Sometimes, the church can make everything about getting people across a "finish line", through praying the sinner’s prayer and making a profession of faith in Jesus. Often times there is much less emphasis on actually applying the teaching of Jesus into their life. We want to get people into heaven without getting heaven into them. This results in immature Christians at best and false conversions at worst. Sometimes, churches do not practice the way of Jesus together, or organize around relational discipleship in any way. There is little emphasis on walking with other believers in a group, in order to learn how to hear, trust, and obey Jesus in every area of life.
At Harvest Mill, “Mill” is a part of our name because we believe that a relationship with God is more of a process (similar to milling flour) than a one time event. God doesn’t just save us from the penalty of sin, he save us from the power of sin as we apply His word into our lives. We call this Practicing The Way of Jesus, and we spend time talking about the specific practices and how to implement them. The practices do not save us, or earn us any favor with God, but they help us grow to love God and others in deeper ways. We also put a high priority on relational disciple making throughout the week in discipleship groups. We believe that it as we practice the way of Jesus together that the Holy Spirit shapes and forms the character of Christ in us. We have not been successful as a church unless everyone involved is growing in godly character. (Matthew 5-7, Matthew 12:50, Luke 6:46, Luke 9:23, Acts 2:42-47, Galatians 5:22-23)