Membership Sermon Series

Member Covenant

When anyone enters into a relationship with God by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, they are entering into two covenants:

  1. To journey with God for the rest of their lives and love Him fully.

  2. To journey with His other children in the community of a local church.

The purpose of the Harvest Member Covenant is:

  1. To join the Holy Spirit in forming an authentic church community which reflects the relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit.

  2. To protect the gospel by ensuring that the confession and lifestyle of all members of Harvest are consistent with Jesus’ teachings.

  3. To encourage consistency, accountability, and loving unity within the church family.

  4. To accomplish God’s mission for Harvest.

This agreement does not imply that you will never fall short of the goals, but that the desire of your heart is to fulfill each of the responsibilities stated to the best of your ability. We trust that your commitment will be a personal blessing to your own journey in Christ, as well as a blessing to those around you.

Leadership Covenant

With the help of the Holy Spirit, the church leadership commits to the following:

1. We commit ourselves to lovingly caring for you and seeking your growth in Christ (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12).

2. We commit to providing teaching, preaching, and counsel from the Scriptures (Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18).

3. We commit that this teaching will span the whole counsel of Godʼs Word (Acts 20:27-28).

4. We commit to helping you in times of need (Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35; James 2:14-17).

5. We commit that your elders and deacons (when they are recognized) will meet the criteria assigned to them in the Scriptures (1 Timothy 3:1-13, 5:17-22; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4).

6. We commit to praying for you regularly, particularly when you are sick (James 5:14).

7. We commit to guarding against false teachers (Acts 20:28-31).

8. We commit to exercising church discipline when necessary (Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5; Galatians 6:1).

9. We commit to helping you become equipped to serve Christ in the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:11-13).

10. We commit to seeking God’s will for our church community to the best of our ability as we study the Scriptures and follow the Spirit (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-5).

11. We commit to setting an example and joining you in fulfilling the duties of church membership (1 Corinthians 11.1; Philippians 3:17; 1 Timothy 4:12).

General Covenant

With the guiding help of the Holy Spirit, I commit to the following:

1. I am a Christian who has been saved from my sins by the grace of Jesus Christ. I have been baptized to give testimony of my identification with the body of Christ and obedience to the Scriptures.

2. I agree that I am in harmony with the Harvest Confession of Faith. I will express to the eldership areas of doctrine where I may not agree, and commit not to publicly or privately ridicule, seek to undermine, or create division regarding the doctrine of Harvest.(Hebrews 13:7, 17; Ephesians 4:1-3; 1 Timothy 4:6, 6:20; Proverbs 6:16-19)

3. I will seek to honor God by building up and encouraging the body of believers at Harvest – refraining from speaking or acting in a manner that would harm the reputation or well-being of God’s church and/or its individual members (1 Peter 4:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Ephesians 4:29)

4. I will submit myself to the leadership of Harvest (Hebrews 13:17) and to the discipline of the congregation (private or public) in those cases where it is deemed biblically necessary by the pastors (Matthew 18:15-20), hereby giving informed consent that public discipline may be instituted to any member of Harvest.

5. I covenant to submit to the authority of the Scriptures as the final arbiter on all issues (Psalm 119; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). God enabling me, I will strive to consider my commitment to this Membership Covenant on a yearly basis. I understand that it is an evaluative tool, as well as an affirmation of my continuing conviction and purpose. My responsibility will be to notify the Harvest Church leadership if at any time I can no longer commit to this covenant, or if I have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding Harvest Church.

Mission Covenant

I Commit to Making Disciples.

I commit myself to the Harvest church family and agree to aid in fulfilling its mission to bring the gospel to McLean County. I recognize that this will be accomplished by pursuing Harvest’s mission and ministry focus through the church as a whole, Disciple Groups, my family, and in my individual life.

I Commit to Being a Disciple.

I will be devoted to fellowship with other members of the Harvest family through gatherings for the purpose of encouragement, discipleship, and accountability. I will also endeavor to maintain a close relationship with the Lord through regular personal Bible reading, prayer, fellowship and practice of the other spiritual disciplines (1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Acts 2:42, 46).

My journey in Christ will be evident through my regular participation in the various gatherings (Sunday morning gathering, Disciple Groups, members’ meetings) (Psalm 119:97, 105; Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:23-25).

I will strive to properly manage the resources God has given me. This includes my time, body, gifts, talents, attitudes, finances and possessions (Ephesians 5:15-18; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:1-16; Galatians 5:22-26; Proverbs 3:9-10). This includes regular and consistent giving (1 Corinthians 16:2) to Harvest Church that is sacrificial (2 Corinthians 8:3) and cheerful (2 Corinthians 8-9) in order to support the ministry and expenses of Harvest, to relieve the poor, and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world, as well as investing my time through my spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Romans 12:1-8; 1Corinthians 12:7-31; Galatians 5:13).