We Believe

For further explanation of who we are and what we believe read The Heart of Harvest.

Authority of Scriptures.  The Bible is the Inspired, Inerrant, and Infallible Word of God in its original manuscript (66 books.)  The Bible is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.  It has authority over all human life.  The Bible teaches the truth about God, His creation, His people, His one and only Son, and the destiny of all mankind.  It also teaches the way of salvation through the life of faith.  Whatever is not found in the Bible, nor can be proved by it, is not a required article of belief or necessary to salvation. 

Preaching and Teaching the Word of God is the central focus at Harvest Community Church.  We place a high priority on the inspiration and instruction of the Word.  We proclaim the Word of God in a culturally relevant, practical, and understandable fashion.  While our methods may change, our Message will always be challenging and doctrinally pure.

Harvest has not adopted a Bible Translation of Choice.  We leave the choice to each believer.  We do recommend a translation that is readable for your understanding and reliable from the original languages.  We focus on the conversion of the sinner, not the version of the saint.  Much of the text referenced in sermons will be from the English Standard Version (ESV).

We Believe in the One True, Holy and Living God.  He is a Spirit who is Eternal, Faithful, Sovereign, Creator, and Preserver of all things visible and invisible.  He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness, mercy and love.  It was out of this love for the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  He is all-powerful, ever-present, all knowing, and unchanging. We as His children are called to Love Him, Seek Him, Worship Him, Fear Him, Trust Him, Obey Him, and Call upon Him.

God Reveals Himself as the Trinity.  Although the word “Trinity” does not appear in the pages of the Bible, scriptural revelation permits no other explanation.  The Trinity signifies ONE God in three persons:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit; each participating in the activity of the other.  God not only exists, but coexists in unity.

God is One as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  He is not three Gods, but one God in three persons.  The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God.  Yet the Father is distinguishable from the Son, and the Son is distinguishable from the Spirit.  These three can be distinguishable but NOT separated.  The Son is sent by the Father.  The Spirit fulfills and consummates the mission of the Son.  These three are one in being, deity, power, purpose, wisdom, goodness, and eternally God.  These three persons are equally worthy of adoration, worship, and faith.  This doctrine is difficult to fully illustrate.  Our greatest attempts fall short with our awesome God.  The trinity must be accepted by faith on the basis of scriptural revelation even if it is beyond human comprehension and definition.

We Believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, yet without sin, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united.  He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As a ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross.  He was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven to be with God the Father, from whence He shall return.  Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  It is by His blood that we are saved.  He is the eternal Savior and Mediator who intercedes for us, and by Him all men will be judged.  He is the one and only way to Heaven.  Anyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.

We Believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in essence with the Father and the Son.  He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.  He abides with us, guides us, teaches us, reveals to us, fills us, bears witness with us, seals us, and sends us.  We believe the Spirit-filled life produces in the believer the Fruit of the Spirit and Spiritual gifts for Christian service, ministry, and edification of the church.  The Spirit gives power and purity to those who will receive Him.  The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead desires to indwell us and give us life.  We are committed to being a Spirit-filled and Spirit led church fellowship.  We rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit in all we do.

We Believe that all Men are Born into Sin and that the Wages of Sin is Death.  In their unsaved state, men are destined for Hell and in need of faith in the Savior Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin and eternal life.  Man is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil.  Except a man be born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  You must repent and confess your sin to the Father and be forgiven.  As followers of Christ, we are set apart, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to live a life victorious over sin.

God Created Man in His Own Image, innocent, morally free, and responsible to choose between good and evil, right and wrong. By the sin of Adam, man as the offspring of Adam is corrupted in his very nature, so that from birth he is inclined to sin.  He is unable by his own strength and work to restore himself to a right relationship with God and to merit eternal salvation.  God, the Omnipotent, provides all the resources of the trinity to make it possible for man to respond to His grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

We are Never Accounted Righteous Before God by our Own Works or Merit.  Repentant sinners are justified or accounted righteous before God only by faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow the conversion experience, but they do not have the power to remove sins or to escape divine judgment.  Good works, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, spring from a true and living faith.  Through and by them faith is made evident; however, good works do not earn God’s grace.

We Believe in the Second Coming of Christ.  The return of Christ is certain and may occur at any moment, although it is not given for us to know the day or the hour.  At His return, He will fulfill all prophecies concerning His final triumph over all evil.  When the Lord returns, the dead will be raised and the final judgment will take place with believers entering into eternal life in Heaven and unbelievers entering eternal Hell.  The believer’s response is a joyous expectation, watchfulness, faithfulness, and diligence to be ready for His return.

We Believe in the Ordinance of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Ordinances are symbols and pledges of the Christian’s profession and of God’s love toward us.  They are means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening, and confirming our faith in Him.  Two ordinances are ordained by Christ, our Lord:  Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Baptism Signifies Entrance into the Household of Faith and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus, and a mark of Christian discipleship.  Baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.  By it believers are marked as part of God’s family.  Baptism is significant in Scripture; Jesus practiced it and proclaimed the necessity of it, and the early Church performed it.  While Scripture clearly teaches the doctrine of Baptism, it also teaches that it is NOT to be a point of contention or division in the Church.  While this doctrine has divided the Church from its beginning, we have chosen not to allow it to divide Harvest Community Church.  We believe in Baptism but believe the means of Baptism is not as important as the meaning of Baptism.  The conviction of Harvest Community Church is to practice Believers’ baptism and infant dedication.  Our primary means of baptism is through immersion.

The Lord’s Supper Represents our Redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ and a token of love and union, which Christians have with Christ and with one another.  Those who rightly, worthily, and in faith eat the broken bread and drink the blessed cup partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner until He comes.  As often as we eat at the Lord’s Table, we are to do it in Remembrance of Him.  Communion is periodically conducted at Harvest in a manner that does not permit it to be taken lightly.

We Believe in the Church of Jesus Christ.  The Church of Jesus Christ is NOT a building but a body of believers.  The church is created by God.  It is the people of God.  Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head; the Holy Spirit is its life and power.  It is divine and human, heavenly and earthly, ideal and imperfect.  It exists to fulfill purposes of God in Christ.  Christ loved the church and gave himself for it that is should be holy and without blemish.  He promised to build the church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.  It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by divinely called men, and the sacraments are given according to Christ’s own appointment.  Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the Church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers, and the redemption of the world.

We Believe that True Worship is an Expression of our Love and Devotion to God.  When God’s people worship Him in Spirit and in truth, He is pleased and is present.  Worship is an active response to God whereby we declare His worth.  The Bible teaches that we are Created, Chosen, Called, and Commanded to Worship God.  We are Counseled on how to Worship God in Spirit, in Sanctification, and in Sacrifice.

At Harvest, we are committed to Worship in a genuine, balanced, and honoring manner to the Lord.  Our worship services are a mix of music.  We desire your worship experience at Harvest to be sincere, stimulating and Spirit filled.

We Believe in Missions and Evangelism.  At the heart of the Gospel is the mandate to “Go into all the World and preach the Gospel.”  God is a missionary God.  From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is a record of God’s missionary activity.  Within Scripture, we find the mandate, model, and motive to reach the world for Christ.  God modeled the Great Commission lifestyle by sending His only begotten Son into the World to die not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world.  His last command should be the first concern for the church, and that is to “Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Sprit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  We believe that God has called Harvest Community Church to raise up “World Christians” with a heart to take the whole Gospel to the whole world.  We believe the fields are already white for harvest; therefore we should heed our Master’s command so that none should perish.  It is our desire not only to know Christ but also to make Him known across the street and around the world.

We Seek to Identify Strategic Locations to Plant other Churches throughout the World.  We always are seeking to identify, train, and help those within Harvest that are being called into full-time missionary service.

Mission Trips are Available throughout the year to various parts of the world.  Harvest organizes many of its own mission trips and also works in conjunction with other short-term mission agencies to provide quality and life-changing mission trip experiences.  To apply, see a member of the leadership team or talk with the Pastor.  Lost people matter to God, and therefore they should matter to the Church.

We are Committed to Outreach in our Communities through random acts of kindness and service.  The best way to tell others about Christ is to do what Christ would do, to be a servant.

We Believe in Biblical Stewardship receiving and sharing God’s gifts and managing them for God’s purposes.  Stewardship is not a subcategory of the Christian life; stewardship is the Christian life.  A steward is someone who is entrusted with another’s wealth or property and charged with the responsibility of managing it in the owner’s best interest.  Christian Stewardship is the practice of systematic and proportionate giving of time, abilities, and material possessions based on the conviction that these are a trust from God to be used in His service for the benefit of all mankind in grateful acknowledgment of Christ’s redeeming love.  God honors this type of lifestyle when we give out of a cheerful heart.  HE is the owner; we are the stewards.  Therefore, we must give an account of our stewardship to God.  If faithful, we will be rewarded; if unfaithful, we will be punished.  Giving is a means of honoring God and is a great indication of where our heart is.  We teach the concepts of Biblical stewardship to our congregation.

We ask you to consider your giving and tithing to Harvest Community Church in prayer and respond appropriately.  Your support is the only way any of this is possible.

We Believe in a Life of Discipleship.  As a believer in Christ, you commit to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Discipleship is a life-long process of following Christ which takes faith, patience, endurance, and determination.  There are eight marks of a Disciple recorded in Scripture: 

  • Abides in the Word
  • Love for one another
  • Bears much fruit
  • Supremacy of Christ over other relationships
  • Follows the way of the cross
  • Forsakes all
  • Desires to be a person of prayer
  • Submissive servant

In addition to your Sunday morning experience, Harvest schedules various learning opportunities through small groups, Bible studies, special series, and training events.  These discipleship courses are designed to help you grow deeper in your walk with the Lord.

We Believe in Prayer.  Jesus taught that prayer was one of the primary purposes of the Church.  Prayer to our Lord was more important that any other spiritual discipline.  His ministry began in prayer, maintained through prayer, ended in prayer, and now continues in prayer.  Prayer and fasting are foundation blocks for building a strong church and ministry.  The life of the church should be bathed in prayer, and we are committed to calling the church to prayer and training disciples to be prayer warriors.  In order for the church to be effective, it must be hearing from the Lord.  It is our desire to call upon Him and hear from Him.

We Believe in a Life of Holiness.  God is a Holy God and has called us as His children to a life of holiness and purity.  As we continue and grow in fellowship with Him, our desire to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (sin) dies.  This is only made possible through the Holy Spirit and a willingness to put to death the old sinful nature and to put on the new man.  We are challenged to be perfecting holiness in the fear of God and to follow holiness without which no man will see the Lord.  The pursuit of holiness is the pursuit to be like Christ in everything we say and do. 

We Exercise Faith.  The Bible teaches that without Faith it is impossible to please God.  We have experienced in the history of Harvest that impossible situations are no match for our faith and belief in God.  God has called us to walk by faith and to live at a level of faith where if God doesn’t come through the Church would fail.  We believe that God honors GREAT FAITH accompanied by Action.