The Story of the Father’s House
We (Tim and Ruth Harder) met on the mission field in California in 2013, and were married in 2015. Our passion is to see people discover, and be filled with, the beauty of God’s heart. Our ministry – John 17 Mission – is named after Jesus’ prayer revealing His eternal desire for just that, in John 17:21-26. After marriage, we worked in OKC and then Denver, primarily with inner-city youth outreach and discipleship, and also helping to raise up prayer and worship, before moving back to Wichita (Tim’s hometown) in June 2017.
In September of 2018, with the help of many friendships in the body of Christ, we were blessed to be able to purchase and rehab a vacant two-story home near Douglas and Grove. The vision for this house is to give us a kingdom foothold next to East High from which we, and a whole community of friends and partners in Christ, can pray for, reach out to, and disciple East High and the surrounding community.
Why a House?
We are big believers in incarnational missions. When the Father wanted to reveal Himself to the world, He didn’t just write us a book or hold a meeting and talk about what God is like. No, far more profoundly, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” (John 1:14)
Incarnational missions is about the heart of pursuit – God so loved that He came for us, not just momentarily for an outreach or event, but He rearranged His whole life to live among us and reveal His heart to us.
It’s about the mission of family – that we would not only go out to pursue God’s lost kids, but we would love them and bring them home into a lasting relationship as sons and daughters of God and members of His family.
It’s about the power of presence – as we invite God into our home, and then invite God’s kids into our home, we believe God will meet with His children there, and they will be forever changed.
It’s about the priority of discipleship – there’s a generation that is hungry to not just hear words about God, but to see lives lived in Christ. We know we will do it very imperfectly, but our heart, because we know it’s the Father’s heart, is to open up our lives and say to those who are seeking for God, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
It’s just one house, but it’s the Father’s house
to use as He pleases and to do what He loves:
to reveal Himself in and through His sons and daughters!