August 19, 2008 by 0 comments

Posted in: News & Events

 

 

FAQs

1. Why the name, Harvest Community Church? Much thought, prayer and research went into choosing a name.  First, the name needed to connect with our valley.  Harvest identifies positively with the agricultural blessing in our valley and Selah specifically.  The name also reveals God's desire to reap a great Harvest by transforming the lives of people right where we live. Some of the scripture passages that influenced this choice and speak of a harvest are:
   Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. John 4:35 (ESV) They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. Acts 4:3-4 (NIV) After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Luke 10:1-2 (ESV)
   Secondly, Community is a great descriptive word for what the church is truly meant to be.  A Community is a group of believers who are diverse in many ways and yet have unity in Christ.  What we desire to see is that this new Community of Christ followers will impact the Selah community and beyond. "We desire to be a community impacting the community". Finally, we are a church.  A church is the body of believers who have been called out by Jesus Christ and called together in Jesus Christ on Mission.

1.  What is the vision and purpose for the new church? In this area we have our clear direction given to us by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).  Briefly, the church exists for evangelism and discipleship.  We must have both or the church becomes off mission.  Our mission statement is:  Leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

1. Who is our target audience? We are specifically aiming to reach the unchurched that are undecided about Jesus Christ.  They live in the community or surrounding community and are not against Christ...they just haven't decided follow Him, yet.
   
   
2. When will the new church officially start?  Our official launch date is March 1, 2009.  We will be conducting soft launch or practice services beginning in mid January 2009 in our rented facility.

1. Where will the new church meet? First in the community of Selah, because of the growing demographic of people vs. the evangelical church representation.  Specifically, a location for the new church has been arranged; we have contracted with the Selah Civic Center (216 south First Street in Selah, WA 98942) beginning January 11^th. We have the building secured from 8:30 AM-1:00 PM every Sunday.

1. How many Services will we have?  We will probably begin with one service being held at 10 or 10:30 AM.

1. What will ministry to children look like on a Sunday morning? We believe will have the ability and facility to minister children from birth to fifth grade.  *There will be an emphasis on including children with their families as a part of the service.

1. What are the criteria we are using to know if the new church is ready to launch?

(1)     75 adults or more

(2)     Leadership - elders in place

(3)     Small groups established for those called to go

(4)     A building to meet in

(5)     A worship team

(6)     A youth ministry team

(7)     A children's ministry team

(8)     Money amount raised

(9)     Incorporation: bylaws and doctrinal statement

1. What is happening right now? Currently we are asking people to consider JOINING this new church.  This fall we will be asking everyone who is going to join a Church Planting homegroup.  We will be organizing into ministry teams and holding monthly gatherings to build and encourage the congregation.

10.   Will Harvest be a part of a denomination or association?  Harvest Community Church is being planted/"birthed" out of West Side Baptist church.  West Side is a part of the CBNW (Conservative Baptist Northwest) association of churches.  The CBNW has adopted a policy that any church planted by an existing CBNW church is automatically considered to be a part of the association.   The CBNW provides us with relationships and resources that we feel are a blessing and not a hindrance to this new church. We are also in the process of joining a church planting network called the acts29 network (www.acts29network.org).  This is a growing network of churches in the United States and around the world committed to the great commission and strategically starting and supporting new church plants.  The network gets its name from the fact that the book of Acts ends with 28 chapters but the church is not done, therefore we live in the Acts 29 era. 

11.   What are the needs and where can I serve? The needs are great; to name a few... we need to form several teams (this does not mean-sit on a board!) to be prepared to minister well from the start.  We are looking for people who love God and love children to serve on a children's team.  We are looking for people who love God and love students to serve on a youth team. We are looking for people who love God and are gifted musically to serve with Mark Flippin on a worship team.  We will need people to serve on setup and tear down teams (probably in month rotations). We need people who are will to serve as greeters (must be friendly) and people who like food & coffee to serve on the hospitality team.  We need people to serve on a visitor follow-up team.  We need office volunteers who can cut, staple and stuff paper in order to communicate with people.  We need people who love computers, graphics and websites to serve on our media team.  We need people of integrity and discretion to serve on the Finance team.  We need people who will lift up the church and community in intercessory prayer to serve on the prayer team. We need people who are excited about outreach to serve on local outreach team. We need YOU to serve because God has gifted you to Serve!

*It is important to be asking God to fill you with his Spirit and reveal your giftedness to you in order to minister out of joy and not out of frustration.

1. When will we be able to begin giving (tithing) to the new church? TBA