Core Values
What is the Vineyard? Why do we even exist?
This is a really important question.
What distinguishes us from other movements, other churches or denominations?
When asking that question, we are really addressing the issue of core values.
What are those core values that define us?
Below are details of each of the core values that define us as a movement.
The Vineyard Statement of Faith is included within the Core Values Booklet.
We are a people of the Kingdom of God who...
Partner with the holy spirit
We are not simply implementing the best church strategies and trying to accomplish what is humanly possible. Rather, our mission involves praying and finding power from God Himself to accomplish what humans could never accomplish on their own.
We pray for the sick, we confront injustice, and we seek to hear the voice of God on behalf of others. This involves partnership with a Person beyond ourselves.
John 20:22
And when Jesus had said this, he breathed on them and said to them
"Receive the Holy Spirit."
Acts 13:52
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Experience and worship god
The kingdom of God is not a geo-political territory, nor is it the people of God. Rather, the kingdom of God is a dynamic realm.
When one enters the kingdom she/he experiences the dynamic reality which exists within the triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This means that the experience of the kingdom of God (and thus, the experience of God’s presence) is central to our faith and Christian life.
Hebrews 12:27-29
This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that
are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom
that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship,
with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Psalm 100:1-5
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness
Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
reconcile people with god
and all creation
Jesus is reconciling humans to God, to each other, and to the entire creation, breaking down divisions between Jew and Gentile, slave and free,
male and female.
Therefore, we are committed to becoming healing communities engaged in the work of reconciliation wherever sin and evil hold sway. We seek to be diverse communities of hope that realize the power of the cross to reconcile what has been separated by sin.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God,
who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Romans 5:8-11
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord JesusChrist, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
engage in compassionate ministry
We lean toward the lost, the poor, the outcast, and the outsider with the compassion of Jesus as sinners whose only standing before God is utterly dependent on the mercy of God. This mercy can only be truly received inasmuch as we are willing to give it away.
We believe that ministry in Jesus’ name should be expressed in concrete ways through the local church. The poor are to be served as though serving Jesus Himself. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a church expressing the love of Christ in a local community.
Colossians 3:12
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Matthew 14:14
When Jesus went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
James 1:27a
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this:
to visit orphans and widows in their affliction
pursue culturally relevant
mission in the world
The Church exists for the sake of those who are exiled from God. We are called to bring the Gospel of the kingdom to every nook and cranny of creation, faithfully translating the message of Jesus into language and forms that are relevant to diverse peoples and cultures.
To this end, we promote a creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative approach to ministry that is faithful to Jesus and expressive of His heart to reach those who are far away from God. As the Apostle Paul said, we are ready to “become all things” (1 Cor. 9:19-23) to all mankind to see many come to faith in Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given tome. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Mark 16:15
Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel
to the whole creation."
Romans 3:22-24
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are
justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
Romans 10:9-13
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
