Harvest Family Life Ministries was founded by Bishop Aaron Blake, Sr. in Brownwood, Texas in 2004. At that time, Aaron Blake was a bi-vocational pastor of Greater Faith Community Church and an at-risk counselor at Brownwood High School.
In 2001, while working at Brownwood High School Aaron met Melvin Johnson, a Brownwood High School student in foster care. After developing a relationship with Melvin and seeing the need in his life for a family, Aaron and his wife Mary invited Melvin to live with them. In the following months, between Melvin recruiting his foster friends whose placement was disrupted and CPS requesting placements; five other young men joined Melvin in the Blake home. With six young men living in the Blake’s home and the state’s continual calls to place more children in their home, Aaron turned to his church family to help care for the children in the foster care system right there in their community. One after another, families responded to the call to care for the orphans until there were fifteen families in all committed to becoming foster parents for the 39 children in need at that time. That one day led to an annual day of observation and prayer for orphans, now known to be “Stand Sunday.”
The church is called and uniquely equipped to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families in their communities. This unique equipment comes from the like experience shared between all believers in Jesus. Once we were all orphans and foreigners without a name and home. But God demonstrated his extravagant love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He redeemed us and called us His own. Because of Christ’s work on the cross, we have been grafted into the forever family of God and named co-heirs with Christ Himself. Because believers have experienced the radical love of God transforming one’s life from orphan to son or daughter, believers are uniquely equipped to respond to God by doing the same for others.
As a community of Christian believers, we The Church, seek to effectively intervene in the lives of children and families in order to stop abuse and neglect with the purpose of maintaining the structure of the biological family, when possible, and eradicating the need for a state-run foster care system.
Harvest Family Life Ministries exists to defend, care for, and support abused, abandoned, and neglected children in our community, state, and nation.
We do this in our own local community through various programs, like food distribution and case management, and by engaging, equipping, and empowering local churches to do the same.
1) Funding for family crisis intervention (ie. rent/utility assistance, food, car repairs, etc.)
2) Funding to support local church orphan prevention and intervention programming (ie. food distribution, community outreach, respite nights, etc.)
3) Business and Ministry Partners to support families in crisis and those providing wrap around care.
Harvest Family Life Ministries is an equal opportunity organization and does not discriminate based upon age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, national origin, disability, race, size, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or any other status prohibited by applicable law.
Organization name
Harvest Family Life Ministries
Operating Budget
$100,000 - $249,999
Counties Served
Dallas, Ellis, Tarrant
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Address
1800 S HAMPTON RD