The HarvestDowntown leadership team has concluded that we are not to be a church that is merely educating people, but a church that values education within the context of preparing people to do the ministry that God has for them. Before we can be taught, however, we must first experience the healing Touch of Jesus for the pain and suffering that we all experience. Then we can be Taught the steps of ministry. Preparation requires that we then be Taken into hands on ministry experiences. It is here that we are truly prepared to repair others who need to experience the touch of Jesus.

Ultimately the concept is this: we do not exist as Believers just to learn about God, but to worship God. Worship is never something that is passive, but active and intentional. One key act of worship is that of ministry to those in need of repair. Our Passion for God and Compassion for the World compels us to Repair and Prepare the Community to Serve.

(Scriptures: Matthew 9:35-10:1; Ephesians 4:11-16)

A Kaleidoscope has many different and seemingly unrelated pieces. However as the light is added to it, the individual pieces relate to one another in a burst of color that is beautiful and connected. It is through the Light that each piece finds its purpose as an individual within the context of the whole. We understand that God is creative and all creativity is from God. For this reason, we desperately desire that every person, young and old, find the ministry for which God created them in order that we might become part of the larger Kaleidoscope, that is, the church.

Based upon the scripture found in I Corinthians 12, we have each been gifted in creative ways to serve the church that Jesus loves. This means that if we can discover what creative thing God has in store for us, we can give this gift of service to the church. Our role as a church is to help you discover what it is that God wants you to do and affirm you as you step out to serve Him in that area.

We want every ministry at HarvestDowntown to be a Team Ministry in order that no one person is solely responsible for a particular ministry. Our tool for accomplishing this philosophy is called “The Pizza Principle. Every ministry is to be team led and have four key areas or slices of focus. Each slice can be sliced into four slices which can, in turn, be sliced into four slices, etc.

Each team must have a team leader who gives direction to the team and serves as an encourager and exhorter to the team. It is within this team context that we can be prepared to do the ministries that God has for us and the programs of the church can grow and develop as the church grows and develops.