Special to The Answer

In the King James Version of the Bible, James 3:1 says “…be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” In other words, it’s not enough to just believe what you hear; you’ve got to also do what you believe.  Ms. Jessie Harris believes that if there is a need in the Body of Christ, then every Christian should work to meet that need. And for over 35 years, Ms. Harris has set out to ‘do what she believes.’

Mother Jessie Harris has been a member of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church for over forty-two years and has served as the president of their missions department for thirty-five. “I started doing mission work in Hawthorne in the late 1950s. I was the secretary for the missions department and soon was selected to be over the children’s missions department at St. Paul Baptist Church,” recalled Harris.  “After moving to Las Vegas, I started right up with missions here. My mother was the vice president and I just kept on going.”

As president, Ms. Harris supervised two circles of mission teams who would go from house to house to have potlucks and fellowship or to meet whatever needs they saw. “I always told people, if you go to a person’s house and you know they’re not working and if you have money in your pocket, give it to them; if they’re sick, make sure they have the medicine and food they need to get better; if you see that the dishes need to be washed, don’t ask them if there is something you can do, just go wash the dishes,” said the kind missionary. “I know sometimes we want to go and pray with them, but sometimes prayer is not what they need, they need someone to buy some detergent and bleach and wash the dirty clothes that are piling up on the floor.”

At age 84, Ms. Harris has served the Lord for over seven decades. She has “done several great works,” conveyed Pastor Willie Cherry, the senior pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. “We are blessed to have someone such as her in our fellowship.”

In addition to going from house to house and meeting the household’s needs, Ms. Harris has taken several mission teams to visit the sick and shut-in at convalescent homes. “She has been a dutiful person in the church, and very professional. She’s a lady who takes pride in what she does and she does a job that is grade ‘A’ in service,” said Pastor Cherry.  Ms. Harris served Pleasant Grove as record-keeping secretary, pastor’s aide, choir director, member of the Gospel Meadettes singing group, youth department leader, president of the missions department and Sunday School teacher.

She not only served her local church, but she served on district and state levels as a teacher and secretary as well.  Ms. Harris was the president of the District Missions Department overseeing fourteen churches in Nevada, the third vice president for the State Baptist Convention for fourteen years, and president over the Pride of the West for twenty years.  One of her greatest passions was teaching and training others to be missionaries.

A smile rested on Ms. Harris’ lips as she recounted a moment that had a tremendous impact on her life. “A young lady came up to me and told me that from my teaching, she became a missionary. It brought tears to my eyes,” said Harris. “I was a teacher. I loved to teach, and I loved to study.”

Ms. Harris went to seminary for five years and graduated with a Diploma in Theology and a certificate in Major Bible Themes. Ms. Harris would have bibles and commentaries and dictionaries spread across the floor as she studied for a message or a lesson. She would also teach others how to study. “Study to show thyself approved; you’ve got to know what you’re talking about,” declared Harris. “Then, you’ve got to live what you teach.” And, she did just that.

Ms. Harris raised eight children and three grandchildren and was a foster mother for thirteen years to seven boys. She took her children to Sunday School each and every week and made sure that she not only modeled Christian servanthood, leadership and discipline, but that she also trained them up in the way they should go. After her husband’s death, she raised her children as a single parent and made a commitment to be devoted to Lord’s work. Because she had her hands full at home, one could question how she ever found time to do missions work. “If I can raise eight children by myself - I can do anything,” said Harris. Quoting her favorite scripture, she continued, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell within. I never worried about where the money would come from.  The Bible says seek ye first the Kingdom of God, so I just focused on doing His mission.”

Ms. Harris’ mission has always been to train, to help others and to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was an exemplary missionary and has definitely left her mark in the missions department. Continuing the great work she started, the missions department of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church has adopted Safe House as a mission project and will connect with them to make sure their needs are met on an ongoing basis. “We will also continue working with the Rescue Mission and visiting our members who are sick and shut-in to let them know that though they are not present, they are not forgotten,” added Pastor Cherry. Pleasant Grove is also involved in a foreign missions project in Ghana that helps to send children to school with school supplies and shoes to wear. “It’s all about meeting a need,” said Harris.

Many people are anxious to know what the specific call of God is for their life so they can fulfill their purpose. However, individuals like Mother Jessie Harris have learned a very valuable truth – sometimes the need is the call.

There will be an appreciation service to honor Ms. Harris on February 28, 2010 at 3:00pm at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, 1189 Hassell Avenue.  For more information, please call (702) 638-9226.