About Us
Who We Are
Why We Do It
Who We Are
Harvest City is a dual affiliated Acts 29 and EFCA Church that desires to be part of a movement of the gospel that begins in Iowa City, makes waves in the state of Iowa and has its impact felt to the ends of the earth.
What We Do
Why We Do It
Who We Are
At Harvest City we hope to do a few things well. We gather throughout the week in missional families and seek to live out the gospel together in all of life. Then, on Sundays we gather with all the missional families to worship God corporately at what we like to call the Reunion.
Why We Do It
Why We Do It
Why We Do It
We believe that we have been created in the image of God, but because of sin we often fail to reflect Him to the world around us. However, we have a hero in Jesus who has come to free us from sin and Satan and whose grace can empower us to live the way we were created to live. We live our lives out of gratitude for all Jesus has done!
Our Leaders and Staff
Scott Gaskill, Founding Pastor
Up until the summer before his sophomore year of college, Scott spent a majority of his life thinking mostly about himself and rebelling against every authority around. Growing up and throughout high school, he rebelled quite a bit against his father, but also wanted to be like him, which led to letting baseball become the most important thing in Scott's life. When he went to college, he began drinking and spent his freshman year binge drinking multiple nights a week.
But everything began to change when his father invited him to attended a Christian conference. Unlike Scott' experience with church confirmation when he was young, he actually hoped to encounter something real at the conference. When Scott heard the gospel at that conference, he repented of his sin and believed in Christ as the one who could forgive him and give him new life. God not only transformed Scott’s life that weekend, but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He also transformed his father and his grandfather, reconciling generations of brokenness.
As God continued transforming Scott during his college years, he desired to do campus ministry in order to see other young men encounter Jesus. He spent two years serving with The Navigators at the University of Northern Iowa before moving to Iowa City and joining Parkview Church. Scott spent eleven years as part of the college ministry staff and the last eight of those years as Parkview’s college pastor, training college students and leading a movement of the gospel at the University of Iowa for the glory of God. In June of 2017, Parkview sent out Scott and a team of people to plant Harvest City. It is now his joy to pastor those people and those God has brought to be a part of the Harvest City family.
Scott is happily married to his wonderful wife, Emily, and has three kids, Madeline, Kate and Jacoby. You can usually find him coaching his son's baseball team, watching Hawkeye sports, smoking a cigar or sipping bourbon with guys, and taking his wife on dates downtown. He will talk to almost anyone about Jesus and/or baseball.
Kyle Hulshizer, Pastor/Elder
Kyle noticed God beginning to pursue him during his freshman year at the University of Iowa. While Kyle came from a small town in northern Iowa to Iowa City primarily to get a degree and indulge in the party culture, God had greater plans in mind. Within two months after his first semester started, he found himself struggling to fit in, unfulfilled by partying, and fearful of dropping out. During that season his sister shared with him an encouraging Bible verse, and he began reading God’s word for himself for the first time. Shortly after, he got plugged into a college ministry where God provided him with mentors, friends, and gospel teaching. These helped him to see Christ’s love for him and how true happiness can only be found in a relationship with Him.
He started dating his wife, Ashley, during his college ministry years. They were married in 2018 and have lived in Iowa City since. Kyle and Ashley have attended Harvest City since shortly after its inception, being regularly involved in teaching kid's ministry classes and as Missional Family leaders. Kyle became an elder at Harvest City in 2022, and is humbled to take part in knowing, leading, feeding, and protecting God’s flock. Kyle works as a physical therapist, and loves helping improve the lives of his patients through movement and relationship. In his free time he enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, hiking, cycling, and cheering on the Minnesota Vikings and Iowa Hawkeyes.
Mike Benning, Pastor/Elder
Mike’s heart started to be pursued by the Lord from a really young age; one of his earliest memories is praising God alone in his room at night as a young child and tangibly feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit with him. Through many ups and downs, God has relentlessly kept Mike near.
By God’s grace, Mike was lucky enough to meet his wife, Shari, after moving to a small city in Iowa after graduating college. Married since 2008, they have called Iowa City home for the last 11 years. Very soon after moving to town, God connected the Bennings in a community group with the Gaskill family, and years later became part of the Core Team when Harvest City was planted. They also serve as Missional Family leaders. Mike became an elder at Harvest City in 2022, and is humbled to take part in knowing, leading, feeding, and protecting God’s flock. Mike works at the University of Iowa and finds himself coaching a number of sports for his kids, Grace and Gabriel.
Nick Ehlts, Worship Leader
Nick started going to youth group at a church his freshman year of high school and found himself wondering if this God he was learning about could be real. After praying about it at youth group, asking if God would reveal Himself in a way that he could understand, Nick found himself learning about Jesus at school in his history textbook the very next day. He took this as an answered prayer and devoted the rest of his life to trying to get to know God better with each and every day.
After giving his life to Christ, Nick decided to pick up a guitar and attempt to learn how to play, something he had tried before and failed miserably. However God had different plans as it came super easy to him this time and was playing on the worship team at church within a month. During his senior year of high school, Nick decided to go to Bible college to get a degree in worship ministry. He has been leading worship since his days in college where he graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree from Central Christian College of the Bible.
Nick and his wife, Nikita, met in high school at church camp and started dating in college. They got married in 2010 and have 2 girls, Josalyn and Kora. Nick enjoys music, sports, and video games. If you want him to get really excited, just mention anything about golf and he is hooked.
Shari Benning, Administrative Assistant
Growing up on a farm near Fort Dodge, Iowa, Shari grew up hearing about Jesus in her home and at her church. What started as a very basic understanding of her need for a Savior, her faith grew in leaps and bounds the last two years of high school and into college as she experience gospel community and the transforming work of King Jesus.
After a freezing cold northern Iowa wedding in 2008, Mike and Shari spent three years in South Carolina. The Bennings have called Iowa City home for over a decade. They have had the privilege of living in biblical community with the Gaskills for a majority of that time. Being part of a church plant was, admittedly, a scary endeavor, but she has seen God work in amazing ways as the chief shepherd. In her free time, you can find Shari chatting on the sidelines while cheering on her kids, Grace and Gabriel, organizing some part of their home, baking, or painting with watercolors.