Part One

SESSION ONE
INTRODUCTION TO BECOMING PARTNERS IN HIS KINGDOM AT HARVEST
The purpose of this “Partnership” instruction is to bring an understanding of the vision and values that guide us as a local church as well as to clarify what we, as a pastoral team, expect of all those who become committed and actively involved at Harvest as Partners. It will also help you know what to expect from our pastoral team. Hopefully it will inspire you and build your faith regarding the opportunity and privilege it can be to be joined to a fellowship of believers centered in the gospel of Christ.
As an eldership Team here at Harvest Church we are deeply committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been our primary goal to make certain we are all well established in the gospel, and as a result, are enabled through our faith in the gospel to enjoy fellowship with one another on a much deeper level and accomplish the purpose we are all called to in the gospel.
A fellowship not driven by the gospel is destined to disruption and chaos due to being tossed to and fro. It will be swept up in whatever is popular in the culture or on the Christian book shelf at a given moment. Being committed to the gospel rescues us from chasing after fads that tax the time, energy, and resources of the saints and usually end up alienating anyone who isn’t on board with the latest greatest thing. For this reason we are looking for those who want to partner with us in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This teaching material is loosely based on Paul's letter to the Philippians. We have chosen Philippians for the simple reason that it was a model church for all the other churches that Paul had founded. In fact, our calling “members” Partners is based on a statement of Paul regarding the Philippians in Philippians 1:5 “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
What is interesting about the word partner in Philippians 1:5 is the Greek word Koinonia and it is found three other times in this letter (Philippians 2:1, 3:10, 4:14). In a sense, most of the material in this letter is gathered around the four uses of this word (translated by the English words, partner, participation, fellowship, and share). These are all very active words and help us to understand what was expected of those who were part of the local church in Philippi.
So you will hear us promoting the idea of believers partnering with us as opposed to using the term membership. We use the term partner purposely because we believe the term member, while biblical, has passive connotations in our culture.
For instance: I have a Sam's Club Member card in my wallet, even though I have not used it in a great while. My visits there were to get in and get out with no one getting hurt and to get what I went after. In like fashion, many today regard themselves as members of a local church, but are only passively involved on the basis of what is in it for them. Their involvement may begin and end with an occasional Sunday attendance. That defines a church attender but not a partner.
In the first church they too enjoyed the preaching of the apostles and took advantage of the instruction it gave them for living. But they also participated in other areas of Christian community and purpose. Their being a part was not about choosing a favorite preacher, worship team or style of service. They had a purpose greater than themselves! They were, loving God, loving each other, and loving their neighbors!
Tim Atchley
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