Core Values are the commitments that drive a church day to day. They are not our core beliefs. Core beliefs are described in our theological documents. They are also not the same as our “aspired” values— values that we believe we should be cultivating, but are not yet rooted in our culture. Core Values are present within our culture, and describe our personality as a church. They are like our genetic code, or DNA. Core Values tell our church community how we make decisions, how we handle conflict, and what every leader (lay and professional) must be committed to. Values determine who is on the leadership team, and who is not. While values don’t necessarily tell us what we do (that’s the place for a mission statement), they define the manner in which we operate. They define our posture. They are like the walls of a canyon—everything within those walls is fair game, but we dare not go outside those walls. The following are our core values:

We are a Kingdom empowered people, who use Biblical teaching to understand the full character of God and as a model for how to do life.  We experience this through the following distinctives:

Holy Spirit Expectation

We believe the experiences of the early church are relevant and present today and that all Christians are to move in the signs of the present fulfillment of the Kingdom, invoking the Spirit’s powerful presence, ministering through the Spirit’s gifts, and seeing God move in signs, wonders, and healing.

Small Groups/Community

We find discipleship happens in community through loving, vital, and meaningful relationships with others who are also growing in Christ-likeness. Consequently, we are committed to small groups, support/recovery groups, and mini groups in which people feel safe and are challenged to grow relationally and spiritually and to reach out to others.

Worship

We seek to experience the presence of God through intimate, relevant, and transforming worship with love songs that are sung to God. But our worship doesn’t end with songs, or authenticity even our church service. We want the whole expression of our lives to be in worship to God.

Training – “Everybody Gets to Play”

We believe that every member of the body of Christ is empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak the words and do the works of Jesus. In this sense, ministry does not belong to a select few. Rather, every member is a minister. Therefore, we train and equip others to do what Jesus commissioned the twelve and the seventy-two (doin’ the stuff).

Compassionate ministry

We believe God’s heart goes out to the weak, helpless, impoverished, oppressed, and needy. Therefore, we desire to extend mercy to one another and to all to whom we minister, especially to the last, the lost, and the least. We believe the Bible teaches and illustrates that ministry in Jesus’ name should be expressed in concrete ways through the local church by ministering to people’s spiritual and emotional brokenness, as well as physical ailments and needs. The poor are to be served as though we serve Jesus himself. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a church expressing the love of Christ in a local community.

Authenticity

We are real people who are becoming more like Jesus. This means that we are wounded healers and desire to extend grace and support to one another along our journeys. As a result, our church life is characterized by a natural, relaxed, simple, vulnerable, honest style that is free from hype and manipulation.

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Statement of Faith

About the Vineyard

Hap & Di's Story