The call of a pastor is the highest calling in the world (1 Peter 5:1-4)! It is to be honored and revered because it is from Almighty God! It is a sacred trust. The impact of a real and true God-called pastor is inestimable! Sixty years ago, Pastor Carl and Irene Triplett came to Morristown, TN to shepherd the flock of Calvary Baptist Church. My family was one of many families there and I was only five years old. I had not yet learned to read and write. Pastor Triplett was so much more than a shepherd. He was a prophet, a soul winner, a discipler, and a powerful preacher who was never afraid to address sin! As I look back on my life, I have no doubt that my Lord used this faithful pastor to give me the foundation to do the work of the evangelist. I can well remember how the Holy Spirit moved in great power for the seventeen years that he was my pastor. He baptized over fifty people ever year! He led a bus ministry that reached thousands of boys and girls for the Lord Jesus. He led the people to pray before, during, and after each service. I can remember people on the altar getting right with the Lord! I can remember people coming from the prayer room singing and shouting and praising their great God after being in His holy presence! He had a discipleship training program that averaged 250 on Sunday night! One Sunday night, I was seated with my friends while he was preaching and all of a sudden Pastor Triplett stopped his message, looked back at me, and said: “Right back there is Jeffrey Harvel. God has His hand on that little boy. One day He is going to use him greatly.” Pastor Triplett left Calvary Baptist Church right after I graduated from college. I was 22 years of age. It would be 13 years before my Lord called me into His service to do the work of the evangelist. My life was continually changed by ministries that Pastor Triplett had started as my Lord continued to teach me how to win people to Jesus and love them. I was blessed to be able to spend time with him and his precious wife for many years and to let them see my wife and children. His family even had me to speak at his memorial service! That was a humbling experience! I am blessed to be able to talk to his children, William, Howard, and Mary on a regular basis as well as his grandsons, Chris and Jon. This family continues to greatly impact my life after 60 years! The Word of God is true! This a Biblical spiritual legacy (Psalm 112)! Praise the precious name of the Lord Jesus! My life in Christ as a God called New Testament evangelist is an extension of the great life and ministry of Pastor Carl and Irene Triplett! My Lord has instructed me to honor His faithful servant!
My Lord has once again reopened a closed door at a local penal facility! Off and on for over two years, He has placed me right where a soul winning evangelist needs to be! I have never experienced such a deep move of the Holy Spirit as I experienced there on Thursday, Sept. 15! Overwhelming is the right word to use! These dear men were as hungry to hear from God as I have ever seen anywhere in serving my Lord in the field of evangelism for over 30 Years! I would that you could have seen it! They prayed over each other with their hands on their shoulders, many with great brokenness and tears! They sang Amazing Grace with tears streaming down their faces! They hung on my every word from the Word in Psalm 33:12 as I discussed “The Spiritual State of These United States.” Two men indicated on their decision card that they were gloriously saved while seven others rededicated their lives to their Lord! This past Thursday a dear man publicly testified that he was to be released that morning, but his Lord told him to stay for the church service. With tears and conviction in his voice, he stated: “I am so glad that I obeyed my Lord! I have been blessed today!” He knew the songs and he contributed greatly to the service, and he blessed me greatly! Another inmate wrote on his decision card this prayer request. “I am glad you came today. Jeff, I have been back sliding. I have been mad at myself. Hurt turned to hate. I should be home, but my family is suffering because of me. Please pray for them and pray for me to not let the dark and hate to enter my heart.” Please continue to pray for me as I am here each Thursday morning at 11 AM! The man responsible for getting me in here said this in a message to me. “Thank you for sharing the Word. You are changing men’s lives.”
What joy to see Lebanon Baptist Church in Talbott, TN moving forward for the glory of the Lord under the able leadership of Pastor Charles Brewer! My grandfather, Howard Harvel, pastored this church over 70 years ago! Pastor Charles had me to proclaim the Word here this past month! We met in the fellowship hall as the worship center is being completely remodeled! No one responded publicly to the message “The Spiritual State of These United States,” but they let their pastor know by phone that they had heard the truth from the Word of God! Our great God is greatly blessing this church as Pastor Charles leads them out into the harvest fields daily! They pray at four area schools early each morning before the students arrive, and they are planning a major outreach of going door to door in their community handing out 400 Bibles!
I continue to receive positive feedback from people everywhere that I go in regard to the television broadcast! Two of my former football and basketball coaches stopped me to tell me that they have watched the broadcast! I went to a funeral home last week and as I went through the receiving line the wife of the deceased man told me that they watch the broadcast every Sunday morning! I also saw a lady who grew up with me and she told me that her son was in the penal facility where I go weekly and that he was touched by being in the service!
Emily McDonald, the wife of one of my high school football coaches, Don McDonald, went to heaven, and he and his sons, David and Mark, asked me to have a part in the service. They made it very clear to me that they wanted me to share the gospel message and I did! Also, I attended the memorial service for Coach Dale Rose recently. He coached at East High School when I played at West High School. He and his wife, Eleanor, are tremendous Christians! He and Coach Buddy Saulsbury, my head football coach at West High School, took me and a group of athletes to Black Mountain, NC in the summer of 1974 to a national camp for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It was a life changing experience for me as I was able to meet young men who loved their Lord like I loved my Lord! I learned that I was not alone as a committed follower of the Lord Jesus! I had presented Coach Rose a framed print of a poem that my Lord gave me in 2009. It is titled The Christian Coach. Coach Rose’s family had that framed print on a table with memorabilia at his memorial service! It truly touched my heart that his family saw the value of his life impacting student athletes!
I have said more in this newsletter than I have ever said, but I know that my Lord instructed me to do so! By His great grace, we are impacting this spiritually lost world with the life changing message of the gospel! Thank you for your unceasing prayers and financial gifts to this work of soul winning! They are being multiplied many times over by our great God! All of the glory, honor, and praise belongs to Him! I love you!
For Souls Forever In Heaven,
Jeffrey L. Harvel
Acts 1:8
Jeff Harvel 