VINEYARD USA CORE VALUES AND BELIEFS

For the complete document on our values and beliefs, follow the link below to view the PDF document:

Core Values

The primary place where that relationship is nurtured and developed is in the act of worship–both private and corporate. So, experience-based worship is the central activity of all that we do in the Vineyard. It is worship that causes all else that we do to become an act of worship. We experience God’s presence as a palpable reality when we worship. As we worship we become increasingly sensitive and responsive to the Spirit’s presence so that we can do as Jesus did: “See what the Father is doing,” (john 5:19) and support His work with our lives.

The experience of God flowing out of a life of worship affects all aspects of our life so that all division between the secular and the sacred vanish. We believe that the Spirit distributes His gifts to us resulting in prophecy, prayer languages, healing, miracles and many other gifts as we joyfully experience His presence.

We value an approach to God’s presence that is respectful both of God and of those we are with. We eschew hype and other efforts to manipulate either God’s presence or the response of others to His presence. We distinguish between the Holy Spirit and the human response which shares in all the beauty and brokenness of our humanity. We also believe that as we experience His presence through Christ by the Spirit we will be made more fully human and better reflections of the God-image that we were created to be.

Experiencing 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.

God is eager to be known and experienced by all. We believe that God is searching for lost humanity in order to draw us into intimate relationship with Himself. In response to God’s initiative, we value the life-changing power of the experience of His presence.

Our Objectives

Build an expanding community of churches both in the United States and abroad that are committed to one another and to the message and practice of the kingdom of God.
Establish and promote a common corporate vision for the community of churches.
Maintain the core values and practices of the Vineyard.
Plant and adopt churches which are committed to and practicing the core values of the Vineyard.
Offer pastoral care, relationship, and other resources to pastors of local Vineyard churches.
Lead the Vineyard in theological reflection and maintaining historical orthodoxy and praxis.
Exercise discipline over local church pastors in case of misconduct or heresy.
Protect the good name of the Vineyard.
Approve pastors for local Vineyard churches.
Resource local Vineyard churches to carry out their mission.
Work to express the unity of Christ by intentionally joining with the broader body of Christ in common witness and love.
Provide appropriate leadership structure to achieve these objectives.

Vinyard USA Core Values

The Vineyard Genetic Code
At a Vineyard pastors conference in September 1992, founder John Wimber taught on 10 areas of ministry that were essential to any Vineyard church. John called these areas the Vineyard Genetic Code because they are the common denominators that identify us as a family. A Vineyard experience typically includes:

Clear, accurate, Biblical teaching
Contemporary worship in the freedom of the Holy Spirit
The gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation
An active small group ministry
Ministry to the poor, widows, orphans and those who are broken
Physical healing with emphasis on signs and wonders as seen in the book of Acts
A commitment to missions - church planting at home and world missions abroad
Unity within the whole body of Christ; a relationship with other local churches
Evangelistic outreach
Equipping the saints in areas such as discipleship, ministry, serving, giving, finances, family, etc.

The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God
Vineyard is committed to the theology and 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. Vineyard is a movement distinctively centered in a renewed understanding of the centrality of the kingdom of God in biblical thought. We view the kingdom of God as 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.

Our Mission

The mission of Vineyard USA is to join God’s mission in the world by building a community of churches that are proclaiming and practicing the full message and reality of the kingdom of God.