What We Believe

OUR MISSION

The Mission of The Vineyard USA is to participate in the advancement of the Kingdom of God through the work of local Vineyard churches that communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

OUR PURPOSES

  1. To build and maintain The Vineyard USA, which is committed to and models the historic Vineyard convictions, values, priorities, practices and leadership standards, which are, stated hereafter.
  2. To support and strengthen pastors of local churches by providing pastoral care, relationship, resources for ministry and a means for bringing biblical discipline, if needed.
  3. To support and strengthen local churches by providing general counsel, training materials, and potential new or additional pastoral leadership.
  4. To assist local churches in achieving their mission by providing assistance in defining, strategizing and implementing their mission, and by designing missions strategies and outreaches in which they may join.
  5. To plant and nurture new churches which are committed to and model the Vineyard convictions, values, priorities, practices and leadership standards.
  6. To bring renewal to the larger Church of Christ around the world, both through direct ministry and through the stimulation of our example.

OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

  1. GOD THE KING AND THE HOLY TRINITY

    WE BELIEVE that God is the Eternal1 King.2 He is an infinite,3 unchangeable4 Spirit,5 perfect6 in holiness,7 wisdom,8 goodness,9 justice,10 power11 and love.12 From all eternity13 He exists as the One14 Living15 and True16God in three persons17 of one substance,18 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,19 equal in power and glory.20

  2. GOD THE KING: THE CREATOR AND RULER OF ALL THINGS

    WE BELIEVE that God’s kingdom is everlasting.21 From His throne,22 through His Son, His eternal Word,23 God created,24 upholds25 and governs26 all that exists:27 the heavenly places,28 the angelic hosts, 29 the universe,30 the earth,31 every living thing32 and human beings.33 God created all things very good.34

  3. COUNTERFEIT KINGDOM: SATAN AND DEMONIC HOSTS

    WE BELIEVE that Satan, originally a great, good angel, rebelled against God, taking a host of angels with him.35 He was cast out of God’s presence and, as a usurper of God’s rule established a counter-kingdom of darkness36 and evil on the earth. 37

  4. THE KINGDOM IN CREATION, THE FALL & THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN

    WE BELIEVE that God created mankind in His image, male and female,38 for relationship with Himself and to govern the earth.39 Under the temptation of Satan,40 our original parents fell from grace,41 bringing sin,42 sickness43 and God’s judgment of death to the earth.44 Through the fall, Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God’s good creation.45 Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam’s original sin.46 Human beings are born in sin,47 subject to God’s judgment of death 48 and captive to Satan’s kingdom of darkness.49

  5. GOD'S PROVIDENCE, KINGDOM LAW AND COVENANTS

    WE BELIEVE that God did not abandon His rule over the earth50 which He continues to uphold by His providence.51 In order to bring redemption, God established covenants52 which revealed His grace to sinful people.53 In the covenant with Abraham, God bound Himself to His people Israel, promising to deliver them from bondage to sin and Satan and to bless all the nations through them.54

    WE BELIEVE that as King, God later redeemed His people by His mighty acts from bondage in Egypt55 and established His covenant through Moses, revealing His perfect will and our obligation to fulfill it.56 The law’s purpose is to order our fallen race 57 and to make us conscious of our moral responsibility.58 By the work of God’s Spirit,59 it convicts us of our sin60 and God’s righteous judgment against us61 and brings us to Christ alone for salvation.62

    WE BELIEVE that when Israel rejected God’s rule over her as King,63 God established the monarchy in Israel64 and made an unconditional covenant with David,65 promising that his heir would restore God’s kingdom reign over His people as Messiah forever.66

  6. CHRIST THE MEDIATOR AND ETERNAL KING

    WE BELIEVE that in the fullness of time,67 God honored His covenants with Israel and His prophetic promises of salvation68 by sending His only Son,69 Jesus, into the world.70 Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary,71 as fully God and fully human in one person,72 He is humanity as God intended us to be.73 Jesus was anointed as God’s Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit,74 inaugurating God’s kingdom reign on earth,75 overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation,76 preaching the good news of salvation,77 healing the sick,78 casting out demons79 and raising the dead.80 Gathering His disciples,81 He reconstituted God’s people82 as His Church83 to be the instrument of His kingdom.84 After dying for the sins of the world,85 Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day,86 fulfilling the covenant of blessing given to Abraham.87 In His sinless, perfect life88 Jesus met the demands of the law89 and in His atoning death on the cross90 He took God’s judgment for sin91 which we deserve as law- breakers.92 By His death on the cross He also disarmed the demonic powers.93 The covenant with David was fulfilled in Jesus’ birth from David’s house,94 His Messianic ministry,95 His glorious resurrection from the dead,96 His ascent into heaven and His present rule at the right hand of the Father.97 As God’s Son and David’s heir,98 He is the eternal Messiah-King,99 advancing God’s reign throughout every generation and throughout the whole earth today.100

  7. THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

    WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church at Pentecost in power,101 baptizing believers into the Body of Christ102 and releasing the gifts of the Spirit to them.103 The Spirit brings the permanent indwelling presence of God to us104 for spiritual worship,105 personal sanctification,106 building up the Church,107 gifting us for ministry,108 and driving back the kingdom of Satan109 by the evangelization of the world through proclaiming the word of Jesus110 and doing the works of Jesus.111

    WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ112 and that He is our abiding Helper,113 Teacher,114 and Guide.115 We believe in the filling or empowering of the Holy Spirit,116 often a conscious experience,117 for ministry today.118 We believe in the present ministry of the Spirit119 and in the exercise of all of the biblical gifts of the Spirit.120 We practice the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Spirit,121 for healing,122 and for recognition and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve the Church.123

  8. THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE

    WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of Holy Scripture124 so that the Bible is without error125 in the original manuscripts. We receive the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments126 as our final, absolute authority, the only infallible rule of faith127 and practice.128

  9. THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL OVER THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS

    WE BELIEVE that the whole world is under the domination of Satan129 and that all people are sinners by nature130 and choice.131 All people therefore are under God’s just judgment.132 Through the preaching of the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom of God133 and the work of the Holy Spirit,134 God regenerates,135 justifies,136 adopts137 and sanctifies138 through Jesus by the Spirit139 all who repent of their sins140 and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord141 and Savior.142 By this they are released from Satan’s domain and enter into God’s kingdom reign.143

  10. THE CHURCH: INSTRUMENT OF THE KINGDOM

    WE BELIEVE in the one,144 holy,145 universal Church.146 All who repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit147 and form the living Body of Christ,148 of which He is the head149 and of which we are all members.150

  11. BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER

    WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the Church: water baptism151 and the Lord’s Supper.152 Both are available to all believers.

  12. THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE FINAL JUDGMENT

    WE BELIEVE that God’s kingdom has come in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ,153 that it continues to come in the ministry of the Spirit through the Church,154 and that it will be consummated in the glorious, visible and triumphant appearing of Christ155 - His return to the earth as King.156 After Christ returns to reign,157 He will bring about the final defeat of Satan and all of his minions and works,158 the resurrection of the dead,159 the final judgment160 and the eternal blessing of the righteous and eternal conscious punishment of the wicked.161 Finally, God will be all in all162 and His kingdom, His rule and reign,163 will be fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth,164 recreated by His mighty power, in which righteousness dwells165 and in which He will forever be worshipped.166

OUR VALUES

  1. We value THE PURSUIT OF GOD. We are hungry to know God’s presence, hear His voice and follow hard after Him.167
  2. We value CHRISTLIKENESS. We desire that through the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus’ love, mercy, grace, truth, purity, power, and integrity would shine through all that we are and do.168
  3. We value BEING SPIRIT-LED. We honor Jesus as our Head and the Holy Spirit as our Counselor and the Administrator of our churches. We seek to be actively responsive to the Holy Spirit’s daily leading of our personal lives and ministries and of the local church.169
  4. We value PRAYER. We believe that prayer is essential, because it is our primary means of communion with God, and because of our personal lives and ministries and of the local church.170
  5. We value DISCIPLESHIP. Our intent is to teach all believers to believe Jesus’ words, obey His commands and do His works. We aim first to grow as disciples of Christ ourselves and then to make disciples of others.171
  6. We value THE KINGDOM OF GOD. We aim 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 heal and work wonders.172
  7. We value the MERCY OF GOD. We believe that mercy is fundamental to all that God does in salvation. We, therefore, aim to extend mercy to one another and to all to whom we minister.173
  8. We value INTEGRITY. It is important for us to speak the truth, deal honestly, and live uprightly.174
  9. We value SERVANT LEADERSHIP. We believe that Christ has put significant leadership authority in the hands of the pastor and associates. We aim to exercise that authority with humility, selflessness, grace, care for the sheep, and a sincere desire to build up the Body of Christ.175
  10. We value THE INDIVIDUAL, single or married, and we want to enable and support mature relationships and family growth.176
  11. We value UNITY. We are convinced that all who belong to Christ are one in His Body, the Church. We aim to maintain unity by honoring all who call on Jesus’ name and by seeking reconciliation with all parts of the Church.177
  12. We value COLLEGIATE RELATIONSHIPS. We are honored by every person whom God adds to the Vineyard. We aim to work together to build the Church through maintaining mutual respect, open communication, determined cooperation, and believing and speaking the best about each other.178
  13. We value REALITY. We aim to walk in the Spirit and see real supernatural works of God. We aim also to function on the natural plan based on God’s leading in conjunction with excellent, relational thinking.179
  14. We value SIMPLICITY. We wish to do nothing for “religious effect” but rather to operate in natural low-key, non-hype patterns. We desire to do the ministry of Christ with joy.180
  15. We value being CULTURE CURRENT. We aim to develop an atmosphere of ease, and to speak, act, and dress in ways in which our culture can respond positively. For example, we reflect this value through worship music that is of a popular style.181