Our Worship
When We Worship
At Harvest we believe that worship is a lifestyle. We also believe that God calls us to live our lives together in Christ-centered community, so each Sunday we gather for a few hours to express corporately our love for God and for one another.
Our Sunday morning gatherings begin formally at 9 a.m. with a worship service in our beautiful sanctuary. Around 10:20 we move from the sanctuary to a time of informal fellowship around coffee and snacks. By 10:45 we re–gather for various classes and groups, each of which includes prayer for one another and discussion of how to understand and practically apply God’s Word. At 11:45 the entire congregation gathers for a closing song and blessing.
How We Worship
Our 9 a.m. Sunday morning worship service follows the biblical and historic four-fold pattern:
- Gathering – God calls us to gather in His presence and we do so by singing his praise.
- Word – God speaks to us through His Word and we respond by inviting the Spirit to search our hearts.
- Thanksgiving – God offers us His Son in the symbols of the bread and cup, and we receive them with thanksgiving.
- Sending – God sends us to proclaim and embody His mission, and we go forth.
Our Core Values in Worship
- We desire to encourage genuine interaction with God and with each other.
- We desire to encourage participation by all who are present.
- We desire to balance objective truth and subjective response.
- We desire to balance the old and the new.
- We desire to balance structure and spontaneity.
- We desire to emphasize the Good News of God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ.
- We desire to reflect the loving community of the Trinity in our life together.
Our Shared Leadership Approach
One thing you’ll notice about Harvest is that we have a team of Sunday morning teachers. Years ago we made a conscious choice to recognize the fact that the Lord had blessed us with a number of gifted and trained teachers of God’s Word. Rather than limit the teaching duties to one person, typically a senior pastor, we utilize a group of men who share the Sunday morning teaching responsibilities. We believe this approach is consistent with Scripture, and that it has benefited our congregation with a rich variety of teaching styles, all of which rest firmly on a commitment to the Bible as God’s Word.