Our Mission
We believe that Jesus told the church exactly what the church is supposed to be doing. And that in the book of Matthew we have the clearest picture of what he said. Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
We are to go to every type of people, every nation on our planet leading them to become disciples or students or apprentices of Jesus, baptizing them in water, and immersing them in the reality of the Trinitarian God; and teaching these new disciples to obey everything Jesus gave us to do.
And Jesus gave us two promises as we go about this task: That he has been given complete authority throughout the entire universe, and that he will be with us until the job is completely finished.
Our Vision
We want to develop a community of disciples of Jesus who love and experience God, who love one another, and who partner with Christ to bring healing to our world. Our vision statement is comprised of five purposes that we want to live out as a church.
Membership – “…a community…”
Maturity – “…of disciples of Jesus…”
Meeting God – “…who love and experience God…”
Ministry – “…who love one another…”
Mission – “… and partner with Christ to heal the world…”
Our Values
Every house is built upon a foundation. Vineyard is built upon the foundation of the Bible and our theology—how we think about God—and our values, the kinds of ideas and attitudes that we feel are important. Values concern what a church feels like, the atmosphere of the church, the ethos. It is possible for two churches to believe exactly the same doctrine, but to feel very different because the two churches have different value systems.
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.
Our Distinctives
Vineyard churches function and do life together distinctively in many ways. Several short statements sum these up well:
“Come Holy Spirit”
While we believe that God is present in our lives without this prayer, the deepest cry of our heart is that we need his tangible presence right now. This is the central prayer of our liturgy.
“Leaders who walk with a limp”
We want leaders who know their own weaknesses and failures, who never try to pretend that they are above those they lead.
“The main and the plain”
The bible is our plumb-line. We want to focus on believing and learning to do what the scriptures say.
“The already and the not yet”
We are unashamed and unembarrassed that the power of suffering of the kingdom of God go hand in hand. And we will encourage a lifestyle that expects and yet does not demand that the kingdom of God is demonstrated everywhere we are.
“Come as you are, but don’t stay as you are”
We love to create environments where people can belong before they believe. God welcomes us just as we are, but he is never content to leave us as he found us.
“Naturally supernatural”
We embrace an absence of hype or manipulation, and simply want to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. We want to get out of God’s way, to understate our involvement and humbly allow God to work in other’s lives.
“Everyone gets to play”
We refuse to have an elite group. Everyone gets to participate in doing the works of Jesus.
“Equipping the saints”
We will continually invest ourselves in training and equipping God’s people to do what Jesus did.
“Plant churches that will plant churches”
The very nature of the gospel and the church leads to reproduction, the planting of new churches. We want to continue this within our own culture and to every other people group God might lead us to.
“Worshippers of God and rescuers of people”
We are given to expression of worship and compassion in every part of our lives. This is our expression of loving God and loving our neighbor.
Statement of Faith
The Bible is our final authority in matters of faith and practice. Therefore, our Statement of Faith reflects our best attempt to express what we believe, and how we are to live out that faith. The understanding that the Kingdom of God is the integrating motif of our understanding of the story of God, the Bible and our theology has influenced the structure of this document. From beginning to end, this Statement of Faith reflects our understanding that biblical theology is eschatological in nature and this eschatological dimension is expressed in terms of the Kingdom of God. To view the Statement of Faith booklet, click here
Women in Leadership: How to Decide What the Bible Teaches
This paper is by Rich Nathan, who is the Senior Pastor of the Columbus Vineyard in Columbus, Ohio. God has used Rich to share the heart of the Father about women in leadership. Rich lays out the biblical argument for why we allow women in leadership roles at the Vineyard Church of Duluth.