Founded in 1988, by Canadian-born James MacDonald,[1] Harvest Bible Chapel grew from a group of 18 people meeting in a local high school to a multi-site congregation of thousands.
[3][better source needed] In January 2019, Harvest Bible Chapel was listed in the Hartford Institute's database of American megachurches as one of the 50 largest churches in the United States.
[17][better source needed] In 2012, the program received the "Billy Graham Award for Excellence in Christian Communication" from National Religious Broadcasters.
[24][25] In October 2018, Pastor James MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel sued two former members (Ryan Mahoney and Scott Bryant) and their wives, as well as journalist Julie Roys, for defamation.
[26] In December 2018, World Magazine published an exposé by Roys on the church and pastor, outlining an alleged history of financial mismanagement and authoritarian and abusive leadership by MacDonald.
[30][31] On January 25, Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller, who described himself as a Harvest attender and a friend of MacDonald, publicly criticized McDonald's leadership, called for the elders of Harvest Bible Chapel to be removed, urged church members to stop making financial contributions until needed changes were made, and asserted that an outside group should be brought in to lead the church.
[41] Further reporting by Julie Roys showed that MacDonald had used church funds to purchase a vintage 1971 VW Beetle (valued at $13,000) for Ed Stetzer (contributing editor at Christianity Today) and Harley-Davidson motorcycles for several other Harvest members.
[42][43][better source needed] On April 30, 2019, the outgoing elders of Harvest Bible Chapel issued an apology for filing the 2018 lawsuit.