Kingdom Theology & Practice
Vineyard is committed to the theology & practice of the kingdom of God, rooted in the vision of the Hebrew prophets and fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth; we have been commissioned to proclaim the good news of the kingdom bearing witness to the already and not yet of the kingdom in words and deeds.1
Culturally Relevant Mission
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 in language and forms that are relevant to diverse peoples and cultures.2
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.3
Reconciling Community
Jesus is reconciling humans to God, to each other, and to the entire creation, breaking down divisions between Jew & Gentile, slave & free, male & female; we are committed to becoming healing communities engaged in the work of reconciliation wherever sin and evil hold sway.4
Experiencing God
The triune God—Father, Son & Holy Spirit—is eager to be known and experienced by all; we value the passionate pursuit of God’s presence in order to respond in obedience to his initiatives.5
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1 Vineyard is a movement distinctively centered in a renewed understanding of the centrality of the kingdom of God in biblical thought. The kingdom of God is the overarching and integrating theme of the Bible. From our beginnings Vineyard has been committed to the proclamation of the kingdom of God and to bearing witness to the deeds of the kingdom through healing (physical, emotional, and social) doing justice, and delivering those held captive by evil. Since the kingdom of God is the future reign of God breaking into the present through the life and ministry of Jesus, we are a forward leaning movement emphasizing the ever-reforming nature of the church engaging the world in love.
2 We seek to plant churches that are culturally relevant in a wide variety of settings locally and internationally. Each Vineyard church is encouraged to reach those in its community not already reached by existing churches. 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.
3 We believe that ministry in Jesus' name should be marked by compassion and mercy expressed in concrete ways through the local church. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a church expressing the love of Christ in a local community.
4 We seek to be diverse communities of hope that realize the power of the cross to reconcile what has been separated by sin. This requires us to move beyond our personal preferences to engage those who are perceived to be unlike us and to actively break down barriers of race, culture, gender, social class and ethnicity.
5 We believe that God is searching for lost humanity in order to draw us into loving, intimate relationship with him. We welcome God's personal presence and seek to foster an attentive and responsive awareness of his presence.
