WHAT’S IN A NAME?
“The harvest is plentiful...”
The name Harvest Gate is rooted in Biblical ideologies that come right from the heart of Jesus. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus tells his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord, who in charge of the harvest, to send more workers into the field." We know that this world is saturated with people who are ripe for the gospel. We also believe that we, as the church, are called to be a part of God's mission to redeem his creation and reconcile the world to him. As co-laborers with Jesus we are ordained and privileged to join with him, through the power and leading of Holy Spirit to be a part of the harvest. We are designed to reach a broken and searching world. While, the harvest is an important part of our purpose; without Jesus, our service, generosity, and acts reconciliation are futile.
“I AM the Gate”
Jesus, in John 10:9 tells his followers, "Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved."Our purpose is not to alert people to institutional religion - our purpose is to alert people to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ and to join him on mission. Simply put - we are absolutely obsessed with Jesus!
“We believe that it is our call as the church, to bring value, wisdom and unity to our community - to be more than a gathering of people - but a place of refuge, wisdom and love, as representatives of Jesus.”
Throughout his writings in the New Testament, Paul, when speaking of The Church used the word ecclesia. In today's vernacular we tend to widdle this down to mean "a gathering" of people. While this is not completely incorrect, we often lose a lot of the flavor of its original meaning. In the ancient world, all towns, villages and cities would have elders who would sit at the city gate at given times throughout the week. They would settle disputes between neighbors, formalize engagements, distribute goods as needs arose and would speak on behalf of the community. Simply stated, they brought value, wisdom and unity to the city. This gathering of people at the gate, was called an "ecclesia." We believe that it is our call as the church, to bring value, wisdom and unity to our community - to be more than a gathering of people - but a place of refuge, wisdom and love, as representatives of Jesus.