Pamela Hall
The Ashland Beacon
Catlettsburg Harvest Church of God recently celebrated its 99th year as an organized church. Within that 99 years, it has a history of having wonderful, compassionate pastors. The current pastor, Bishop Greg Wirzfeld, is no exception.
Bishop Greg became a Christian at the age of 16 years old. He became involved in the music ministry of the church he attended, playing guitar and singing. Within a few years, he began to feel the calling to preach. He preached his first sermon at the age of 20.
Through the years, he committed himself to service within the churches he attended. He served in various positions, including the Finance Committee, Council Member, Sunday School teacher, music ministry, and more. He also traveled with the Perry Sisters singing ministry sometime in the 1980s.
He began attending Catlettsburg Harvest Church of God in October 2006, serving as an Associate Pastor. In 2014, he became the Senior Pastor, although he was bi-vocational, working a secular job as well as being a Senior Pastor. He became a Bishop in the Church of God organization in May 2016. Following his retirement from his secular job in January 2019, he devoted himself to the church full-time.
Catlettsburg Harvest has several ministries within the church besides Sunday School and regular services. These include Children’s Ministry with Children’s Church, Youth Ministry, Women of Destiny women’s ministry, a drama team, Senior’s Ministry, and of course a vibrant music ministry. The church is working toward having a Nursery Ministry with the help of Bishop Greg’s wife, Teresa, who also heads up the Women of Destiny. The Men’s Ministry is active in helping the membership with various needs, such as household projects, lawn care, etc.
There are other outreach ministries to the community as well. Grief Share is held on Monday evenings, Celebrate Recovery on Thursday, and an intercessory prayer group on Friday.
Bishop Greg and the church also have a burden for those in need of not only spiritual nourishment but physical food for the body. The church operates a soup kitchen in the Family Life Center from October – March on Mondays at 11:00 a.m. takes food for those at the Salvation Army each Friday, and also has an active Food Pantry where those in need of groceries can come and take home food to prepare.
To say that these ministries keep Bishop Greg extremely busy would be an understatement. However, he has a wonderful staff of pastors who help, in addition to the church members. Rev. Roger Wireman serves as Assistant Pastor, Rev. Rick Mays is the Widows and Seniors Pastor, Jason Caudill serves as Outreach Pastor, Pastor Todd Slayton as Media and Communications Pastor, along with those that work with the youth, sound, music, and other various ministries.
“One of the biggest challenges that any pastor faces,” said Bishop Greg, “is finding laborers to do the work of the church, having people stay committed and dedicated to the ministries that the church needs. I appreciate my staff and congregation so much for all that they do. We couldn’t do all of these things without their help and dedication. Despite the challenges of being a pastor, it is also very rewarding."
“It’s very fulfilling to be in a position to help those in need and to serve the congregation by making hospital visits and other pastoral calls,” Bishop Greg stated. “But I think the most rewarding thing is to see someone come to the Lord, see them start coming to church, start to grow in their faith, and begin to work in the church. It’s wonderful to watch their spiritual growth from year to year.”
Bishop Greg and Catlettsburg Harvest Church of God have a vision for the future of the church. Their Vision Statement is “To win the harvest, for this is why Jesus came; To train disciples, for the laborers are few; Prayerfully intercede, for this is the will of God; Develop worshipers; for Christ alone is worthy; To be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus, for what we do to the least – we do to Him; Prepare ourselves for the return of Jesus.”
Catlettsburg Harvest Church of God service times is listed on their Facebook page. Services may also be seen through streaming on Facebook.
Thank you Bishop Greg Wirzfeld for being a faithful servant to the Lord, the Catlettsburg Harvest Church of God, and the community!