What We Believe
We are a "non-denominational fellowship of believers" who seek simply to be "Jesus followers only". In one sense, we share a common heritage with all believers everywhere who name Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
In another sense we share a common heritage with a restoration movement of several thousand congregations who identify simply by
the name "Christian Church". This fellowship of autonomous congregations have no outside organization or hierarchy they must submit to, but rather cooperate on a voluntary basis for the support of colleges/universities, camps, cross-cultural mission efforts, evangelistic and benevolent efforts etc..
We seek unity with other Jesus followers on what is essential to faith and allow for differences in non-essential matters of opinion. (See "Doctrine" section below)
Our Faith
A primary focus of the fellowship of congregations identified as "Christian Church" is a commitment to the unity of all believers through the restoration of the essentials of following Jesus Christ as found in the New Testament scriptures. The goal of this spiritual unity is that we might have a more powerful testimony for Christ in this world. We do not see ourselves as the only Jesus followers, but seek to be "Jesus followers only" through restoring the beliefs and practices of the New Testament believers to the church today. This requires a diligent search for truth and that we study the Scriptures to know what God has done for His creation, including us. It does not mean that we have all the answers. It does mean that all of us must always be a part of the search for truth. HCC does not follow a man-made creeds or statements of faith. Rather, we seek to be obedient to Christ and His will for us on the basis of what the Scriptures communicate about Him.
Our Mission
Harrisburg Christian Church exists to help people......
REACH UP to the God who created, loves and forgives us. In love, He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus, to rescue us from a life we chose to live estranged from Him. When we are restored through Jesus Christ into a growing relationship with our Father God, He defines all our relationships and we are infused with His Spirit helping us to...
REACH OUT to others with the "good news" that Christ reunites us with our heavenly Father. We seek to proclaim and live out that truth to our families, friends, neighbors, communities and around the world by everything we do and say! We then can....
GROW TOGETHER as God's family. Living in this way is an important goal of ours. We want to encourage each other in our walk with the Lord. We eagerly explore the scriptures together as we follow His ways, we want to serve the Lord - serve each other - and serve the world as "joint heirs of the grace of life". We gather regularly to praise Him, learn more about Him, encourage each other, and serve God and people.
Our Values
We value all people of all ages!
In each stage of life we can grow and learn to know and serve our Lord. HCC's discipleship, fellowship, outreach, and worship opportunities seek to remember that God values people of all ages; little ones through the later years. Every human, lovingly fashioned by God's design, to know and love Him. Because God has sent His Son to redeem all people, we have a strong commitment to sharing Christ locally, regionally, AND "globally". We welcome ALL people into our lives, our activities, and worship celebrations.
Global and "cross-cultural" ministries, specific outreach ministries and opportunities for short-term mission projects are a core part of HCC's ministry.
We value Individuals...we value individuals, and Families!
Every human is uniquely made in the image of God. Male and Female God created us, all of us "fearfully and wonderfully made", every piece of our DNA, every fiber of our being expressing His loving care for us and fashioned by the Divine. We are designed as special individuals with gifts, abilities, characteristics, and different physical appearances....yet equal in value and worth. We choose to view each other as gifts from God to be loved, cherished, and respected.
The family unit is God's design: we do best living in healthy familial relationships. God's plan to insure our social, mental, physical, and emotional well-being is for us to live in godly families. His design is one woman and one man in the covenant of life-long marriage. Children are a blessing to that union; by birth, adoption, or care-giving. Realizing that we do live in a broken world, we know that families can be fractured from God's original and best design. HCC loves and cares for "Blended families" with children and step-parents, single parents and their children. They are valued and are supported in their roles. Grandparents and extended families are also important parts of healthy families. Strong family units nurture and grow both children and adults in positive relationships with each other and the world. Ultimately helping them know and serve their Creator God, Redeemer and King.
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Our Doctrine
We teach that we are saved from our sins by God's grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ is God's Only Son, divine, yet fully human. Christ died on the cross to bring us forgiveness and bring us back into relationship with the Father God. He rose from the grave conquering sin and death, giving us victory over that which would come between us and God! We must claim Him as Savior and Lord of our lives. It begins with repentance from (turning away from) our sins, agreeing that we need Him, following Him in Christian Baptism (John 3:16, Romans 10:9, Acts 2:38), and seeking our whole life long to live His way! He is the ONLY way, truth, and life that reconciles us to our Heavenly Father: our creator and God. There is NO other name by which we can be saved...saved from meaningless life and an estrangement from our Heavenly Father. We rejoice in the truth of His love and His longing to be in relationship with us both now and forever!
We practice baptism of believers by immersion because it is the mode of baptism practiced in the New Testament scriptures, and because immersion baptism is acceptable to all Jesus followers everywhere. Baptism is a beautiful picture of our death, burial, and resurrection to a new life in Christ. It shows us in a powerful way the complete "washing away" of our old life of selfish sin and a new, clean opportunity to really "live" anew!
We share in the weekly observance of the Lord's Supper. We see the celebration of communion as a remembrance of the death of Jesus for our sins, and a reminder of His living presence with us today. We pass the elements of grape juice and bread that help us recall His shed blood, and body given out our of love for us. This time when we focus on the great sacrifice of love Jesus endured just for us, is the highlight of our Worship Celebrations together. We invite all who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior to participate in this special time. (We use unleavened bread or crackers and grape juice.)
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Our Vision
We teach that all believers can grow to maturity as apprentices/disciples/followers of Jesus Christ.
An apprentice practices the way of their teacher, a disciple is one who chooses to follow their Master. It is a daily decision that calls forth all we are and can be. We are promised the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of Scripture to guide us as we engage in this process. The "Fruit of the Spirit" characterizes one who has a growing and vital relationship with God. (Galatians 5) We are committed to helping each other follow Jesus! We long to know Him better and encourage daily devotion to that quest.
The Bible finds an important place in our church because JESUS CHRIST is our primary focus. In the pages of scripture we learn what God has done for us, and how we in turn are to relate to Him and others. It is the record of God's love expressed to all mankind. It gives us a picture of lives that followed the Lord in wonderful ways. It also shows us the tragedy of people who chose against God and the consequences of that choice. The Bible is inspired by God and serves as our rule for what we believe and practice as we follow Jesus.
Our "vision" is to see believers grow in their faith and maturity through following Jesus more closely as they study the Scriptures, engage in personal prayer and worship of the Lord, by lovingly serving others both in the church family and with those who are not believers; encouraging the Church through fellowship, service and worship together as Christ's Body here on earth, expressing His love and care for all whom He created in His image, and taking care of this earth we live upon.
Our Purpose
We understand our purpose as a church is the fulfillment of Jesus' command to "make disciples of all nations" as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. Beyond all other goals, bringing the "good news" of Jesus Christ to all people is our priority. It permeates every decision and effort made by our church family at HCC.
It is not an easy task. It cannot be done outside of His will and without the power of His Holy Spirit.
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Everything we seek and hope to accomplish is surrounded by this purpose to help people...
REACH UP, REACH OUT, & GROW TOGETHER!
