F.A.Q
Where are we? How do I get ahold of someone?
The Storehouse
home of
Harvest Community Fellowship Church
200 W Main Street
Washington, IN 47501
812-257-8821
office@harvestonline.org
M-F 8-4
Sunday coffee opens at 8:45
Worship services starts at 9:15
Across the street to the east from the public library.
The building itself has a big sign that says “Storehouse.” Since “the church” is comprised of people and not a place the building was purchased with a vision of using it as a community center most of the time and a “Church” meeting place the other small portion of the time. The Storehouse currently is used by various community organizations and families for everything from visits with Children, to graduation parties, to first communion celebrations. Contact the office at the above phone number or email for more information.
What is a Church?
The Bible teaches that anyone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ constitutes his Church. That means that a Church is not a building, a denomination, or even a particular group of people who meet to worship on a particular day; but all of God’s people through all time.
What happens on Sunday then?
Harvest Community Fellowship, our particular expression of Christ’s church , meets together on Sunday morning to worship God. The writer to the Hebrews admonishes his readers not to neglect meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). Paul wrote to those in Ephesus and Colossae to greet each other with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. Paul also exhorted the church in Rome to preach God’s word so that people will put their faith in Christ.
If you come to one of our Sunday gatherings you will see that we start with a time of fellowship. We drink coffee together, grab a doughnut, and catch up from the previous week. Then we start the “service” portion of the morning with worship where we praise God in song for his countless blessings. Next, you will hear God’s word proclaimed in a Sermon. We preach expositionally: by that we mean that we walk through books of the bible verse by verse. We do that to keep ourselves honest and force ourselves to teach through difficult, boring, or otherwise controversial passages as well as the more lighthearted and uplifting passages. We believe that the Bible is the very Word of God. It is important that as God’s chosen people we know and understand ALL of his word.
Who is our Pastor?
We have one elder (highlight and link to Sean/Emily picture) who happens to get paid to lead our body. We don’t really call him “Pastor” per se, although he fulfills many of the duties traditionally assigned to the pastor. We see in the Bible that the pattern of leadership is a “plurality of elders” consisting of multiple men whom God has gifted with particular leadership skills and abilities. We do not see that there is a biblical precedent for a “one man show” model where one man is responsible for preaching and running the Sunday worship services and running the day to day operations of the group. We believe that those responsibilities are to be shared among a group of gifted men whom God has called to leadership and that meet qualifications set out in the New Testament.
Why isn’t the Pastor preaching this weekend?
Since our body is lead by a “plurality of elders” the teaching/preaching duties are divided among the elders who seem to have been especially gifted by God with teaching skills. This spreads the duties up nicely and gives our group the opportunity to hear from multiple voices as we work through God’s word.
What we believe about baptism?
Salvation is by Grace alone, through faith alone. Period. Baptism does not in anyway add to or subtract from the work of Christ on the Cross to redeem his people. However, Christ did commission us to go to all the world Baptizing them and teaching them to obey his commandments (Matthew 28). We see that the pattern for baptism in the New Testament is complete immersion in water of those who make a profession of faith in Christ. This ceremony is performed in the presence of other believers who can attest that the fruit they see in the person’s life is consistent with their profession. Baptism serves as an outward sign of the inward reality of a heart that has been changed by The Holy Spirit and now loves God and submits to his lordship. We extend this sacrament to anyone who professes faith in Christ down to and including children as long as their parents and other members of our body can testify to the genuineness of their faith.
Who can take communion?
Communion (otherwise known as or the Lord’s supper) is the 2nd of two sacraments that were commissioned by Christ (the 1st being baptism). On the night before his crucifixion, Christ took bread and wine and instructed his Apostles to eat them “in remembrance of me.” We continue this solemn remembrance today. Paul advised the Christians in Corinth that some of them were becoming sick and even dying because their hearts weren’t in a good place when they were celebrating the supper. So we do not want to take this meal for granted. We believe that anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ can come and participate in Communion. We also believe that fathers, as spiritual heads of their children, have the opportunity to provide communion to their children, if they so choose.
Does God still do Miracles?
We believe that all men are born “dead in the trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and during the process of regeneration are ” made alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2: 5) . This act, in itself, is a miracle that happens everyday all over the world. We also believe that God is a personal God and that he is still active in the world. Sometimes that activity manifests through changing the hearts of his people. Other times he heals disease, or speaks to people in dreams and visions, or any other number of miraculous conduits. All of these experiences need to be tested next to the standard of God’s revealed word (The Bible) and if they contradict that word they should be seen skeptically.
Do you speak in tongues?
We have several members of our body that have been given the gift of tongues. We believe the New Testament pattern of that gift’s manifestation is preeminently as a private prayer language between the one praying and God. Nonetheless, “tongues” can be a part of our larger group worship services if a translator is present so that the rest of the body can understand what is being said.
What do we believe about the Bible?
The Holy Bible was written by men as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. It is our sole infallible rule of faith. It equips the believer for his or her life in this world. It contains sixty six books that were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. These books have subsequently been translated into a myriad english translations. We do not hold to an official “Harvest” translation because we believe the best translation is the one that you will most often get off the shelf and read.
Who can come to Church?
“All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23); so everyone is welcome. No shirt, No shoes, No problem. Every person in the world is first and foremost a rebel against their creator. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:10-11) . We are all in desperate need of a savior. Every member of Christ’s church (including everyone at Harvest Community Fellowship) is first and foremost a redeemed sinner. They were born into a fallen world and were rebellious against their creator until he deemed it appropriate to take out their heart of stone and transplant a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) . Our hope and prayer is that Harvest Community Fellowship will provide a place where your wounds can be cleansed and your heart can be refocused towards the only hope any of us have, Christ our King.
What should I wear to Church?
Come as you are. Jesus does not care if your clothes are new or old, he wants to wash you clean and then cloth you in a new perfect wardrobe.