Harvest Church will host a worship-based program, Prepare 2014, from July 24 to July 26, bringing generations together for worship, training and activation.

Harvest Church Music Pastor Treva Tankard said the large event is bringing internationally known recording artists, singers, speakers and worship leaders together for a weekend of worship. The church has hosted a number of smaller events, but wanted to host this big event to bring the generations together as one group.

Tankard said the worship event will bring in speakers and performers that people would not normally be able to see without traveling a long distance. The program will feature a special one-day worship intensive training for song writing, music and vocals on July 24. The event also features a songwriter’s café in which amateur singers and songwriters can submit original music selections and receive specialized training through breakout sessions, Tankard said.

“It’s always been in our hearts to train and offer resources in the form of worship,” Tankard said. “We have always wanted to do this on a larger scale and give opportunities that would not normally be here. Our vision is to bring things in that our region can participate and enjoy without traveling.”

Tankard said the breakout sessions, offered throughout the three-day event, will appeal to all audiences. These training sessions will offer musicians specialized training based on whether they play a certain instrument such as bass or drums or whether they are vocalists or songwriters. It will also categorize participants by their skill level — beginner, intermediate or advanced.

“People aren’t taking music lessons anymore like they used to,” Tankard said. “This is for people who want to get a little more training. A lot of this training will be person to person. We will find out where they are and teach specific things like how to sing background vocals and how to blend.”

Tankard said the program will include a big worship concert on July 26, featuring a number of well known bands and singers.Among some of the guest acts and speakers will be Cory Asbury, who is bringing his worship band; Bob Sorge, a speaker who travels all over the world and has written several books, will speak to participants; Rita Springer, a singer/song-writer who uses worship, will be in attendance to help instruct participants on musical aspects of worship.

There will also be breakout sessions for those who do not play an instrument or sing, Tankard said. This session, giving insight on a world view of church-related issues, will give participants a sense of what’s going on in the world today and how worship is expressed in different regions of the world.

“We will continue offering things throughout the year, but this is our first big one,” Tankard said. “We are really resourcing to the community. We’ve had a lot of names that usually don’t come to areas like Washington.”

For more information, visit harvestchurchnc.org.