On the corner of Harbert and Three Oaks roads in Sawyer, Michigan, a gray-shingled church has stood for nearly a century as the spiritual home of Harbert Community Church. The congregation gathers in the heart of Harbor Country, the cluster of small lakeside towns tucked between the dunes of Lake Michigan and the Indiana border, and welcomes both longtime families and seasonal neighbors to its 10:00 a.m. Sunday worship. As a partner congregation of the Evangelical Covenant Church, HCC blends a historic congregational identity with a current ministry that stretches across generations, languages, and the surrounding Berrien County communities.
A Church Born from a Ladies' Aid Society
Harbert Community Church was established in 1928 when a group of women known as the Ladies' Aid Society decided to start a Sunday School for the children of the small lakeside community of Harbert. Their commitment gave the church its beginning on the corner of Prairie and Harbert roads. The first pastor, Rev. J. O. Walton, described Harbert Community Church as a church seeking to be undivided by denominational differences and united through shared faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, a vision that continues to shape its identity today.
In 1966 the congregation purchased property at its present location on the corner of Harbert and Three Oaks roads. Groundbreaking on the current facility began in 1967 and the second phase of building was finished in 1984. In 1980 the church, which had until that point remained independent of any denomination, joined the Evangelical Covenant Church. The decision was based on the recognition of common ground and a desire to be connected to other churches for accountability and support, while remaining committed to unity rather than division over non-essential doctrinal differences.
Nearly a century after its founding, the congregation describes itself as a multi-generational community of people from many different backgrounds and faith experiences, home to both seasonal and year-round residents of Harbor Country.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
The Sunday worship service begins at 10:00 a.m. and typically runs about sixty minutes, ending around 11:00. Worship is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, and a recording is posted afterward. Visitors are not asked to stand or introduce themselves; name tags are available in the lobby but completely optional. After the service, the congregation is invited to linger for refreshments, conversation, and a chance to say hello to the pastors.
The musical style blends contemporary songs of praise with enduring hymns from the past, led by the church's praise team. The adult choir, directed by Carrie J. VanDenburgh, sings regularly during the program year (September to December and February to March). A volunteer-led bell choir offers special pieces, and during summer months a rotating slate of singers, ensembles, and instrumentalists fills the special music slot while the choir is on break. Skilled musicians of any instrument are invited to share their gifts by speaking with Director of Music.
Each Sunday the congregation hears Scripture and a thoughtfully communicated message, observes prayer, takes up an offering, and on the first Sunday of each month celebrates the Lord's Supper as a sign of God's grace available to all.
Kids in Worship
Children are a visible and welcome part of Sunday worship at HCC. In the lobby's kids corner, near the kids tables, the church sets out resources for children to use during the service. Worship typically includes a Children's Moment when all children are invited forward for a Christ-centered message and blessing.
After the Children's Moment, children may be released to age-appropriate classrooms. The nursery, staffed by a trained and screened adult coordinator and assisted by volunteers, is available for infants and toddlers through age three for the full duration of the morning. During the school year the elementary children gather in three formation groups:
- Grow Kids (PreK-Kindergarten): a class that introduces basic sacred stories focused on the truths that God made them, God loves them, and the good news of Jesus is for them too.
- Wonder Room (1st-3rd grades): a hands-on worship space where children encounter God through storytelling and tactile experience.
- Discover Class (4th-6th grades): a class that helps children begin to claim their place in the body of Christ, with the first Sunday of each month reserved as a day to remain in worship for the full service.
During the summer months, all elementary children gather in a single room called Kids Time, and children four and younger continue in the nursery. The kids ministry team seeks to partner with parents in encouraging children to know, love, and follow Jesus from infancy into young adulthood.
Students and Confirmation
The student ministry, led by Associate Pastor Jesse W. Bolinder, follows several rhythms. Anchor Events are high-energy outings, game nights, and gatherings held monthly or seasonally on weekends, designed to be easy opportunities for students in grades 6 through 12 to invite friends. The Gatherings are focused three-to-four-week seasonal sprints on Sunday evenings each fall and spring, where the entire student community shares a meal, has fun, and discusses faith and life together.
Two smaller groups meet every other Sunday evening. Middle School Huddles, for grades 6 through 8, are sixty-minute small groups led by caring adults at local coffee shops and restaurants. High School Huddles, for grades 9 through 12, gather for dinner and informal conversation that welcomes real questions and honest wrestling with doubt.
Confirmation is a two-year journey for students in seventh and eighth grade that meets on Sunday mornings during the school year. Students explore Scripture, ask hard questions, and connect their own lives to the ancient story, with a special Sunday in May when they have the opportunity to stand before the church and confirm their faith.
Youth also participate in retreats at Portage Lake Camp, mission and adventure trips, and the UNITE conference, a triennial high school gathering designed to inspire deeper faith and greater passion for following Jesus.
Music at HCC
Music is central to Harbert Community Church's worship life. Director of Music Jill S. Garcia, an accompanist and French horn player who has worked with churches and schools in southwest Michigan for more than a decade, oversees a program that welcomes singers and instrumentalists of every kind. The choir rehearses every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and sings in worship on Sunday mornings and at the Christmas Eve service. The choir also presents an annual Christmas Concert during Advent, often joined by the bell choir under volunteer director Julie Espinoza.
Worship music incorporates piano, guitar, keyboard, organ, woodwinds, strings, brass, and percussion. During the choir's summer off-season, the music director schedules a variety of singers, ensembles, and musicians to present special sacred music each Sunday. The ability to read music is helpful but not required to join the choir; interested singers are invited to drop in on a Thursday evening rehearsal.
Tuesdays Around the Table
Mid-week life at HCC revolves around two longstanding Tuesday morning Bible studies. The Men's Breakfast and Bible Study gathers at 8:00 a.m. for a shared breakfast followed by a pastor-led study, with conversation that runs over good food. The Women's Bible Study meets at 10:30 a.m. for a pastor-led study marked by laughter, connection, and shared insight. Together they form a rhythm of discipleship that runs alongside the Sunday gathering, offering space to read Scripture carefully, in community, and in context.
Day Camp and Summer Programs
Each summer the church hosts Kids Day Camp, a four-day Vacation Bible School experience for children who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade. Held Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon, the camp begins and ends each day with large-group worship and Bible storytelling, with the middle of the day split between two forty-five-minute skill- or interest-based classes chosen by each child at registration. Past class offerings have included Lego Challenge, Beading and Jewelry, Art and Crafts, Fun in the Chess, Drama Club, Sports and Fitness Fun, Nature Hiking and Adventure, Garden Club, Chess Club, STEM and Robotics Lab (led by the Robotarians robotics team), Wood Projects, Aerobic Dancing, Outdoor Life, Decorative Sign Design, and Paws for Humanity, a visit to a nearby animal sanctuary. The week closes with a slideshow, a brief worship service, and the chance for family and friends to see what the children have learned.
Throughout the year the youth ministry organizes retreats at Portage Lake Camp, summer camp experiences, mission trips, and family events such as potlucks, winter tubing, skating, and craft nights.
Serving the Harbor Country Community
Harbert Community Church takes its call to love its neighbors literally and locally, partnering with a network of organizations across Harbor Country and Berrien County. The church partners with Feeding America's Mobile Food Pantry, hosting regular drive-through food distributions in its parking lot, where volunteers pack and pass out boxes of food to those in line. Members also volunteer with Food for Thought (formerly Blessings in a Backpack), packing weekend food for students at River Valley Schools during the first two weeks of each month. On alternating months volunteers help prepare and serve a community meal at Water's Edge Church in New Buffalo, and the church supports the Harbor Country Emergency Food Pantry, which serves residents from Bridgman south to the Indiana border.
The church partners with Neighbor by Neighbor, a local initiative that connects Harbor Country residents with social services and resources that might otherwise be hard to find in the more populated cities of Berrien County. Members support Harbor Country Mission, which creates opportunities for local service to those in financial poverty. Through Kids Hope USA, mentors from HCC walk alongside students at River Valley Elementary Schools, providing the kind of one-on-one relationship that helps kids build resilience. Volunteers host holiday parties throughout the year at a retirement home on Gast Road in Bridgman, providing food, games, and fellowship with the residents. The church is also part of the SWM Youth Collective, which brings area youth ministries together for shared student events.
Mission, Vision, and Core Values
The church's mission is to be united as followers of Jesus to know God and to make God known. Knowing God is pursued relationally through worship, study, and prayer. Making God known flows through loving relationships, intentional service, and personal invitation. The vision is to be a bridge: connecting with one another in the transforming power of God's Spirit, extending the good news of God's love to neighbors and friends, spanning the differences that often divide people, joining with other local churches and organizations, and partnering globally as part of the church worldwide.
These convictions are anchored in ten stated core values: the centrality of Scripture, the authority of Christ, the presence of God's Spirit, the necessity of faith, the priority of healthy relationships, reliance on grace, a focus on spiritual growth, a focus on outreach, an emphasis on giving, and a refreshing refusal to sweat the small stuff. As a partner congregation of the Evangelical Covenant Church, HCC welcomes the leadership of both men and women and exercises freedom in Christ with regard to different views of baptism informed by Scripture and the church's traditional practices.
What to Wear, What to Expect
Dress at HCC is whatever feels comfortable. People often dress a step up from a Saturday at home, but that means different things to different people; the range on a given Sunday runs from shorts and blue jeans to dresses and button-up shirts. Children are always welcome, the nursery is staffed for the full morning, and visitors are not asked to stand or introduce themselves.
The church is located at 6444 Harbert Road in Sawyer, Michigan, with easy access from Three Oaks Road. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Those looking for pastoral care, prayer, or support can call the church at 269-426-4321, the same number used for general questions. Giving is available online through the church's giving page and by mail at the church's address, with the option to designate gifts to Neighbor by Neighbor or the Helping Hands fund. A weekly email shares prayer prompts and announcement updates, and a separate Children, Youth, and Family email covers the rhythms of kids and student ministry. A sermon archive going back several years is available on the church's YouTube channel, and a deeper collection of series and memorial services is maintained on the sermon archive page.