Worship
Worship is the act of freely loving God, responding to him with awe, submission, and respect (Ps. 18:1; 93:1-3; 95:1-2; John 4:23-24).
We worship God through adoration (praising him simply for who he is - our Father and Lord of the universe); thanksgiving (giving thanks to God for what he has done, especially for his works of creation and salvation); and confession (the acknowledgement of sin and guilt to a holy and righteous God). We do this by expressing love to God in song, prayer, preaching, prophecy, gifts, tithes, offerings, and ministry.
Worship is an integral part of the Vineyard culture, expressed in our lifestyles and as the body gathers together. We want to take advantage of every opportunity to express individually and corporately our love of God (Exod. 34:14; Rom: 12:1-2).
We are committed to praying about every activity, to seeking God's direction and resources for all ministry. Through intercession we seek to align ourselves with God's purposes (Gen. 18:23ff; Exod. 32:11ff; Acts 4:24ff; Eph. 1:15-22).
Fellowship
Fellowship is a sharing of the grace and blessings of God, a holding of our lives in common (Acts 2:42; Eph. 4:13, 15-16; 1 John 1:3).
The basis for knowing and experiencing fellowship with brothers and sisters is entering a relationship with the Father through the Son (1 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 2:1; 1 John 1:3).
Fellowship is the garden in which the fruit of the Spirit multiply. Primary ways to facilitate fellowship are through small groups and ministering together (Rom. 15:5, 14-15; Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:15).
Commitment to Christ means loving what he loves: his body, the church. This means:
We will love those in our local congregation.
Imperfect people are perfectly welcome. We accept that God's work of sanctification is a continuous work in the life of every believer and that doctrinal and moral maturity is a part of the discipleship process.
We will love those in the Association of Vineyard Churches.
We are uniquely bonded to hundreds of sister Vineyards around the world. We will always attempt to think the best of them, seeking to cooperate with them whenever possible in advancing God's kingdom.
We will love Christians across denominational lines.
We acknowledge that all Bible-believing, orthodox Christians are our brothers and sisters. We will seek unity with Christians from other traditions, emphasizing what we hold common rather than focusing on our differences.
Ministry
Ministry is the redemptive work of Christ lived out through the church on earth (Eph. 1:4-23).
We recognize the need for special ministry to: the lost; the broken; the poor; marriages and families; children and youth; singles.
Leaders - men and women who influence, gather, equip, and train others - receive our highest pastoral priority. They are the ones who will in turn affect 10s, 100s, 1,000s - in some cases even more. As much as possible we want to raise up lay leaders who will in turn lead teams to do the work of the ministry. In this regard, we are more of a lay-ministry church than a professional-ministry church.
We are willing to take risks in trying new ministries - so long as they do not violate core values - acknowledging when they are not working and moving on. There are no "sacred cows" when it comes to ministry application and programming.
We only do that which God directs us to do. We avoid taking on any ministry or program simply because it is a good idea or because we "need to do it" in order to be a legitimate church.
Training
Christ's strategy for winning the world was to win a few men and women to himself, train them well, and release them to repeat the process over again. Through training and empowering by the Holy Spirit, the body is prepared for works of service (Eph. 4:11, 12; Tim. 2:2).
Any training and formation we receive from other Christians must be subordinated to Scripture. We worship the living God of the Bible, and it his image - not another man's or woman's image - that is the pattern of all discipleship (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
More is caught than taught. Discipleship is formational, not merely informational. Leadership that provides pastoral care and discipleship is rooted in proven character, spiritual maturity, relational skills, and wisdom passed on from those with more experience. We disciple others through relationships, encouraging them to come alongside us in doing the work of the ministry and the cultivation of inward spiritual disciplines.
Sending
The goal of Jesus' training was that his disciples would reflect his nature and do his Father's works. This means we are called to be men and women of action, sent out to demonstrate and proclaim the kingdom of God (Matt. 9:35-38).
The Great Commission teaches that every believer is called and commissioned to make disciples of the nations. The first step in discipleship is preaching the good news of the kingdom of God (Matt. 28:18-20). We fulfill the Great Commission in the following ways:
Proclamation of the Gospel
Proclaim the good news of the gospel throughout the world.
Personal Evangelism
All are called to evangelism, no matter where we live or work.
Church Planting
We will always encourage those who are called to church planting to go out and establish congregations. We will make resources available to fulfill our mandate for church planting.
Missions
We are committed to establishing indigenous works in whatever areas of the world the Lord directs us, through raising up local leaders to carry on the redemptive work of the church.
Compassion Ministries
Feeding the poor, visiting those in prison, and other demonstrations of kingdom compassion.
Worship is the act of freely loving God, responding to him with awe, submission, and respect (Ps. 18:1; 93:1-3; 95:1-2; John 4:23-24).
We worship God through adoration (praising him simply for who he is - our Father and Lord of the universe); thanksgiving (giving thanks to God for what he has done, especially for his works of creation and salvation); and confession (the acknowledgement of sin and guilt to a holy and righteous God). We do this by expressing love to God in song, prayer, preaching, prophecy, gifts, tithes, offerings, and ministry.
Worship is an integral part of the Vineyard culture, expressed in our lifestyles and as the body gathers together. We want to take advantage of every opportunity to express individually and corporately our love of God (Exod. 34:14; Rom: 12:1-2).
We are committed to praying about every activity, to seeking God's direction and resources for all ministry. Through intercession we seek to align ourselves with God's purposes (Gen. 18:23ff; Exod. 32:11ff; Acts 4:24ff; Eph. 1:15-22).
Fellowship
Fellowship is a sharing of the grace and blessings of God, a holding of our lives in common (Acts 2:42; Eph. 4:13, 15-16; 1 John 1:3).
The basis for knowing and experiencing fellowship with brothers and sisters is entering a relationship with the Father through the Son (1 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 2:1; 1 John 1:3).
Fellowship is the garden in which the fruit of the Spirit multiply. Primary ways to facilitate fellowship are through small groups and ministering together (Rom. 15:5, 14-15; Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:15).
Commitment to Christ means loving what he loves: his body, the church. This means:
We will love those in our local congregation.
Imperfect people are perfectly welcome. We accept that God's work of sanctification is a continuous work in the life of every believer and that doctrinal and moral maturity is a part of the discipleship process.
We will love those in the Association of Vineyard Churches.
We are uniquely bonded to hundreds of sister Vineyards around the world. We will always attempt to think the best of them, seeking to cooperate with them whenever possible in advancing God's kingdom.
We will love Christians across denominational lines.
We acknowledge that all Bible-believing, orthodox Christians are our brothers and sisters. We will seek unity with Christians from other traditions, emphasizing what we hold common rather than focusing on our differences.
Ministry
Ministry is the redemptive work of Christ lived out through the church on earth (Eph. 1:4-23).
We recognize the need for special ministry to: the lost; the broken; the poor; marriages and families; children and youth; singles.
Leaders - men and women who influence, gather, equip, and train others - receive our highest pastoral priority. They are the ones who will in turn affect 10s, 100s, 1,000s - in some cases even more. As much as possible we want to raise up lay leaders who will in turn lead teams to do the work of the ministry. In this regard, we are more of a lay-ministry church than a professional-ministry church.
We are willing to take risks in trying new ministries - so long as they do not violate core values - acknowledging when they are not working and moving on. There are no "sacred cows" when it comes to ministry application and programming.
We only do that which God directs us to do. We avoid taking on any ministry or program simply because it is a good idea or because we "need to do it" in order to be a legitimate church.
Training
Christ's strategy for winning the world was to win a few men and women to himself, train them well, and release them to repeat the process over again. Through training and empowering by the Holy Spirit, the body is prepared for works of service (Eph. 4:11, 12; Tim. 2:2).
Any training and formation we receive from other Christians must be subordinated to Scripture. We worship the living God of the Bible, and it his image - not another man's or woman's image - that is the pattern of all discipleship (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
More is caught than taught. Discipleship is formational, not merely informational. Leadership that provides pastoral care and discipleship is rooted in proven character, spiritual maturity, relational skills, and wisdom passed on from those with more experience. We disciple others through relationships, encouraging them to come alongside us in doing the work of the ministry and the cultivation of inward spiritual disciplines.
Sending
The goal of Jesus' training was that his disciples would reflect his nature and do his Father's works. This means we are called to be men and women of action, sent out to demonstrate and proclaim the kingdom of God (Matt. 9:35-38).
The Great Commission teaches that every believer is called and commissioned to make disciples of the nations. The first step in discipleship is preaching the good news of the kingdom of God (Matt. 28:18-20). We fulfill the Great Commission in the following ways:
Proclamation of the Gospel
Proclaim the good news of the gospel throughout the world.
Personal Evangelism
All are called to evangelism, no matter where we live or work.
Church Planting
We will always encourage those who are called to church planting to go out and establish congregations. We will make resources available to fulfill our mandate for church planting.
Missions
We are committed to establishing indigenous works in whatever areas of the world the Lord directs us, through raising up local leaders to carry on the redemptive work of the church.
Compassion Ministries
Feeding the poor, visiting those in prison, and other demonstrations of kingdom compassion.
