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 most 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 his 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 he attended a Christian conference that his father had invited him to. Unlike his 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. And 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 11 years as part of the college ministry staff and the last 8 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 kids 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 patient’s 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.
Braden Dexter, Worship & Creative Design Intern
Doug Schillinger, Church Planting Resident