MISSION & VISION

Our Mission
We exist to help people encounter Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Everything begins and ends with Jesus the Son of God and Savior of the world. In Him alone, we find our way back to the Father.  In Him alone, we discover what is true from what is false. In Him alone we find meaning and purpose; a true life that begins in Him and will never end. The Harvest exists to help all to encounter and foster an authentic, life sustaining relationship with Jesus and each other!

Our Vision
To birth and establish Messianic congregations where Jewish and Gentile believers can unite, worship, fellowship, grow, and share this mission within the world we live.

Faith based congregations/synagogues are the historic way that God’s people come together in faith, love, and purpose. These are and remain places of identity, faith, hope, and love in a world that is lost, angry, hurt, and in despair.  We endeavor to do our part in replicating Messianic, faith-based communities that will connect believing Jews and Gentiles in life giving ways.

ESSENTIAL STATEMENT OF FAITH

1. THE SCRIPTURES – We believe the Bible (The Tanakh and Apostolic Scriptures[1] in their original autographs) is the inspired and inerrant Word of God.  The product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved upon by the Holy Spirit and we accept it as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine (II Tim. 3:16; I Thess. 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).

2. THE UNITY OF GOD - We believe that there is one God, YHWH[2], revealed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4; Gen.18; Is. 48:16; John 1:1-2, 14-18; John 10:30; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-15).

3. YESHUA THE MESSIAH - We believe in the deity of Yeshua[3] HaMashiach (John 1:1-18), in His virgin birth (Is. 9:6; Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25), in His sinless life (Is. 53; II Cor. 5:21; Lk. 1:35), in His miracles (Matt. 4:23-25), in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood (Is. 53; Dan. 9:24-27; Rom. 3:21-31; Heb 9&10), in His bodily resurrection (Zech. 12:10 & ch.14; Matt. 28), in His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Ps. 110; Ps. 16:10; Acts 1:1-11; Heb. 1:1-3), and in His personal return in power and glory (John 14:1-4 Acts 1:9-11; I Cor. 15:20-28; Hebrews 9:23-28).

4. MAN, HIS FALL AND REDEMPTION - We believe that man is a created being, made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam's transgression and fall, sin came into the world.  "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."  "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."  Yeshua, the Messiah, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the work of the devil and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God (Rom. 5:14; Rom. 3:10; Rom. 3:23; I John 3:8). We believe that salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the law (Rom. 3:19-25), and is made operative by grace through faith in Yeshua, producing works acceptable to God (Eph. 2:8). Moreover we believe that Yeshua is exclusively the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6; John 6:29, 40, 44; I John 5:11-12).

5. BAPTISM IN WATER AND SPIRIT – We believe in the mandate to be baptized (immersed in water) in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as a public act of ritual conversion from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, from Satan’s domain to God’s domain.  In regard to salvation it is not efficacious, but is intended to signify our repentance of sin and our turning to God by His grace through faith in Yeshua as Lord and Savior. This ritual water baptism is the believer’s public identification with the life, death, and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:37-38; Rom. 6:1-8) We believe the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire is a gift from God as promised by Yeshua the Messiah to all believers and is received subsequent to the New Birth (Matt. 3:11; John 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38, 39). The gift of tongues is one of the many manifestations of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7; Acts 2:4; I Cor. 12:1-11).  We believe in the operation of all the gifts of the Spirit as enumerated in God's Word. We embrace all of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

6. THE TORAH AND SANCTIFICATION - We believe that the Torah (five books of Moses) is a comprehensive summary of God's foundational laws and ways, as found in both the Tanakh and Apostolic Scriptures (Ex. 19 & 20; Deut. 5; Jer. 31:31-34; Matt. 5:17-19; Matt. 28:18-20; I Cor. 7:19; II Tim. 3:15-16; Heb. 8:10; Rev. 14:12).  Additionally, the Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see God.  We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation (Heb. 12:14; I Thess. 5:23; II Peter 3:18; Phil. 3:12-14; I Cor. 1:30; Rev. 14:12).  Therefore we encourage all believers, both Jews and Gentiles, to affirm, embrace, and practice these foundational laws and ways as clarified through the teachings of Messiah Yeshua (Matt. 5:17-19; Matt. 11:28-30).

7. MARRIAGE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY - We believe that God wonderfully and immutably created human beings as a biological male and a biological female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex/gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a biological man and a biological woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.  We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, transgenderism, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Lev. 18; Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).  We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of The Harvest as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to The Harvest members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by The Harvest in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22).  We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).  We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of The Harvest.

8. ISRAEL - We believe in God’s everlasting covenant relationship with the Jewish people including the physical (Land of Israel) and the spiritual blessings (Genesis 12:1-3, 17:1-7, Jeremiah 31:31-37). In the end times, after tribulation, all of Israel will be saved (Zechariah 14, Romans 11).

9. THE GENTILES – We believe Gentiles who place their faith and trust in Yeshua the Messiah as Lord and Savior, are grafted into Israel through a born again experience.  This new birth results in a new identity.  This new identity is a child of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  As a result, this new child is adopted into the family and ethnos of Israel and becomes a full member and fellow heir of the covenants of promise and blessings made to Israel.  The Gentiles who are grafted into Israel do not replace her.  Rather, they participate with her as the chosen ones from among the nations who are also called to be a part of His treasured people Israel. In terms of their adoption into the household of God, these newly adopted Gentile children are to be treated as if they were native-born descendants of Jacob.  As adopted Gentiles, they shall be accorded all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of being full members of the commonwealth of Israel and fellow heirs of the covenants of promise made to her. They do not replace Israel but neither are they excluded.  Like the mystery of the unity of God, the two groups are one in Messiah and yet distinct (Ex. 12:37-38; Deut 29:10-15; Deut. 31:9-13; Eze. 47:21-23; Isa. 56:1-8; Matt. 28:18-20; Jn. 10:1-18; Acts 15:11; Romans 9-11; I Corinthians 7:17-19; Eph. 1-3).

10. THE RESURRECTION - We believe in the personal, physical return, in power and glory, of Yeshua the Messiah to judge the living and the dead (John 14:1-4 Acts 1:9-11; I Cor. 15:20-28; Hebrews 9:23-28.) We believe in the physical resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost to the resurrection of damnation (Matt: 10:28; John 5:19-29; Rev. 20:11-15)

[1]Commonly, but erroneously called the Old Testament and New Testament.
[2]Although The Harvest is not dogmatic on this pronunciation, significant scholarly opinion holds that YHWH was in Moses’ time approximately pronounced Yahweh. (Exo. 3:15)
[3]Yeshua: “Salvation”; A shortened form of Yehoshua meaning (Yahweh’s) salvation.

TEN CORE VALUES