Steve Harden
Our Current Focal Point: The Steve Harden Family
Steve Harden grew up on a dairy farm just north of Ponca City, Oklahoma. After receiving an A.S. degree at Oklahoma State University he returned home to take over the family farm. He then farmed full time until 1995. During this time he was the pastor of First Baptist Church, Braman OK and for a number of years taught marriage and parenting courses at First Baptist Church in Ponca City.
In 1994, the Harden family joined Southside Baptist Church (now Providence Baptist Church) and within a year the church called him as pastor. Steve has acquired both a B.S. and a M.A. while serving as pastor.
Steve takes great delight in his wife and children. Shelley and Steve have been married for 27 years. They have five children: Bethany and her husband Michael Durham reside in Shreveport LA; April, Bethany’s twin sister, is serving as a journeyman missionary in Central Asia; Luke, is a sophomore at Northern Oklahoma College majoring in business; Molly is a Junior in High School; and Amy is an eighth grader. All their children have been homeschooled. Steve has been active in the community serving on the Board of Directors of Kay Electric Cooperative for twenty years and coaching homeschool basketball teams for the last seven years.
The men Steve most admires in ministry are those who combine keen insight into the truths of Scripture with a passion for worship and exaltation of Christ. He also delights in reading the writing of men of yesteryear. His favorite authors include: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, as well as John Piper, C.J. Mahaney and Tim Keller. Steve’s personal mission statement is “to fervently seek to further the reputation of Christ in everything I think, do, and say, and find my greatest happiness in knowing Him.”
The Harden family has recently moved from their family farm in Ponca City to live and minister in the Tulsa area. Here is a word from Steve about Mercy Hill, a new church plant in the Tulsa area:
Mercy Hill will intentionally take the gospel of God’s great mercy to those who do not know Christ, as well as seek to teach the whole Word of God in a culturally relevant manner, transforming lives. We will seek to adopt a missionary mindset in our community. Our goal is to grow as a church but more importantly to grow the kingdom of God by planting many additional churches in our community and beyond.
Our desire is to hold several pre-launch meetings this summer. These pre-launch meetings will be held monthly and will be very similar to what our worship services will be like when we begin meeting as a church. Our goal is to have 40-50 adults committed to the new work before we launch (begin our weekly meetings, holding consistent small group meetings as a congregation, establish membership etc…)
We are beginning the process of preparing informational materials. We will soon have a website and some materials to begin canvassing different areas in the south side of the Tulsa metro area. Next month we will begin seeking volunteers to help us canvas various areas over the summer. Please consider providing teams to help get the word out about our congregation. In time Mercy Hill would like to reciprocate and help you in any way we are able.
We very much appreciate your prayers. Here are a few things I would like for you to be praying about.
1. That God would be preparing hearts to hear the gospel in south Tulsa.
2. For wisdom in the many decisions that are being made.
3. That a suitable meeting place be found.
4. That God would bring together a strong core group to share the many responsibilities
5. That we will be able to meet our pre-launch goal of meeting for the first time in late May.
For more information, contact steve via email:
The Harden Family
