We believe the Bible to be the only authoritative, infallible, inspired Word of God for all faith and conduct.

1 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12

We believe in one God who is eternally existent in three persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1:1-2; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30

We believe Jesus was fully God and fully man.  He died for the sins of the world and was resurrected to life.  He is the only way for people to be saved from their sins.

1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:3-4

We believe in the gifts of the Spirit and the ministry of the Holy Spirit by which each believer is empowered to live a godly life.  The Holy Spirit was sent to live within each born-again believer.

Romans 8:13-14; 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

We believe that people (Adam and Eve) were created in the image of God.  As a direct result of their voluntary disobedience to God, every person that is born into this world enters with a sin nature.

Genesis 1:26-31; 3:1-24; Romans 3:25, 5:12-21

We believe that every person is born with a sin nature and is in need of salvation.  Addressing this need, God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross and take the punishment of sin for each person.  Through Christ’s death, He became a substitute for every person who accepts Him as their Savior.  We receive forgiveness of sins and are made right with God through faith in the shed blood of Jesus.

John 3:1-18; Romans 3:23, 5:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5

We believe water baptism is to follow belief in Jesus Christ.  This outward act of obedience symbolizes the washing away of sins and the new life available in Christ.

Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12

We believe the church is not a building or ministry, but the worldwide group of people whose faith is in Jesus Christ and who follow His teachings.

1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 2:19-22

We believe that God created sex and governs sexual behavior by His Word.  Sex is intended only within the heterosexual marriage relationship (Genesis 1:27-28; Hebrews 13:4).  We believe that God created two distinct genders, and rejecting or altering that gender is a rejection of God’s design.  Sexual sins include but are not limited to:

• Fornication: sex before marriage
  Acts 15:20; 1 Corinthians 5:1-9, 7:1-2; Ephesians 5:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
• Homosexuality: sex between two people of the same gender
  Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:24-28
• Adultery: sex with a partner other than one’s legal heterosexual spouse
  Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:20; Proverbs 5:1-20; Matthew 5:28, 19:18
• Polyamory: engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all
  Hebrews 14:3
• Bigamy: having more than one heterosexual spouse at a time
• Bestiality: sexual intercourse between a person and an animal
  Leviticus 18:23
• Pornography: images of all kinds that include nudity and sexually exciting and explicit behavior
  Job 31:1
• Elective Surgical Procedures: designed to alter one’s physical body to that of the other gender
  Genesis 5:2; Psalm 139:14-17; Matthew 19:4

We believe marriage is an exclusive covenant between one man and one woman as described by God in Scripture.  Marriage is a picture of Christ’s love for the church.

Genesis 2:18-24; Ephesians 5:31-32

We believe a family is made up of a father, a mother, and their biological or adopted children.  Children are to obey their parents.  Parents are responsible for the schooling (instruction/training) and disciplining of their children.  Children are only to be raised by a father and mother who are united in the holy covenant of marriage.  Cohabitating, homosexual, and polyamory relationships are not recognized as valid family roles.

Genesis 1:27-28; Deuteronomy 4:9-10; Malachi 2:15; Ephesians 6:1-4

We believe in the resurrection of both the believer and unbeliever to eternal life.  The believer to the resurrection of life and the unbeliever to the resurrection of eternal judgment.

Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29

We believe that all who accept the redemptive work of Christ will be welcomed into heaven with these words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”  Heaven will be a place of no more sin, sickness, and death.  It will be full of joy and of the presence of the Lord.

Matthew 25:21; John 14:1-4; Revelation 21:3-4

We believe that everyone who has not accepted the redemptive work of Christ will suffer eternal separation from God.  All whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be found guilty and sentenced to the Lake of Fire which was created for Satan and his angels.

Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43-47; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 19:20, 20:10-15

We value God’s Word as our ultimate authority and we are committed to both humbly and boldly proclaiming it through word and deed.

• 2 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21

Our culture tells us that truth is relative and that there is no such thing as absolutes.  The result of this worldview is brokenness, as people do not have truth to build their lives upon.  We believe that absolute truth does exist and can be found in God’s Word, the Bible.  The Bible is our ultimate authority and standard for life.  It is to shape our belief and motivate our actions.  We are committed to lovingly and intentionally sharing the truths of God’s Word not just with our voices, but with our actions.

We value a dynamic relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

• John 17:3

God is a person and is knowable.  In a world of empty religious expressions, we are committed to experiencing a relationship with Jesus, not religion.  We live indebted to Jesus for taking the penalty of our sins upon Himself and dying in our place.  The gratitude we carry in our hearts motivates us to pursue a deep relationship with God.

We value all people and welcome people from every nation on earth.

• Genesis 1:26–27; Genesis 12:1–3; John 3:16; Revelation 7:9–10

The Bible teaches us that people mean everything to God and as a result, people mean everything to us.  Jesus is the Savior of all people.  That is why we desire to build a church family made up of people from all ethnicities, economic statuses, educational backgrounds, and physical/mental abilities here in the greater Perry County area.  We value diversity in the body of Christ.

We value living authentic Christian lives before God and others.

• John 15:5; Romans 12:16; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 3:7–10; 1 Peter 5:6

Our world is filled with people who are masters of disguise.  People pretend to be something they are not in a vain attempt to make others believe they have everything together.  We simply are not willing to live that way before each other and before God.  We refuse to live for the applause of others and instead seek as a church family to win the approval of God.  We seek to be real with God and others.  Humility and vulnerability bring healing and freedom.

We value living hospitable lives that welcome others into our homes and into our lives.

• Romans 12:13; Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9

In a culture that encourages loneliness and seeks to keep people “out of my space,” we believe that God has called us to invite people into our space.  Inviting people over to our houses and sharing meals together values people and builds deep relationships.  The home is a place of great ministry.

We are committed to intentionally engage the community and serve the people around us.

• Matthew 25:35–40; Mark 10:44–45; 1 Peter 4:10–11

Over a period of time throughout history, the church of Jesus Christ moved from being a central part of society that loved and served its community to being a lifeless institution that loved and served itself.  As a result, the church is viewed as a lifeless and useless organization by much of society.  We believe that God has placed His people in society to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ and make a lasting change in the lives of our friends, family members, and neighbors.  We value business, community service, and volunteerism. 

We value the multiplication of God's kingdom beyond our local community through church planting and global missions.

• Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 1:8; Titus 1:5

Multiplication is expected everywhere in the church.  Individual believers are to multiply, small groups are to grow and multiply, and churches are to multiply by planting other churches.  Church planting is proven to be one of the best methods of kingdom growth.  We believe each church, although part of one global church family, will assume its own unique culture.  These differences compliment each other and should never be seen as competition.  Abundant Harvest is part of a church planting movement, called DOVE International.  We value church planting both locally and internationally.

Our story clearly exhibits the power of church planting.  In 1999, Abundant Harvest Church was planted by a handful of devoted believers.  Their faith grew as they believed God and countless more lives have been transformed over the years because of their vision to plant a strong, full gospel church in Perry County.  We are a vibrant, gospel-centered, missional Christian church today because these individuals were willing to invest their time and resources into church planting.  As such, we choose to be a church planting church.

We value excellence and creativity because it honors God.

• Psalm 29:2; Colossians 3:23

Excellence and creativity bring God glory.  God is creative and has made all people to be creative vessels.  Within each person are God-given gifts and talents that are to be developed and used for His glory.  Sadly, many live their lives without tapping into their creativity in business, the arts, the trades, and many other areas of life.  We diligently seek to promote all gifts and callings and to pursue excellence in all that we do. 

We value unity of purpose.

• John 17:22-23; Acts 4:32; Ephesians 4:3

Jesus prayed for unity.  In a world of disunity, we seek to be a church that keeps the main thing the main thing.  We seek to be a church that is committed to unity in the body of Christ despite great diversity of worship style, cultural backgrounds, and theological differences.  We refuse to see other churches as competition, but rather members of the same team.

We value prayer as a means to communicate with God and through which He brings about eternal transformation.

• Proverbs 15:29; Hebrews 4:14–16; James 5:16

Prayer is more than “Now I lay me down to sleep.”  Prayer is critical to having a deeper relationship with God and to living a victorious life.  In prayer, we not only connect with God, but we also fight and win spiritual battles.  Prayer is the foundation upon which everything in the kingdom of God is built.  As one man of God once said, “No man is greater than his prayer life.” 

We value one-on-one discipleship as the primary means by which people’s lives are healed of addiction, bondage, family curses, and worldly thinking to become mature in Christ.

• Matthew 28:19–20; Romans 8:29; Romans 12:1–2; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 2:11–15

Christianity isn’t just about salvation; it is also about life transformation.  Jesus’ method was one-on-one, and so we are committed to one-on-one discipleship.  We believe that every believer is to disciple other believers.  The Devil seeks to intimidate believers and make them feel inadequate in knowledge, experience, education, and their past.  However, at Abundant Harvest Church, we empower all believers with the necessary tools so they can disciple one-on-one and see the power of God at work changing lives.

We value spiritual fathering and mothering.

• Malachi 4:5-6; 1 Corinthians 4:15-17

All too often, believers find themselves living in loneliness, despite being surrounded by a vibrant community of believers.  To avoid this, we are committed to intentionally seeking spiritual parents for all.  We believe that spiritual parents are not qualified because of their age, but rather their maturity in the Lord.  Spiritual parents make themselves available to their spiritual sons and daughters to listen, counsel, and encourage them in the Lord.  Small groups are part of spiritual parenting, as God brings believers together in spiritual families to live life together.

We value marriage and family as designed by God between one man and one woman, with the purpose of raising godly children.

• Mark 10:6-9; Ephesians 5:22-6:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20; Hebrews 13:4; Malachi 2:15

The institution of family was designed by God.  Healthy families are critical to the success of the church and of society.  We intentionally teach our singles how to live in purity and how to find a godly spouse.  We value premarital counseling.  We encourage all husbands and wives to make their marriage a priority by seeking to honor the other above themselves.  We seek to equip parents in their daily calling to raise their children in the fear of the Lord.  At Abundant Harvest Church, we love families. 

We value financial generosity, recognizing we are to steward our resources for the glory of God.

• Malachi 3:8-11; Matthew 6:19-24; Matthew 23:23; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7; Hebrews 7:4-7

Giving 10% of our income is established in Scripture to provide for those who care for us spiritually and additional offerings are to provide for kingdom expansion.  We believe God prospers Christians in business so that they can give great amounts of finances into the church.  Believers give faithfully as an act of spiritual warfare, surrender, and trust.  At Abundant Harvest Church, we are more interested in our lives making a difference eternally than we are in acquiring temporal possessions.  

We value the calling of every believer to be both a priest to the Lord and a minister of the gospel.

• Revelation 1:5-6; 1 Peter 4:9; Ephesians 4:11-12; Titus 1:5; 1 Timothy 4:12-14)

Being a Christian does not mean we go to church on Sunday.  Rather, believers are to minister to the Lord as priests and know the Lord’s voice personally in their private times of prayer and worship.  We believe God speaks to His people.  As a result of knowing God’s heart, He calls us to be ministers of His love to the world around us.  The elders of the church are to constantly be encouraging believers in their callings and publicly releasing new leaders in the church.