Wally Harrison

Pastor, Harbor Churches

For the last 6+ years, I have had the pleasure of being the Lead Pastor for Walker Harbor Church (Walker, MI). Before that I was a pastor for 10+ years in Muskegon, Michigan, having planted The Front Porch Church. Over the last 25 years it has been pure joy to have participated in and helped lead a number of church plants. My great passion is teaching how the Scriptures move from Word received to Word embodied. And I have found that when we discover and immerse ourselves in the ancient context of the Scriptures, we will learn to live the truth underneath the text for our world today. My experience with study trips to Turkey and Israel have deeply shaped my life, and I am so thrilled to invite others into these experiences.

Brent Kladder

I want to take just a minute to introduce myself to anyone who might be reading this. My name is Brent Kladder and I am the pastor of Harbor Life Church in Grandville Michigan. I live in Grandville as well with my wife Jennifer and my two girls Emma and Katelyn. God has blessed me with two amazing families, one at home and the other at church.

I grew up in the church with a deep wonder for who God is and how he has chosen to interact with humanity. That wonder propelled me through my early education but turned to skepticism when I entered College. In the book of Genesis Jacob wrestles with a messenger/angel throughout the night. At the end of their wrestling God changes Jacob’s name to Israel, declaring for eternity my people will be known as ones who wrestle with me. That the best way I know how to describe my college years, I wrestled with God and found he is faithful even when I was not.

My wresting with God, though rocky at times, drove me into a renewed passion for Him and His scriptures in particular. I wanted to understand how it all fit together driving us toward a deeper love for him and for each other. When I began studying the scriptures again it quickly became clear how important the cultural context and the physical land influenced how God chose to communicate. The more I learn about the land of Israel, or in this case the land of the early church, the more I love scripture. Each new discovery only enhances the beauty that was already there.

I’m excited to walk with this group along the path of the early church. I’m excited to stand in the places in which the Holy Spirit motivated a movement that dramatically changed the world. I’m excited to both teach and grow with you as we move into a deeper love for God that drives us into a deeper love for everything he created!