What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of Harvest Christian Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

There is one God, eternally existing in three distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  These three are co-equal and each possesses all of the attributes of God.  God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and everything in it. (See appendix 1)

Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  He is one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Jesus Christ is our Savior, who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross for all sin, and was raised from the grave after three days to demonstrate His defeat of sin and death.  He ascended into heaven and will return again to earth once to immediately and eternally bring about His righteous judgement for both the saved and the unsaved. (See appendix 2)

The Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and Jesus Christ, known as the third aspect of the triune God.  Those who accept Christ as their Savior, immersed will receive the Holy Spirit to live inside them.  The Holy Spirit serves as our comforter, guide, and advocate.  The Holy Spirit is given to Christians and provides guidance in living, and understanding of the Bible, and prayerfully intercedes for them. (See appendix 3)

Our foundation is based firmly upon the Bible as our final authority on Christian beliefs and as a guide to living.  The Bible is divinely inspired by God, without error, given to man so that we may know and understand the truth of God and His love. We believe the Bible to be sufficient in understanding all that God has for the Christian. (See appendix 4)

Salvation is not something that can be purchased or earned.  It is a free gift from God provided by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and is received through faith. We are saved only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  It is available to everyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  That faith is expressed through repentance of sin and baptism by immersion. (See appendix 5)

The Church is the local body of believers, a non-denominational church, autonomous from all other congregations. It was founded on the Day of Pentecost and consisting of all Christians everywhere. We follow the tenants of the Restoration Movement with the focus of restoring Christ’s Church to the original foundations shown in the early Church as the apostles and other disciples had established. (See appendix 6)

At the beginning of the Church, the Day of Pentecost, we see the Holy Spirit imparting miraculous gifts on the apostles. This is seen clearly as Peter begins his sermon (Acts 2:1-40) speaking in the tongues of those hearing, to thousands of people from all over the diaspora, all hearing in their own language. Other gifts were dispersed, healing/raising the dead, miracles, knowledge, and prophecy. We can read of these gifts in the book of Acts, Romans, and 1 Corinthians. What is made clear is that these gifts were temporary, for a specific time and place (1 Cor. 13:8-10). We believe that when the Canon of Scripture was established the need for these gifts was no longer necessary, and we believe that Scripture is our source of divine knowledge and revelation that is needed for the Christian life. (See appendix 7)

It is clearly shown in Scripture that all Christians have a role in the Body of Christ; therefore, it is our belief that every Christian who gathers here as the Church has a role to play. We believe that God has given each person gifts and talents that are to be used for the growth of the Kingdom, such as service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leading, hospitality and above all, love. 
We also see that there are specific positions within the Church: Evangelist, Elder, Deacon, Pastor and Teacher. The result of each person fulfilling their role is to bring the lost/unsaved to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and also for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ. (See appendix 8)

We believe that God is the Creator of all things. We believe that what we know as creation was fulfilled within the six consecutive 24-hour days as specified within the book of Genesis. We believe that God created man in His own image, and therefore, we are His greatest creation.
We believe, teach, and preach that life begins at conception and has full value and worth as a human being. To that end, we believe that purposefully ending that life is a sin. We know that many families are affected by this; it is our desire to reach out, share the truth of God’s Word, and show the love that comes from God.  (See appendix 9)

We believe that marriage is a gift from God, and being that He is the Creator, His design is perfect. With that, we then believe that marriage is defined solely in Scripture as between one man and one woman of biological design. Marriage is a sacred covenant between one man and one woman with Christ as the head of that marriage.  (See appendix 10)

We believe that any lifestyle outside of what God calls right, is sin. Therefore, any person living in or seeking a lifestyle within the LGBTQ+ Community is living in sin.  We do not condone, approve of, or participate in any lifestyle or relationships that are involved with the LGBTQ+ community. The minister of this congregation will not consider performing any marriage ceremonies, marriage counseling, or the like for any couple that goes against what we believe to be right before God.

We believe that sin is anything that would go against what is right according to God’s Word. We believe that every individual is born into a world of sin and will at some point make that decision to sin; however, up to that point a child is considered sinless and is held within the grace of God.  As Scripture states, all sin leads to death. It is our belief that we have all sinned and are guilty of the penalty that sin brings, that is, hell. That being the case, we seek to present the forgiveness of Jesus into everyone’s life that enters through the doors of the church building. 
We believe that this message cannot stop there. We are Christ’s ambassadors; therefore, we are to share this message outside of the walls of the church building. We believe the Christian must be in the world, but not of the world. We must address sin in our own lives, and in the lives of those who are still lost. (See appendix 12)

Our example for Christian living is that of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He was known for going against the popular opinions of the religious elite and would regularly commune with the “sinners” and others who were not normally welcome among the religious. That being the case, this Church welcomes any and all. We believe the Church must be the safest, most loving group they will know. We will welcome anyone; however, we will not approve of a sinful lifestyle and we will not change the message of the Bible. We teach and preach the truth in love, seeking to lead others to Christ, so that their lives will be changed. We will address sinful lifestyles, and not allow those to cause dissention within the Body. (See appendix 13)