Buena Park man serves the city he loves in countless capacities
By Brooklynn Wong
For Don Harbert, there are no days off. On Sundays, he’s preaching at his small Buena Park church. When he’s not preaching, he’s preparing. When he’s not preparing, it’s anyone’s guess as to where in the city he might be, with the numerous boards he serves on and organizations he has a role with.
Harbert’s church, The Way Fellowship, is only made up of about 50 people. But it’s a small group that is active in serving its community, inspired by its pastor and he inspired by them.
Harbert is originally from California’s central valley, but made his way to Buena Park 27 years ago.
He was the youth pastor at a church in Norwalk when a church in Buena Park without a pastor asked for him to come over and fill in for a time until they found a new one.
“And the running joke at our church is I’m still filling in. As soon as they find somebody I will be moving on, and now it’s 27 years later,” Harbert says.
His title is Pastor, and that role is what planted him in the area, but since then, his roots have spread wide and he’s taken on roles such as chaplain and board member.
When asked what made him want to get so involved in the community beyond his pastoral duties, Harbert says, “The people. I just fell in love with the people who were at the church at that time…and [I] got active right away with the Little League and Junior All Americans…I coached there, was on the board, and just got involved with the kids and the community and was part of different things here in the city.”
For the past 18 years, Harbert has also served as a chaplain to the Buena Park Police Department, an experience he says has been “amazing…..We do ride-alongs with the officers and we also do call-outs. What that is is when there’s a death in the family and there’s a need for a minister, one of the chaplains will be called and we’ll go and we’ll minister to the family and then also minister to the officers that have to deal with that.”
There are five chaplains that serve the department, and Harbert serves as the Senior Chaplain, a role he says he fell into as a result of just sticking around through others retiring.
As a chaplain, Harbert is also asked to give the invocation at various city functions, like City Council meetings, the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, and police appreciation events. The chaplains meet monthly to discuss what they are doing as a group, and Harbert reiterates, “It’s just a wonderful program. We’re able to help with the officers and then also in the community where there’s need.”
The longer he has been around the police department, he’s come to see that “the chaplaincy program is a ministry of presence, so we make sure that we’re trying to be out there with the police officers and then they have a way of contacting us and when there’s things on in their lives and there’s a need of some spiritual guidance, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of that the last 18 years with some of the gentlemen. And it’s a unique opportunity because these guys are on the front line. They see things, and sometimes it’s hard for them to be able to express themselves, so when you’re in a car with them, they’re able to share with you what’s going on and they have to trust you, so you have to be around. If you’re not around, they’re not going to talk to you, but I’ve been around for 18 years so I’ve had that opportunity.”
He’s seen quite a few personnel changes over 18 years and is currently on his “fourth Chief of Police, so it’s pretty neat. I’ve watched Chief Sianez go up the ranks, and all the way up to now be the Chief, and he’s a great man and we have the opportunity to pray with these men, and to be there to help support them in any activity they have. If there’s a need, they know how to call us. There is special training they’ve given us. We’re all pretty much POST-certified. That’s Police Officer Standard Training. So we could go to any other agency and help out.”
Rattling off some of his other involvements, he says he is involved in the Buena Park Cable Foundation, where “We give out scholarships every year to kids in our community and we film different programs around the city, [like] “The Mayor’s Perspective” and “What’s New in Two”….I’m involved with the Buena Park ministerial group. I’m also on the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast board. And for the last three years I’ve been Chairman of the Love Buena Park campaign, helping to see that grow. I’m also active with the Buena Park GRIP program.”
The GRIP program is what he says has been the most rewarding of his involvements. That’s Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership, in which special services are offered to at-risk youth to point them away from gang activity.
Harbert says, “We work with the Orange County DA’s Office and Orange County Probation Department, and then the Gang Task Force and we’re able to really spend time with these kids.”
Erika Nicole Montez is an attendee of Harbert’s church who has worked alongside him in the community.
She says, “I started going to his church a year ago because of his work in the community. We were looking for a way to serve our community and I had worked with him at Whitaker Elementary. He has a heart for Buena Park that is evident in everything he does….He pours his time, energy, and resources into the community and makes all of us feel like we can each make an impact in our community as well. Out of the many things that he does, it is the work with OCGRIP that has really impacted our community. I have seen the impact this program has had on students, firsthand. He helps children begin to dream of a different life. I am proud to serve beside him, and have him as a mentor and my friend.”
A particularly exciting time with the GRIP students is the one day a year where all of the GRIP students from surrounding counties get to go to Angel Stadium. Harbert says, “There’s about 2300 kids that show up to go to the Angels game for the first time.” As a part of the program, they also get to be shown around the Ford campus in Irvine.
Working with young people and keeping them on the straight and narrow is a recurring theme with Harbert, as he is involved with different after-school programs that help students stay on top of their homework, feed them, and keep them active.
His church has helped with summer camps for GRIP students, “everything from all the food to buying supplies, raising money for gear and we’ve really seen this program make a difference in the kids’ lives.”
Times like spring and summer break are particularly crucial and Harbert is always there to stand in the gaps, as when students are out of school and “the kids become latchkey kids, they’re really susceptible to getting in trouble or into gangs and stuff at that time.”
Harbert brings together two of the circles he dabbles in in this effort, as the Buena Park Police Department brings “out their officers, their gang unit, their explorers, the motorcycle guys come out, the SWAT guys come out, we have different speakers. And in the morning we have soccer time with them, and in the afternoon we have teaching time with them.”
And living in Buena Park for the past 27 years, Harbert has seen the way the city has evolved in that time. When he first got here in 1991, there was a notable gang element to the city. He says, “One of the stories I share with people is when I first got here in ’91, we had a bus ministry and we worked over off of Franklin in that area over there, really rough area, a lot of gangs. I remember when we would go out on Saturdays, knock on doors, and invite the kids into the bus. We knew there was a lot of gang activity there and we walked in in the morning…and there had been raids the night before where they had actually evicted everybody because it was a gang apartment.”
In the time since then, Harbert says there has been a noticeable decrease in gang activity. “Watching the development of the city, and with the entertainment corridor, has just been amazing.”
Asked what his weeks look like, Harbert said, “I have something going on pretty much each day of the week. If I’m not in the office I try to get by the police station. If I’m not at the police station, I try to make sure I’m at one of our meetings.”
Mayor Virginia Vaughn calls Harbert “a positive force,” and someone she consults and works with regularly on a number of things. “He’s just a really humble, down-to-earth guy,” she says. “I don’t think he knows the word no.”
How long is this pace of heavy involvement sustainable?
“As long as my health will allow it and my church will allow it, I plan on being as long as I can in the city,” says Harbert. “I have a heart for this city, I have a heart for the people of this city, and…I will continue to be as active as I can in our community. Because I think we have one of the best communities, and we have a saying at our church, many hands make the load light. And you don’t have to be big to be mighty and to change. All you have to do is be willing to do something.”
Of his church, he says, “These people have a heart for God, and a heart for our city. And I’m so thankful to be part of a group like that.”
So, get out and about in Buena Park and you just may encounter Pastor Don Harbert as he’s out on his simple quest to make himself available to those in his community where he sees need, motivated by his faith and his church. Whether it’s with the police department, Buena Park’s at-risk youth, or the city council, Harbert is known and beloved by many different groups and individuals city-wide for his service and selflessness.
