A Reformed Voice Just Outside Boyertown
On Colebrookdale Road, just a few minutes outside the borough of Boyertown in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Harvest Fellowship Church gathers as a congregation shaped by the theology of the Protestant Reformation. The church identifies itself as a Reformed Bible Fellowship Church, and its stated aim is to "preach Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ" (Colossians 1:28). Every element of its ministry - Sunday school, Sunday worship, the Wednesday Bible study, the music sung, the preaching, the fellowship - is anchored in what the leadership calls "a high view of Scripture."
Harvest Fellowship Church joined the Bible Fellowship Church fellowship on June 2, 2019, taking its place alongside more than ten thousand worshipers who gather in BFC congregations across the country each week. The BFC describes itself as "a fellowship of local churches, centered upon the Word of God, and committed to reaching the lost through the transforming power of the Gospel." Beyond its local ministry, the BFC plants churches within the United States and partners in international missions, and Harvest shares that broader work alongside its denominational family.
What visitors encounter in Boyertown is a small body of Christians gathered around expository preaching and the regular reading of Scripture. As the church states, "We are a community of Christians who love to worship their God, study His Word, and proclaim His Gospel to the world."
The Five Solas at the Heart of Everything
The Five Solas of the Reformation are written into the life of the church in unmistakable terms: salvation is by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, as revealed through Scripture Alone, to the Glory of God Alone. The congregation's Statement of Faith sets these out at length, with affirmations and denials for each.
Under Sola Scriptura, Harvest affirms that the Old and New Testaments are "the all sufficient, authoritative, inspired, infallible, inerrant, and complete Word of God" and the final authority for faith and practice. The church denies "that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation."
Under Solus Christus, the church teaches that "our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father." The church denies "that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited."
Under Sola Gratia, salvation is described as "the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life." The church denies that "salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques, or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerate human nature."
Under Sola Fide, the church teaches that "justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice." The church denies "that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us."
Under Soli Deo Gloria, the church declares that "because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify him always." The church denies "that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment is allowed to become alternatives to the Gospel."
Alongside the Five Solas, the Statement of Faith confesses belief in one God existing eternally in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and in Jesus Christ as the one mediator between God and humanity, totally God and totally man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross, was buried, rose bodily on the third day, ascended to the Father's right hand, and will return to judge the living and the dead. The church also affirms that God created the universe "out of nothing by the power of His Word in six, literal, twenty-four hour days," with Adam and Eve as the original parents of all humanity. Through their willful fall into sin, "death and depravity" entered the world and now belongs to all their progeny, leaving every person in need of the gift of spiritual life in Christ.
Sunday Gatherings: School, Worship, and the Lord's Table
The Sunday rhythm begins with Sunday School at 9:00 AM, followed by the morning Worship Service at 10:15 AM. Both gatherings meet at 584 Colebrookdale Road, Boyertown, PA 19512, and both are open to anyone who wishes to attend.
Sunday School brings adults and children together for an hour of Bible teaching each week, with classes for both age groups running concurrently. The 10:15 AM Worship Service runs from 10:15 to 11:30 AM.
A typical Order of Worship follows this shape:
- Welcome
- Call to Worship - a Scripture reading such as Revelation 5:11-13, Psalm 100:1-4, Isaiah 6:1-3, or Psalm 95:6
- Congregational Response - a short responsive declaration drawn from the call to worship
- Invocation
- Song 1
- Song 2
- Old Testament Scripture Reading (from Judges, Isaiah, Hosea, or the Psalms)
- Scripture Memory Recitation - a short passage recited together by the congregation, often from the gospel of John or Isaiah 53
- Song 3
- Congregational Prayer
- Song 4 (offering received)
- Offering Prayer
- New Testament Scripture Reading
- Sermon
- Benediction
On several Sundays each year, the Lord's Supper is observed as part of the service. Communion Sundays appear in the published orders of worship from time to time throughout the year, with the elements introduced by a designated worship song and followed by a closing hymn before the scriptural benediction.
Throughout the service, the congregation reads Scripture aloud, prays, sings, hears the Word preached, and responds in worship. The Order of Worship is published in advance on the church's website, including the specific Scripture readings and the songs selected for the day.
Wednesday Bible Study for Adults and Children
Midweek, the doors open again at 7:00 PM for the Bible Study, which runs to about 8:00 PM. The teaching time is divided between adults and children, both meeting concurrently at the church building.
As with the Sunday gatherings, the approach is straightforward exposition: read the text, explain the text, give practical application from the text.
Earlier Bible study series on Wednesdays have worked through Acts, including passages such as Acts 2:25-40, Acts 4:1-22, Acts 6:1-7, Acts 7:9-29, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 10:9-33, Acts 10:34-48, Acts 11:19-30, Acts 13:26-41, Acts 16:11-24, Acts 22:17-29, Acts 26:19-32, and Acts 27:13-38. The Deuteronomy series has covered passages from Deuteronomy 1:1-8 through Deuteronomy 4:25-31 in recent months.
Expository Preaching Through Books of the Bible
Preaching at Harvest Fellowship Church is consecutive, verse-by-verse, and book-by-book. "In expository preaching/teaching, the text of Scripture is what drives the main thrust of the message," the church explains. "The text is carefully examined to understand what it says, what it warns of, what it promises, and what it offers. The expositor is simply God's mouthpiece declaring what God's Word says."
Because the entire Bible is treated as valuable and worthy of attention, the preachers do not skip over verses or sections. Sunday by Sunday, the congregation works through the same book, picking up where they left off the previous week. The expositor digs into the passage to give the sense of it from the perspectives of language, grammar, history, geography, doctrine, and context, always explaining how the passage fits within the whole of Scripture.
Recent and ongoing Sunday morning series have included a sustained walk through the book of Judges, with sermons titled "He Shall Begin To Save Israel," "The Consequence of Our Words," "Delivered Over To Die," "No Glory Here," "The Secret Hand of God," "The Gates of Hell," and "Please Remember Me." Earlier series have included consecutive exposition of Acts. Most weeks the preaching is sequential exposition; occasionally the pulpit turns to a topical sermon, including an annual "Gospel Emphasis Sunday."
Hymns and Modern Songs Together
"Our worship services consist of singing, reading, praying, and preaching God's Word," the church writes about its music. "The music that we sing is simple and biblical and consists of a mixture of both hymns and modern worship music." The aim is to lift up "one voice as a congregation to the Lord in order to give Him all the glory that is due Him alone."
That mixture shows clearly in the published Orders of Worship. Alongside modern songs such as "This Is Our God," "Come Praise and Glorify," "10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)," "Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me," "Turn Your Eyes," "How Deep The Father's Love For Us," "O Lord, My Rock And My Redeemer," "Christ Our Hope In Life and Death," and "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus," the congregation regularly sings classic hymns such as "Rock Of Ages," "Be Thou My Vision," "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," "O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing," "Crown Him With Many Crowns," "How Firm A Foundation," "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing," "The Church's One Foundation," "The Solid Rock," "Before The Throne Of God Above," "Grace Alone," "How Great Thou Art," and "I Stand In Awe." Reformation hymns also appear, including "Reformation Song" and "All Glory Be To Christ."
Interspersed with the songs, Scripture readings and prayers prepare the congregation for the preaching of God's Word, keeping the focus throughout on Bible-saturated worship. The church maintains a public list of songs so newcomers can become familiar with the music before visiting.
Children Welcome in the Service
Children of all ages are invited and welcomed into the worship services. Childcare is offered for infants, and a children's class is available for younger children during the service. Older children are encouraged to remain in the service to worship alongside their families.
"We invite and welcome children of all ages to be a part of our worship services," the church states. "We do offer childcare for infants as well as a children's class for younger children; older children are encouraged to remain in the service to worship with their family."
The same pattern carries into the midweek. The Wednesday Bible Study hour includes a children's program alongside the adult class, so that families with children of any age can be part of the church's regular teaching rhythm together.
A Plurality of Elders
Harvest is led by a plurality of elders, consistent with the church's reading of Scripture that identifies two church offices: elder and deacon. Elders - also called pastors, overseers, or shepherds - are charged with the preaching and teaching ministry and the spiritual well-being of the local body, while deacons focus on the physical care of the church body.
The current leadership team includes Pastor Andrew Vasel, along with Luke, Ron, and Travis serving as Elders, and Barry serving as Pastor (Retired). Sermon recordings are attributed to Pastor Andrew Vasel, who preaches most Sundays at the 10:15 AM service and oversees the Wednesday Bible Study teaching. The church is also committed "to the ongoing training of men within our church so that the next generation will carry on in Biblical orthodoxy."
Occasional Sundays include the ordination of new elders, baptisms, the welcoming of new members, or a Gospel Emphasis Sunday with a focused presentation of the central message of Christ.
Visiting Harvest Fellowship Church
For those planning a first visit, the church publishes a guide at harvestbfc.org/visit that puts the focus squarely on the Word: "The Word of God is the central focus of our worship services. We preach, read, pray, sing, and see the Bible." Visitors are welcomed into a community where "we regularly gather together so that all may grow in spiritual maturity and more fully understand the Gospel, faith, life, practice, and doctrine as derived directly from Scripture."
The Sunday schedule runs Sunday School at 9:00 AM and Worship Service at 10:15 AM. The Wednesday Bible Study, with adult and children's classes, meets at 7:00 PM. The church building sits at 584 Colebrookdale Road, Boyertown, PA 19512. Recordings of recent sermons are available online through Sermon Audio and YouTube, so anyone who cannot attend in person can follow along. Giving is also available online for those who wish to support the ministry.
Harvest Fellowship Church frames its life around a single verse that closes the homepage: "And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24-25). The Sunday and Wednesday gatherings, the music, the preaching, the children's classes, and the shared fellowship are all offered in that spirit - that the church might "present everyone mature in Christ."