Ministries

The Bible determines what a congregation of Christ's church is, and what a congregation of Christ's church does in its role as a congregation.  Key principles include the sufficiency of Scripture, sufficiency of Christ, and sufficiency of the Holy Spirit.  The following ministries are not all that the people of the Harvest congregation do.  They are how the corporate assembly follows God's prescription of the church in the Bible, as He uses His means to make the individuals and families of the congregation into Christians who live vigorously as disciples of Christ in the world, over all of which He is also King.

Worship. Since His resurrection, Jesus has been gathering His church to Himself on the first day of the week.  The Bible calls this the Lord's Day, and it continues to be a special day of Jesus' meeting with, working in, and revealing Himself to the gathering of His covenant people.  In keeping with the Bible's definition of day as morning and evening, and pattern of morning and evening worship, the Harvest Community congregation meets for gathered worship morning (10 a.m.) and evening (6 p.m.) every Lord's Day at 209 1st St NE, Orange City

We celebrate the Lord's Supper together on the first Lord's Day of every month, alternating between morning and evening services (even months in the evenings).  Please come prepared to enjoy it with us!

Also according to the Scriptures, we worship as families and individuals in our homes every day.  Different families and individuals do this differently, but it is part of our elders' ministry to provide whatever guidance and resources families need to saturate personal and family life with character-forming, life-directing, God-exalting, gospel-resting, heart-rejoicing worship.

Discipleship. In addition to the public means of grace in worship, and the building up the heads of our households to daily disciple their families, we study the Scriptures together as a congregation.  This happens at gatherings in the Bible class at 9a.m. on the Lord's Day and at the Prayer Meetings at 7p.m. on Wednesdays.  Currently, in the Bible class, we are studying through Judges and 1 Samuel.  As we come apart for prayer in the middle of every week, we study God's book of sung prayers--the Psalms; we read, sing, and pray straight through the psalter.

Our congregation focuses upon the home as the place of every-day discipleship.  The elders actively and intentionally disciple the head of each household, a great part of which is exhorting, equipping, and encouraging him to disciple the members of his house.  We expect that the most significant part of this will be thoughtful and eager participation in the public means of grace (Word and sacrament on the Lord's Day), but also that this will include daily use of the ordinary means of grace in his home.  A head of household can expect to meet with an elder once a month for helping him fulfill his spiritual responsibilities in his home, in addition to whatever other mentoring and discipleship he wishes or needs; elders are available and accessible, and the congregation is encouraged to make us of this great gift to the church.

God has given in Scripture not just elders and families but the fellowship of all the saints for our encouraging and building each other up in Christ.  In addition to encouraging the congregation to engage in such fellowship frequently by obeying the Bible's command to practice hospitality, we plan/schedule it in monthly fellowship meals, after morning worship on the 1st Lord's Day of every month.

Evangelism. Our elders engage in intentional, systematic evangelism, focusing especially upon those who are most likely never to have heard the good news about Jesus.  The entire congregation is expected to be looking for such opportunities with those with whom the Lord brings them into contact, and should be developing the skills of steering conversations toward Christ and of giving a good answer for the hope that is within them.

Harvest Community is delighted to be a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America, a church that seeks to grow through God's blessing upon gospel faithfulness, rather than the apparent successes of human cleverness. The PCA's motto is to be "Faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission." The result is that when we see fruit, the glory is all God's and not ours.

We gather for Lord's Day worship every Sunday morning (10a) and evening (6p), at 209 1st St NE in Orange City.  If you have questions that are not answered by the pages linked above, please contact us via online form, email (church@harvestoc.net), post (209 1st St. NE, Orange City, IA 51041), or telephone (712.395.0983).