Why Harbour City is Joining the Restored Family of Churches

By Grant Clark

Almost 6 years ago I attended an event in Pretoria, South Africa. After a few days of teaching, meals, conversations and a lot of Biltong (Google it), Andy Rodgers walked up to me and said, “We’d love to have you come and teach at Restored Uptown next year. San Diego is a beautiful City, I think you’d love it. And by the way, earlier tonight I looked across the room and saw you, and felt the Holy Spirit say to me, ‘Work with this man’.”

I thought he was being kind, and that I’d never see or hear from him again.

We’ve joked about it since then, that that was our ‘meet-cute’. But it seems as if God was connecting us as friends, and over time connecting the Churches we lead to partner together in preaching the Gospel, making disciples and advancing God’s Kingdom.

Since that fateful night, there have been a number of trips back and forth across the world, and a strong partnership has developed between the Restored Family of Churches and Harbour City. 

What has amazed me is how God has connected people as family who live across the world from one another. At our Church Camp in July 2019, we had a Bonfire, Roasting Marshmallows, and some Roosterbrood (Google it) after the first night’s session. It amazed me to see a mix of Harbour City and Restored people chatting, laughing, roasting marshmallows, eating, drinking, dancing, getting to know one another, and having (literally) some life changing conversations.

Over the last 6 years, the relationships God has developed between us have seemed legitimately supernatural. But, beyond the relationships that have developed, has been a sense of common theology, DNA and desire for the same kinds of things between our Churches. Even though we are literally about as far as you can be from one another geographically (and that flying from Durban to California is about the least convenient flight path on Earth), God seems to have connected our Churches, our hearts and our futures for His purposes.

So, 6 years on, we are wanting to officially join in with the Restored Family of Churches and formalize the partnership we’ve enjoyed over the years.

In Colossians 4, Romans 16, 1 Corinthians 16, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and throughout the Book of Acts we read these amazing passages on Gospel Partnerships between different Churches around the known world. And for us, we desire to be part of a bigger global Kingdom story, partnering with other Churches to see the Gospel spread, Disciples made, the Kingdom of God Advancing and Churches Planted and Strengthened.