Great church. God is still at work here. The past is the past. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. I firmly believe this is why the church is still here. Great worship and good teaching of the word. read more

my first time to this church and it was amazing I felt the holy spirit and the pastor is good with preaching the word the worship is amazing !!! read more

Love this place!! Especially Pastor Jeff and the rest of the Lead Team!! The Spirit is SO present in this church. 110% recommend!!

Thankful for harvest! It's been a great place for community, spiritual growth, and worship. Pastor Jeff is a great communicator! So is Tommy and JT. read more

The rebuild is real, The Holy Spirit abounds , the new team & preachers deserve a chance and are proving to be restoring Harvest to a Christ centered church. read more

Zero star, actually. Sadly, HBC has dissapointed many because of what has happened lately. Personally, I can't help but wonder: why support an organization that turned a blind eye on what I consider the worst corruption in "mega" church history? What a shame! The elders and whoever knew but didn't say something failed in so many ways, and should have confronted its XLT sooner... isn't squandering the money that truly belonged to God and (not the preacher man) an affront to the sound doctrine of biblical stewardship? Although I felt that supporting the church financially for years was a huge sacrifice, I continued to put God's money in the "storehouse" but as it turned out, that seemed to have been a big mistake. Instead of investing in Christian ministries that have true financial integrity, I was duped into feeding the false shepherd instead of the sheep! read more

This church will give away a free Bible to ANYONE that ask. Such a simple gesture, but almost unheard of nowadays. read more

Harvest Bible Chapel - In the words of King David, "I was glad when they said to me: Let us go into the house of The Lord!" - Churches Near Me - Rolling Mdws, Illinois

I have attended Harvest for over 8 years and I feel I can call this my home away from home. The campus is big but the people are friendly and loving. This is a big family, so the best thing to do is join a small group to connect. The messages is never watered down and is always told in truth with a touch of love. If you want to hear only what makes you feel good then you may want to keep on searching. The worship is very lively and makes you want to draw closer to the Lord. Some people from different backgrounds where they are use to a quieter setting may object. I see it like this, We are to sing to the Lord a new song and I love the worship at Harvest. I read more

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The Harvest Church "Family" at the YMCA in Naples is a strong Gospel believing, Gospel sharing community with it's solid foundation based on Biblical teaching of scripture The worship at every level presents God's word with the goal of teaching, instructing, encouraging believers to LIVE a life that will glorify and exemplify Christ our Lord. Week after week, Pastor John lovingly and enthusiastically shares the Bible in his powerful lessons with the intent to build a community of believers that LIVE the word! Learning HOW to be more like Jesus in the world today, in our own communities, is vital today. Harvest Bible Chapel offers ways for individuals to grow in their knowledge of scripture and are encouraged to be BOLD in their outpouring of Christ's love, sharing His message of salvation. I am impressed with the Gospel Project curriculum for the children's classes as well. I appreciate the degree of organization, the depth of the Bible teaching for the children.The Gospel Project lessons keep the children focused on the scripture and they learn in a fun way! Songs, reenactments of the scripture, short video clips, with which the children can relate to the lesson, all assist the children to be focused in God's word in a loving environment! read more

I just wanted to start off by saying that there are some really kinda and wonderful people who go to this church.. I did try out harvest for a few months wanting to see if it was for me, I was also pushed by a neighbor who attended every week! The church in far too large for my taste. with far too much going on it was hard take for someone like me I was completely overwhelmed. They like most churches ask for donations and the pastors are LOADED talking in their service how they vacationing and golf trips and remolding their houses buying church after church and here I am with just enough to pay my rent and doing the best I can you clearly don't need my money . Also I'm Greek Orthodox and that is Christian and they try to get me to converted to their church is very pushy way (calling me @7pm!!) to becomes a Christian. I was so insulted by this and turned off that I won't be coming back read more

Love this place, but they recently made. Changes and got rid of sat night worship and moved all kids functions to Sunday. Makes it impossible for us to be able to go on a regular basis. I am disappointed they would make such big changes without asking the congregation, since our donations pay the bills. Really has made it hard for us to be as regular as we want. read more

I tried emailing Pastor Macdonald, he did respond, but was very rude and disrespectful. Why would you want a pastor like that. I don't think James Macdonald should have the title of pastor if he is rude to people. James Macdonald, you need to step down as pastor you don't deserve the title of pastor, you're not suited as one for being rude and disrespectful. PERIOD read more

Harvest is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch, contemporary in its music and aesthetics, expressive (but not Charismatic) in its worship, and they place a very strong emphasis on practical Bible teaching. My wife and I have attended for 7 years, and are very involved on a volunteer basis. Josh Caterer of the Smoking Popes used to be a worship leader, which meant this was the coolest church ever. Now it is the second coolest church, right behind whichever one Josh Caterer is now leading worship at. Pros: From top to bottom the entire staff teaches the Bible in its entirety with full confidence in its ability to change lives. Deliberately balanced in terms of doctrinal stances (ever find a church that you agree with on everything? Neither have I). Elder-led, with petty politics apparently kept to a minimum as a result. Offers an almost overwhelming number of resources for Christian learning, leadership training, biblical counseling, and practical assistance of almost every kind. Active in local and global missions and church planting. Incredible music, much of it written by the worship leaders. Cons: This is a BIG church, and if you allow it to be, that can be a con. It's easy to breeze in and out of the church on Sundays in anonymity, and to still grow as a result because the teaching is so strong. But if you do not take the initiative to get involved (small groups are the typical route), you will likely become disappointed eventually by the seeming lack of community. Once we joined a small group, we discovered that the church is made up of smaller communities of people who are very involved with one another, and that the threshold for getting connected and involved is actually very low. One aspect that may be surprising for many is that multiple campuses share a common teaching pastor, the result being that some sermons are delivered via video. For those who prefer a live sermon every weekend, a schedule is published online. read more

We were new to the area and were looking for a church home. We visited the Crystal Lake location and been coming back ever since. Pastor Greg truly loves the Lord and people. Yes, there was some turmoil before we came but we know Gods word is being taught and the praise and worship focuses on praising the Lord and not man. read more

We used to come to this church pretty regularly and wanted to get more involved if not for the fact that we moved away, I'm sure we would have. I'm new to church going (I was forced when at school and much younger) and I try to keep an open mind on these sorts of things. This is the biggest church I have ever been to. The services can be very well attended even in the winter. It's easy to see why for me. It seems like a professional organization with everyone knowing their exact role to get the people in in an orderly fashion. The worship time is very interactive and you are encouraged to get involved no matter your skill. It takes up a good chunk of the time which was something I was not used to at all. There are some messages and other church business to get through before Pastor James MacDonald does his preaching. This is where I would give the 5 stars, the creme de la creme. There are not many speakers I have seen where I am captivated from start to finish but this pastor sticks out. His message is thoughtful and insightful, full of his own experiences and always allied to a biblical reference. I always learn something when I went and that is something I am grateful for. He's not always there in person, it is sometimes a video recording as there are multiple campuses and services. Even when he's not physically up on stage, it makes little difference to me as there are large screens dotted around so you don't always look at the stage. He would be the reason I want to learn more and grow as an individual. You just don't know unless you give it a try. read more

Harvest Bible was a solid church irrespective of a lot of stupid garbage that happened or people said. A lot of the people bashing these churches appear to be catholic, greek orthodox, divorced, or progressives with an agenda taking their opportunity to cause trouble. I dont know much about what happened but I attended from 2008 to 2011, then started attending a few others because Id get ill and his hammering the pulpit was just too much to deal with. But he teaches out of the Word well, he did seem caring, though I didnt spend time with them privately. They are from Chicago so their language can be rough on occasion-- thats just Chicago. Place is full of mobsters. Its hard to believe that the person you meet in the church is that different. He did write a lot of books and Im sure that generated a lot of money. what he did with his own part, who cares, but I dont know what kind of salary he took or how much he took from sales. Modesty is a biblical mandate. It could possibly have been a lot, IDK. Someone had pointed out his house to me and it was probably 4-5 bed room. Fairly large by some standards and pushing things slightly in my opinion, but NOT a huge mansion at all. But even the most conservative pastors these days are taking some fairly large salaries. upwards of .5 to 1M a year and thats gross to me. (modesty, above reproach, stewardship, etc). I think elders need to be really careful here. People talk a lot of garbage and 99% is BS. Lot of fake trouble makers in the church and in Chi-town for sure if you ask me. Time for the next generation to step up and teach Gods Word. Hopefully our generation will do better, but from what I see they are worse than the baby boomers. Bunch of whinny, lazy, immodest money grubbers who hate education and who dont love Jesus, but Im hopeful God can do something good with it. read more

If you're looking for a church that has unapologetic preaching of the word, a community of believers where you are loved unconditionally and experience "vertical worship" then your search is over. My wife and I have been attending Harvest Naples for almost two years and we can truly say we have grown in spiritual maturity, built lasting friendships through Christian fellowship and weekly Bible study. We have even grown spiritually in our marriage and deepened our commitment to one another! Come and join us as we follow Christ and grow in our love for Him and each other on this journey. read more

I have met people who attend harvest some are very nice but a lot are very two faced if your not in THIS CULT they wont have any thing to do with you one person would say to others what a jerk he & she was I can still see it he & she just hides it and wont have any thing to do with me because Im not in HIS & HER LITTLE CULT .Ive seen in other posts about how the pastures are LOADED and brag about remodeling there houses ,bragging about golf & vacations at the expense of the church goers and are buying up other churches .This is about MONEY not god STAY AWAY FROM THIS CULT all they want is your money and want to just make you feel better. read more

Attened while in Chicago area on business. Witnessed the parable of the donut. Awesome and powerful message with a light touch of humor. As a first time attendee I somehow made it in and out without even a handshake but the service was graced based and powerful. read more

I attended Harvest a couple of times in the fall. It is a very large church in what appears to be an former warehouse. I did like the music. The last time I went was when a video was given in which 3 elders excommunicated two former elders. It was just weird. The elders called the former elders satanic to the core. They said these men were evil. And that they should be shunned. The senior pastor told the church to heed this warnings. This seemed very cultish to me and freaked me out. At the end of the service the pastor, James MacDonald, said "you are loved". That was some mixed message!!! https://archive.org/details/JamesMacDonaldHarvastBibleChapel read more

My husband and I were on a mission to find a church that really served the community as Jesus served - graciously and unconditionally. We were looking for a pastor who was humble yet strong, available, and really brought scripture to life. We were looking for great Bible studies and adult education. What we found during our two years as members, was a pastor who was often absent and distant, anything but humble, self-serving, a real performer, and very bigoted. Pastor James lacks integrity. For example, he was found to be gambling in Vegas and then saying it was a sin to gamble. Only after this was revealed did he come before the congregation to apologize. He touts humility, but lives in a multi-million dollar home and runs a multi-million dollar church. My husband and I were taught that our Jewish parents were burning in hell and that our gay son would be joining them someday. We struggled with this for years before realizing this church was not for us for so many reasons. With all the space they have at Harvest, our charitable quilting group was given no room to store anything and would not allow us to set up a table to show the beautiful quilts we made for a sister church out of the country. We received no funding or donations of any kind! (This group is defunct at this point in time) You would think with all the space and fabulous kitchen, they might have a food pantry within the church - or better yet, a soup kitchen. They do not. They do collect food at Harvest, but one of their parishioners who owns a cleaning store provides a food pantry a block or more from the church where people have to wait out in the rain or snow to get food. This is just criminal! With all the millions they raise, so much goes into sound systems and other fluff. Then they continuously ask for more donations for school supplies for kids, special needs for disaster victims etc. A few years ago, when some of the elders finally got up enough courage to ask where all the money was going, they were basically excommunicated from Harvest. One of our friends who was a devoted and hard-working elder, was told he couldn't play in their band and was no longer an elder. When the church was pushed a little further by these elders to find out how money was being spent, Pastor James actually stood up in front of the congregation and named those Elders and said they were no longer welcome in his church. Hundreds of people left Harvest after this fiasco because there was no accountability. So if you really want to worship God in a really meaningful way and love and serve as Jesus did, this is NOT the church for you. Yes, the music is great, the energy is high, but it's just a front, lead by a pastor who is anything but honest and true to his faith. I have given an honest account here and hope you don't waste your time and spiritual gifts in such an un-Godly environment. I hate to even give one star. read more

I really think Pastor McDonald is humble, sincere and sticks to the truth of God's Word. The music is good, but the message is the TICKET. It does not have the intimacy of a small church, but they developed small groups to deal with that issue. I went about 5 times and am looking forward to when they open a church closer to where I live. read more

Most of the current negative reviews about Harvest begin with people thanking Harvest for the great Biblical teaching, Jesus-centered praise and worship, and compassionate help they received there when they needed it. All this is unchanged. We are all sinners in need of salvation through Jesus Christ so if you want to know what God can do about your situation, come to any of the Harvest Bible Chapel campuses. Just like Jesus said, He came for the sinners. And He is certainly present at Harvest Bible Chapel every week! Hope to see you there. read more

How do you take your Jesus? straight up? on the rocks? with a little cream and sugar? or maybe you'd prefer him shaken, not stirred . . . after a lifetime of Catholicism, with a sidewinding through the roads that follow Buddha, 12 stepping higher powers, and a host of other faith based systems, I've come back to the fundamentals of faith - and to Harvest for my once a week Sabbatical. They're welcoming and - mostly - sincere. I appreciate the outreach work they do in the community, and if I don't agree with everything they do (i don't know that i'll ever be a "member") I do like the classes they offer (for everyone, not just members) and the chances to get connected, at whatever level you're comfortable with. Pastor James is forthright, funny, and dares each parishoner to take a hard, honest look at her own soul - and go from there. With a few different locations (Rolling Meadows, Elgin, and Niles are the three primary locations), Lake Zurich, and Glen Ellyn are some of the subsidiary locations - and all of them are welcoming and accessible. if you have questions or are looking for an evangelical Christian home, this may just be the place for you. Services at 5:30 on Saturdays, 9 and 11 on Sundays in each location. www.harvestbiblechapel.com read more

I love how Paster James preaches right from the Bible! Been going there for years! He went out of his way in order to make sure l was given one of his books to read!!! read more

Everyone here is really friendly, it's held in a huge venue with 3 screens for everyone to see, great modern music, and the pastor did a good job relating to the younger crowd. I'll probably come back again. read more

This is a great church, has many campuses to accommodate people. They have various outreach ministries that you can be part of. I have joined their volleyball league and absolutely love it. Personally, I need a smaller church to feel like I'm part of the community. I do attend this church occasionally though. read more

This is the best place to learn about God & save your soul! Pastor James & Pastor Rick are two of the best leaders anyone could have. They teach from the word of God straight out of the King James Bible not some altered form of God's word. The hymns are new & refreshing, the Bands are inspirational, uplifting & make you feel the presence of God. The small groups that they encourage you to join are surprisingly informative. I thought I knew everything there was to learn about the Bible - WRONG! I learned the Bible like never before join the small groups. Do yourself a favor and JOIN THIS CHAPEL. read more

If you are into watered down religious experiences this is the place for you. The sermons are fluff and honey in the ear for those that need to feel better about themselves on sunday. Megachurch, no a megalo-maniacal church that has lost all reality on what a church should be and is. The pastor is self serving and oh to quick to build his ego about all the wonderous things he does...hence he was recently but quietly reprimanded by its elders. His lavish lifestyle is nothing short of insulting considering the pay grade of most of the attendees. If his reward is in heaven he must need a lot of it here and now as well. Getting lost in the crowd is almost to be expected. If you like cliques though definitely find yourself one of the many small groups. That is if they will have you. If it is christ you are looking for i suggest you find a church that the pastor knows his flock and leads them in paths of righteousness by example and teachings instead of having body guards on standby in case of...well you know...important people and all need to feel safe...trusting in your faith in christ definitely requires protective services. Im in no way implying that this massive "house of god" does no good or that its parishioners are bad in any way shape or form, but it is a simple fact that if you are looking for a family of god you will find many here as the body is fractured and to massive to pull together. It is truly the crystal palace in warehouse form. read more

I've been a member and going to HBC Rolling Meadows for almost 4 years now. Before writing this review I read all the 1 star reviews. I can assure you these individuals have some sort of ax to grind and have learned nothing from the Word of God. Truth sounds like hate to those hate truth. Sin is sin. God hates sin. It separates us from Him. Homosexuality is sin just like so many other sins, and unless we all repent, turn from our sin, and except Jesus Christ as Lord and SAVIOR, we all will cast into the lake of fire.Not my words, God's words. There's an old saying, "Turn or Burn" Church is not a building. Church is Christ and He is the head of it, and until you get saved you're not apart of His church. Members of Harvest go to worship the one, true, living God and to hear His Word. If people want to get wrapped up in all the other worldly things like selling quilts in the lobby, or think Pastor James delivers watered down message, they truly are missing the bigger picture. Sure we go there to worship Christ and fellowship with others, but your relationship with Christ is an individual thing, and the outside distractions should not bother you. Focus yourself on the cross and what Christ did for You & ALL of us and try not to be so critical of what happens inside of 4 walls and learn to forgive. So am a supporter of HBC and Pastor James? Yes. His ministry changed my life through God's Word back in 2005 while living in Pittsburgh. Do I always agree with what I hear? No. Do I agree with some of the worship music they play? No. I just remember what Christ did for me, and this is a good place to remember that. If your faith hasn't changed you. It hasn't saved you. Yes, I recommend Harvest Bible Chapel. read more