“In the Vineyard, we believe that God is actually in the room.”
You may be wondering “What’s a Vineyard church?” Good question. We’re a Vineyard church for a reason. There’s some things that may make us a bit different than another church just down the road.
The Kingdom of God is our central theological lens through which we understand the teaching of Jesus (Mark 1:14-15). The Kingdom is where the King actively rules and reigns. The Kingdom of God is breaking into this world – and it changes everything. We become a people of the Kingdom of God by both proclaiming and demonstrating that the Kingdom of God is at hand – just like Jesus did.
We are a people of the Kingdom of God who:
Partner with the Holy Spirit. We pray for the sick, confront injustice, serve the poor, and seek to be the voice of God on behalf of others. We believe that God actually talks to His people, so we listen.
Experience and worship God. Worship is our highest priority and it goes far beyond singing. Encountering God through intimate, corporate worship is a precious part of what it means to be a people of the presence of God, but we seek to live in the presence of the Lord in every moment of our lives. We often use the phrase “naturally supernatural” to talk about this.
Reconcile people with God and all creation. The result of sin is isolation from God and brokenness in our world and in our relationships. The Gospel is a message of restoration and forgiveness both to God and His creation and with others. We desire to be used by the Holy Spirit to bring people back to God through Jesus, and into deep and meaningful relationship with each other.
Engage in compassionate ministry. In scripture, it tells us that Jesus looked at the crowds and had compassion on them. Then He commissioned His disciples to minister to them. Compassion is not about pitying people. Rather, it is seeing people in their difficult, complicated life situations and believing that God is able to use his people to minister hope and healing to them.
Pursue culturally relevant mission. The message of the Kingdom was intended by Jesus to extend from culture to culture and from generation to generation. While our core values and beliefs do not change, the form in which they are expressed may change for each new context. The key is for us to stay true to the mission of God.