The Session met at Mahoney State Park on October 2, 2021, for an annual retreat. Annual retreats are an opportunity to build camaraderie as a Session, to reflect on the Lord’s work at Harvest during the previous year, and to review our mission, vision, values, and long-term goals as we move forward as a Session and as a church. After a season of prayer, the Session spent significant time clarifying our church values, reviewing our public worship at Harvest, and considering questions about ministries. We made a few adjustments to the church values that we promote at Harvest.…
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In 2019, the 47th General Assembly of the PCA voted to appoint a committee to study the issue of human sexuality with particular attention to the issues of homosexuality, same-sex attraction, and transgenderism. Among other topics, the committee addressed the nature of temptation, sin, repentance, and the difference between Roman Catholic and Reformed views of concupiscence as regards same-sex attraction; the propriety of using terms like “gay Christian” when referring to a believer struggling with same-sex attraction; the status of “orientation” as a valid anthropological category; and the practice of “spiritual friendship” among same-sex attracted Christians. In 2021, the 48th…
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We exist for worshiping God. Jesus said that loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength was the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30; cf. Deut. 6:5). The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes our worship-centric existence this way: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” At Harvest Community Church, worship stands at the center of our mission statement: “Making Disciples who Worship and Serve.” Our primary goal is to make disciples who grow in the way they worship our Triune God. But what does that mean, practically speaking? What do the Scriptures teach us about worship,…
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After months of prayer and discussion, the elders at Harvest believe that it is time for our church to move toward celebrating weekly communion. As we have considered this change, we have had to think through various theological as well as practical considerations. In this article, I want to lay out some of our thinking about the role of communion in worship at Harvest. Note: This is a longer article, but our hope as a session is that this would be a thorough explanation of a very important change in the life of our church. What are the Theological Considerations for Moving to Weekly…
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Mode of Baptism at Harvest Community Church By Pastor Jacob Gerber Adopted by the Session of Harvest Community Church on December 16, 2020 Among Bible-believing Protestant Christians, debates about baptism often focus on the proper recipients of baptism. Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists confess that the proper recipients of baptism are believers and their children, while Baptists and many non-denominational Christians teach that baptism must be administered only to believers. At Harvest (a Presbyterian church), we preach, teach, and practice the baptism of believers and their children because we believe that the Bible commands it. While we require our officers…
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Church membership is important. The Bible never suggests in the least that believers are independent from one another. Rather, again and again the Bible teaches that each of God’s people are individually members of one another, just as our bodies are made up of various limbs and organs: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom. 12:4–5). There is a sense in which the Bible speaks of the “church” in its universal, invisible…
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Since Harvest was planted, we have celebrated the Lord’s Supper with the elements of common bread and wine. These elements follow the commands given to us in Scripture for the Lord’s Supper. When Jesus instituted this sacrament, he instructed his people to use “bread” (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:23, 27, 28) and “the cup” (Matt. 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:17, 20; 1 Cor. 11:25, 26, 27, 28) or “the fruit of the vine” (Matt. 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18). Common bread and wine fit these Scriptural definitions for the elements to use in the sacrament of…
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