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Defining Assumptions
of River City Vineyard
1. Our fellowship really
wants to obey Jesus.
2. The Kingdom of God (evidenced by Satan's work being reversed and destroyed
-Matt 12:28) is the primary mission and issue of church life - not
self-preservation of church life.
3. Church life should equip people to manifest the kingdom as Jesus described
it.
4. People can say what they want, but they are what they do.
5. A commitment to excellence produces confidence in ministry and in care.
6. The primary source of ministry ability comes from personal devotion and
prayer. This should be prioritized in our own lives and in our sharing
with those to whom we minister.
7. The kingdom conflict, between darkness and Light, is a reality that cannot be
escaped or ignored.
8. The primary foundation for healing in all dimensions is LOVE-- love from God
and love from each other.
9. Placing expectation or preconceived notions about or upon individuals is
always injurious and always works against healing.
10. It is normal for everyone in our fellowship to be giving of themselves in
some ministry on a consistent basis in order for healing and growth to come to
them.
11. Our God is not a cosmic killjoy raining on our party.
12. Having a heart of compassion for the poor, orphans and widows should be the
norm for a Christian. Giving consistently and generously should also be normal.
13. Love is the glue that binds this fellowship together.
14. The Holy Spirit, working through the church, is able, willing and free to
break in and carry on His work in non-spectacular, non-manipulative and
surprising ways.
15. Modeling and teaching Scriptural values to people, and then waiting for God
to change them, is our aim more than simply trying to change their behavior.
16. Each church is a new creation and will have differing styles and practices
suited to their particular group.
17. One of our goals as a church
is "to have a good time while promoting His kingdom."
18. Counseling should not be the emphasis of church life.
19. You cannot manufacture the Holy Spirit's genuine working.
20. Most ministries involve focus, pinpointing, and ridding ourselves of
distractions.
2l. Worship accomplishes something that no other feature of human existence can
accomplish.
22. Our view of God in ministry must be of a God who is FOR us, not angry with
us (reconciliation), who has forgiven us (justification), who has received us
(redemption), who has changed us, and is now helping us to realize it
(sanctification).
23. Each person in the fellowship is responsible for his or her own fellowship
needs and follow-up.
24. People can't minister to others unless they can be ministered to.
25. Relationships are what hold people together in fellowship in the local
church. People aren't nearly as concerned about denominational loyalty as
they are about having their need for relationship met. They will come for many
reasons but will stay for only one--relationships, to God and to other people.
26. The local church needs to give to be able to grow. Without a consistent
giving of time, energy and money the church will eventually stagnate. The
church's greatest felt need is to give itself away to the world.
27. One of the easiest groups in the world to encounter is the poor. As we
go to the poor, we tap into a kingdom reality that will cause momentum within
the local church. If we don't go to the poor on a regular basis we are
walking in disobedience to the clear Biblical call to reach out to these people.
28. Leadership is a functional reality, not a democratic decision.
29. The focus of our worship songs is to sing directly to the Lord, rather than
sing songs of teaching, triumph, and exhortation.
30. Planning is the first part of executing every task God has given us to do.
31. A person's heart can be seen by where he spends his time, energy and money.
32. We are not in the people-keeping business. Our aim is to receive, restore,
and release.
33. People can not be successful unless they are willing to deal with the issues
in their lives that sabotage success.
34. Half measures will bring no benefits. Deal with one thing at time and
do it well.
35. Allow the Holy Spirit to work on character defects with people, at His pace,
one issue at a time. This is more important to us than the simple quoting
of "the law."
36. Leaders need to be character driven, not emotion driven.
37. No one church can bring the Kingdom of God to Sarnia anymore than one person
can be the body of Christ.
38. We cannot make people do what we see they should be doing…only God can.
39. We have more faith that God will lead us than the enemy will deceive us.
40. Leaders need to have servant's hearts. They are to be more interested in
serving others than in serving themselves to gain prominence and recognition.
41. Most people and organizations can do only one or two things well.
42. The wall which people put up to protect them from hurt, is the same wall
that keeps them from feeling loved.
43. When we give our lives over to Jesus, we believe that He really is taking
over our lives and that He won't let the enemy destroy us.
44 Our church is never more whole than the least whole person in the fellowship.
45 Hurting people hurt people.
46. You can measure how healed you are, by how you react to others when they
react to you.
What We Think Is
Important
There is no one "Vineyard."
Vineyards meet in gymnasiums, rented churches, and converted industrial
buildings all over the world. Each is unique. Yet, all of the Vineyards are
like-minded in their approach to God. Perhaps this is why we can feel home
in each other's fellowship.
While it is not always easy to define one's priorities as a church, sometimes it
is necessary. Therefore, this paper exists only to say who we think we are and
what our priorities are.
THE BIBLE
Our desire is to do and teach just what the Bible says. Consequently, we
have a particular approach to Scripture. We believe it is the main way God
speaks to us. We realize when we approach Scripture, our tendency is to
impose our own presuppositions and preconceptions on it. Therefore, we
ought to seek the Holy Spirit's interpretation. Our desire is to
experience the Bible, not simply just to know it. Thus, we highly value
teaching with an emphasis on doing and experiencing.
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that its purpose is to
teach us (expose a body of truth) and to train us (for a certain course of
action). It is completely trustworthy (infallible) and without error in the
original manuscripts.
WORSHIP
Our first priority as a people of God is to worship Him with all of our hearts.
We were created to worship and glorify God; therefore, our worship is an
expression of our love for God.
Worship is a time of self-disclosure to God. It is to be our most truthful
place with God. It is a time of repentance and the language of love. In
this disclosure to God, as we allow Him to touch us, we are also freed to be
able to disclose ourselves to others.
Our desire is that Jesus be central in our lives, that He be our Lord, and that
His Spirit would rest on us and fills us. We desire Spirit-led worship in
a style that is intimate, dynamic, cultural, and life changing.
FELLOWSHIP
We believe that when we worship God, He touches us and opens us up to love and
embrace those whom we wouldn't have loved before. Therefore, our worship
leads to fellowship and the goal of our fellowship is wholeness. A kinship
setting is the place where we believe that wholeness can be most effectively
brought about in people's lives. Kinships are small groups of about 8-12
people, who come together to worship, to learn, to explore and share their
gifts, and to be healed. It is in this setting that people become known
and accountable to one another.
HEALING
God gives different emphases to different groups within the Body, yet all fit
together to produce spiritual results. In that light, we have compassion to
heal. We seek to extend the ministry of Jesus with signs and wonders and the
preaching of the gospel by bringing healing to the sick, lame and hurting.
We believe that Jesus has granted authority to His body to heal and to preach
the entire Good News: healing, freedom and salvation.
POOR
Healing, wholeness, intimacy, worship and salvation are all aspects that we
desire to be part of our experience as a church body. As we become
healthier as a body, it is of major importance that we reach out to the
oppressed poor. We must not miss our commission to minister to them. It is
an expression of our health, and an understanding of what God has done for us.
Who are the poor and what must we do for them? They can be victims of
racial prejudice, working class men and women, elderly, young married couples,
housewives, singles, or teenagers. They may be addicts, alcoholics,
runaways, dropouts, gang members, homosexuals, ex-cons, criminals or street
people. On the surface, the lives of these people may appear to be very
normal. However, many are living right on the precipice of ruin. Drugs,
booze, pills, pot, affairs, and broken marriages may have left their lives in
shambles. All are troubled and desperate. Every one of them needs help.
We are God's extended hands. With vision and the leading of the Spirit we
must learn to minister directly to these people. The expression of
ministry may be through giving money, cleaning up a yard, fixing a water pipe,
painting a kitchen, or teaching an "unemployable" person how to work.
Our fellowship must have a wide open door.
We pray and hope that one-day, as we grow, learn and practice, we all will be a
positive benefit in all neighborhoods. It is our investment philosophy.
TRAINING
In our society, education has been viewed as sufficient training. However,
the practical "doing" aspect has been neglected. We must
"DO." This means that all of us must learn to pray for the sick,
minister to the poor, witness, or do any other activity that Scripture commands
us to do. While we do have formal occasions for education, so that we might
learn the theory and doctrine of what we are doing, we place a higher priority
on the relational/New Testament model where Jesus apprenticed His disciples.
Therefore, we teach on a need to know, prescriptive type, learning/counseling
basis.
DISCIPLESHIP
It is our belief that the New Testament calls for radical commitment. What we
believe about discipleship is
that every Christian has been called to the unconditional surrender all of their
life to Christ. We believe that a personal, intimate relationship with
Jesus is available to all who give their lives to Him. It is our desire
that this relationship does not become legalistic or judgmental, but rather it
is one where God is approachable and can be talked to concerning everyday
activities, as well as life goals and aspirations.
As we draw into closer relationship with Jesus, He transforms our lives.
In response to this, we begin to desire to please Him, and to organize our
lifestyle around Him. When we are living in close relationship, others
easily see these changes and they too are stimulated to do the same thing.
As a result, everyone learns to live in freedom and live within the definition
of being a community of people who have committed themselves to Christ.
MERCY
Our desire is to meet the needs of broken people through a ministry of mercy. We
believe that this is a place where righteousness and mercy meet. People
come to us looking for a safe harbor, and we are to meet them with the mercy of
God, so that they might know God's precious love for His children, and be
redeemed in spite of their guilt.
KINGDOM OF GOD
Our desire is to bring the Kingdom of God into areas where Satan has stolen
ground. We are committed to establishing beachheads in Satan's territory and to
raiding his camp, freeing the men and women he is holding captive.
We believe that there is a war being fought, and we want to be aggressive
in asserting God's rule in Satan's dominion. It is our goal to learn how to
function as proper citizens of God's Kingdom, to explore all the authority,
permission and rights that have been decreed to us by Jesus.
God loves the whole church, and we desire to do the same. This brings our
perspective on missions to light. First, our primary calling is to
evangelism, and church planting. We want to find people like ourselves and love
and help them. All around the world, particularly in large urban centers, there
are people, especially young people, who are looking for a cause. These
people have a need for stability as well as a need to explore. They are willing
to leave all and devote their lives to a real cause. We want to ignite them with
the love of Jesus so that can bring His saving power to their generation, and so
change the world. We want to mobilize a massive missionary force to plant
churches wherever the Holy Spirit calls us. There, we trust, He will draw
the unsaved and join them to what He is doing in and through us.
Secondly, we see church renewal as part of our mission. God loves the whole
church and we see ourselves as part of that whole. Therefore, we must be lovers
of the things that God loves - people of differing views, theologies, practices,
etc. We want to be part of God's plan in restoring the Church to the end-time
purposes of God. So our desire is to bring renewal to the whole Body of
Christ wherever He takes us. In doing so, we will be continually renewed.
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