Founder’s Story

Harvest Workers Fellowship was inspired by God and started by Ed Abels in the summer of 2020.

Ed’s heart was first touched by the Gospel in 1973 when he became a born again Christian in Wheeling, West Virginia. On one particular day then, Ed and his future wife, Pam, were visited by a young man, David, who knocked on their door, was invited in, and very quickly began to share the Gospel and talk about Jesus.

Ed recalls: “David was a complete stranger but he quickly started to preach to us. He said we could KNOW we would go to heaven when we passed away, that Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven, and that Jesus would always be with us when we asked him into our hearts. He told us we could be and should be “born again” and it was Jesus who commanded it. He also said we should receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. David pointed out these things in the Bible he brought with him. His offer seemed both amazing and humbling”. 

“I had grown up in a much more hierarchical and rules-oriented religious background so the message of the Gospel sounded very attractive to me. Somehow, I knew that I was sinful man, and I was ready to be fully forgiven and receive Jesus in a more personal way. So that’s what I did, I decided to accept David’s invitation and Pam and I prayed for and received God’s gifts.”

“From that moment my life began to change from the inside out. I didn’t become more pious and more religious. Instead, I believed, for the first time, that God really loved me, and I began to turn to Him, ever so slowly, but turning nonetheless.”

“Now, some 55 years later, Jesus Christ is the most important person in my life and when this life ends, I will be with my Savior forever, not because I did something to earn or qualify for it. But because He gave me His life and salvation by his Amazing Grace!”

“It strikes me as wonderful that God has given me the privilege of sharing Christ with others as his ambassador. It’s also wonderful that I was born again because a faithful evangelist, David, stopped by to share the Gospel with me so many years ago. He freely gave, and now I’m freely giving by modeling his example. Join me in serving the God from whom all such blessings flow.”