for having us.

It was also fun to hang out with a few of the students last night!

It’s always a joy to connect with our friends, Dave and Tammy Hall, for worship and lunch. Thank you for your generosity and hospitality.

What an incredible time with students at Chaddock in Quincy! Not only was the worship time awesome, the game time was really fun, too. Then came the devotion and questions—and we were honored to be part of it and to talk together. Thanks, Chaddock, for opening your doors to Harvest, to the students who were awesome and for inviting us to lunch!

Thankful for a slower morning today and this great place to stay in Camp Point! Also thankful for the whole team, the diligence, easy-going nature, and good and hard teamwork!

Praying for the last night of Camp Point tonight, and for Rockbridge Methodist and Benent UMC this coming weekend.

On a side note, if you’re reading this post in time, join us in Greenville on Sunday night, July 12 at 6:30 pm, Durley Camp, for a Harvest Camp Worship Night!

Looking ahead, this week we’re praying for an preparing for The Fall Rally for 6th-12th grade students – hosted in Troy, IL! We hope to see you there – bring your student ministry group and join us for a day of plugging in (John 15).