OUR VALUES.
In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, diversity; in all things, charity. St. Augustine

"It is important to keep three circles in mind: a small one that is vital; a larger one that is negotiable; a vast one that is worth chatting about over a cup of coffee." Pastor Steve Sjogren

Three Circles of Values: Essentials, Traditions & Opinions. What's important & what's not that important? As we see it, there are three circles of values. The first circle is absolutely vital. We call this essentials. The essentials form a very small circle since there are just a few key things that we must believe to be authentic Christians. Without agreement on these matters, we actually aren't even believers aligned with the Church and its' past two thousand years of history. Beyond the essentials are traditions. Traditions, or denominational "distinctives", form a significantly larger circle and are what makes the body of Christ rich and interesting. These traditions make the church a diverse body instead of a single-cell ameba. Finally, the largest circle by far is formed by our opinions. The longer we spend in the Christian life, the more we accumulate opinions.

Fighting between brothers and sisters in the Church is perpetuated when we forget the order of importance with the three circles of values. It happens when we make our 'traditions' into 'essentials' instead of allowing them to be negotiable. Or worse yet, it happens when we consider our 'opinions' about a topic to be an 'essential'. These dyslexic episodes must grieve the heart of God.  When He has vital work for the church to be about, we have sometimes been found arguing about absolutely non-vital matters. (concepts from 'The Perfectly Imperfect Church' by Steve Sjogren)

OUR FIVE ESSENTIALS:

Who is God?
We BELIEVE that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

How does God speak? 
We BELIEVE that the Bible is God's written revelation to man, and that it is verbally inspired, authoritative, and without error in the original manuscripts.

Who is Jesus? 
We BELIEVE in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, death on the cross to provide for our redemption, bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, present day ministry of intercession for us, and His second coming to earth in power and glory.

Who is the Holy Spirit? 
We BELIEVE in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, that he performs the miracle of new birth in unbelievers, indwells believers, and equips and empowers the church to do all the works of the Kingdom of God.

How does a person know they are going to heaven?
We BELIEVE that all men & women are created in the image of God, the Father, but because of sin, are alienated from God. Only through faith, trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, which was made possible by His atoning death on the Cross and His Resurrection, can true forgiveness of sin be found and that alienation from God be removed.

  OUR TEN TRADITIONS:

At a Pastor's Conference in September 1992, Vineyard founding pastor, John Wimber taught on ten areas of ministry that were essential to any Vineyard Church. John called these areas the Vineyard Genetic Code because they make up the common denominators that make us "Vineyard".

1. "The Main & The Plain" Clear, accurate & accessible biblically-based teaching.

2. "Intimate Worship" Spirit-directed worship that touches the Heart of God.

3. "Empowered Evangelicals" The power of the Spirit fused with a strong biblically-based foundation.

4. "It’s All About Relationship" Life-producing, community-based small groups ministry.

5. "The Least & The Lost" Mercy & compassion for the dis-enfranchised and the broken.

6. "Doin’ Jesus’ Stuff" Empowered to continue Jesus’ transferable Kingdom Ministry.

7. "Giving Away What God Has Given Us" A commitment to growing God’s Kingdom through church planting & world missions.

8. "Loving Jesus’ Big Bride" Unity within the whole Body of Christ, with intentional relationships with other churches & ministries outside the Vineyard.

9. "Extending the Kingdom of God" Obeying Jesus’ Great Commission through speaking Jesus’ words and doing His works.

10. "Everybody Gets to Play" Equipping the saints for practical real-life discipleship; developing a lifestyle of prayer, worship, servant-hood & stewardship in every aspect of life.

OUR HUNDREDS OF OPINIONS:
Invite any of us out for a cup of coffee or Diet-Coke and we'll have a bit of fun discussing our "pet opinions".