About Us

Harbor Network is a member-based association of churches that has been launching new churches and developing church leaders since 2011. We’ve honed our services and structure to offer the safety and support needed to launch, lead, and multiply thriving churches.

We help churches and church leaders advance their mission through relational coaching, training, care, financial support, and more. 

Our vision is to see the gospel of Jesus Christ bring renewal to people and places across the United States and beyond through movements of thriving churches. So we dream big and ask God to multiply our efforts, without sacrificing our values, our convictions, or the health of our churches and leaders for the sake of launching more churches.

We’re big enough to have deep expertise—but not so big that you’ll get lost in the fold. When you partner with us, you’ll be invited to collaborate with a network family eager to love and serve.

Are we the right partner for you? We’d love to learn more about you and your church and discover if we can help. Read more about our network and what we do, then connect with us here [if you’re a church planter] or [if you’re an existing church pastor].

Connect with a Harbor church near you.

We are like-minded & like-hearted.

Harbor Network churches enjoy partnership marked by shared theological convictions and core values. Being like-minded in our convictions grounds us in the historic, apostolic faith. Being like-hearted in our values guides us in the way we pursue life and ministry together. Like two rails of a track, partnerships work best when both aspects are in alignment.

Like-minded in our convictions.

Our Confessional Statement

Since 2011 we have utilized The Gospel Coalition’s confessional statement as the foundational confession that all our churches acknowledge as the minimum, top-tier doctrines our churches believe and embody. This confessional statement places us inside the Protestant, reformed, orthodox, and evangelical space within broader Christendom.

Our Theological Distinctives

Additionally, partnership with Harbor requires churches to joyfully align with and embody three theological distinctives for the protection and enrichment of thriving churches.

Harbor churches are reformational.

Our theology is rooted in the major tenets of the Protestant Reformation: that salvation comes to us only in God’s Word (Sola Scriptura) by faith alone (Sola Fide) and grace alone (sola gratia) through Christ alone (Solus Christus) and for God’s glory alone (Soli Deo Gloria). This means our churches affirm the authority of God’s Word, God’s sovereignty in salvation, and the necessity of evangelism. We seek to exhibit deep trust in God’s promises and providence, and be zealous in our evangelistic efforts and good works. Being reformational also means that we want our churches thinking deeply about how their corporate gatherings (preaching, liturgy, worship), pastoral ministry, doctrinal clarity, discipleship & mission are all contributing towards renewal & revival.

Harbor churches are credo-baptists.

Harbor Network believes that baptism is a divinely ordained means of grace for believers and an act of obedience on the part of both the believer and the church. Baptism symbolizes the believer's union with Christ and association with the triune God. This means our churches see personal conversion as a necessity, and because of this, we practice believer’s baptism by immersion.

Harbor churches are biblically led by elders and deacons.

Harbor churches believe that among the spiritual household of the local church there are two divinely mandated offices: qualified servants (men and women) are entrusted with the responsibility to lead and steward ministries as deacons, and qualified men, joined in a plurality, are entrusted with the authority and responsibility to shepherd God’s household as elders.

Like-hearted in our values.

Our Core Values

Our five core values outline who we are as a network and define what is important to us. They influence all our work and ensure that all those within our organization are like-hearted, not just like-minded.

They are meant to be aspirational and directional, rather than prescriptive. We believe each of these values is necessary for the thriving of the individual leader, the churches, and the network as a whole.

Wholehearted Leadership

We bring our transformed and transforming presence into our leadership. Our leaders partake in the humble pursuit of the development of the whole person, marked by the oneness and communion with God that is necessary for healthy leadership from the heart, not the hurt.

conviction & imagination

We anchor ourselves in the historic faith and also imagine fresh expressions of the kingdom for our particular cultural moment. Our leaders believe that theological clarity gives us the conviction and courage for imagination.

renewal-driven mission

We join with the Holy Spirit and one another in the work of personal, social, and cultural renewal. Our leaders seek to walk in the reality that God is making all things new. We participate in this work by seeking the good of the communities where he has placed us.

friendship

We pursue intentional, authentic, and multicultural friendships with each other. Our leaders are available to one another, vulnerable with one another, and adamantly for one another.

diversity

We empower a diverse group of leaders from all people groups to plant churches in diverse areas because God values all people. Our leaders embrace humble equality as we pursue unity in diversity in our local contexts and in the life of our network.

Our Staff

Our Board

  • Jamaal Williams

    PRESIDENT / BOARD MEMBER

  • Brandon Shields

    BOARD MEMBER / CHAIRMAN

  • Dave Owens

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Josh Hughes

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Charles Shannon

    BOARD MEMBER

  • John Starke

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Jamin Stinziano

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Tim Beltz

    BOARD MEMBER

Theological Advisory Council

Gregg Allison
Louisville, Kentucky
Nora Allison
Louisville, Kentucky
Hayden Norris
Holtville, California
James Westbrook
Oakland, California
Jared Kennedy
Louisville, Kentucky
Joel Busby
Birmingham, Alabama
Dave Ainsworth
San Francisco, California
Gracilynn Hanson
Austin, Texas
Thomas Hwang
Buena Park, California
Josh Jean
Beaumont, Texas
Brad Snyder
Columbus, OH
Jonah Sage
New Albany, Indiana
Andrew Arthur
Seattle, Washington
Paul Gilbert
Tallahassee, Florida
Cassidy Hettema
Tallahassee, Florida
Joe Byler
Columbus, OH
Amy Castello
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
James Fields
Louisville, Kentucky
Elyze Fitzpatrick
Escondido, California
Brandon Woodard
Cincinnati, Ohio

General Advisory Council

Aaron Lentz
Columbus, Indiana
Charles Shannon
Norfolk, Virginia
Desiree Westbrook
Oakland, California
Eric Hughes
Chesapeake, Virginia
Trent Chambers
Woodstock, Georgia
Alana Karl
Birmingham, Alabama
Jay O'Brien
Columbus, Ohio
Mikey Conrad
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sarah Greenslade
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Nick Bogardus
Costa Mesa, California
Byron Cogdell
Daytona Beach, Florida
Allison Pascasio
Indianapolis, Indiana
Max Sternjacob
Redlands, California
Will Laing
Knoxville, Tennessee

"When our church decided to multiply, our search led us to Harbor, and we couldn't be more pleased. We were extremely impressed with their hospitality and commitment to serving our congregation. The Harbor team went above and beyond to understand our families, and we look forward to serving others as we have been served."

— Lead Pastor in Seattle, WA