THE CHURCH
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in which people profoundly encounter Jesus Christ in our worship, teaching and ministry |
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where the power of God is active and present to heal and transform lives |
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where ministry is done by EVERY member, not just the pastors. |
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that cares about and serves people outside it's own borders; particularly to the poor, the needy and the lost. |
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that doesn't simply attract and recycle Christians, but brings people into a relationship with Jesus and His family. |
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where people can come as they are, take off their religious masks, and find honest fellowship with God and meaningful relationships with people. |
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that trains people to be effective in ministry and successful in life. |
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that loves children and devotes it's time, energy and money to bring them into relationship with Jesus, where they can grow up loving God and loving His church. |
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that is strong enough to impact the community and plant other churches both in this country and abroad. |
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whose every endeavor is marked by honor and integrity, love and godly character. |
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where the people are the church, not the building. |
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OUR PURPOSE
We believe God has given the Vineyard Church of Montrose five purposes to use as guidelines to keep us on course. If we maintain balance and pursue these purposes, we will accomplish the mission God has for our church. These five purposes come from two passages, Matthew 22:37-40 and Matthew 28:19-20.
Worship
"You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart . . ." We want people to experience honest, transparent worship in a culturally relevant setting.
Fellowship
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." We believe everyone is in need of genuine relationship with other believers. These relationships can only be facilitated in the context of a small group. (Jesus taught his disciples in a small group.) There are wonderful opportunities to give and receive in one of our many different small groups.
Training (Discipleship)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . ." We have many classes in which individuals can participate, including topical Bible studies and ministry related classes. We want people to be trained to do the work of the ministry and to have application in their lives to reach their full potential.
Evangelism
". . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit . . ." Our mission is to help guide people to a relationship with Christ through non-manipulative ways and to teach individuals how to share their faith so relatives, friends, colleagues and people in our city might come to know God.
The Word of God (Ministry)
". . . teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." We want people to discover the living principles revealed in the Bible, that there is life-giving, life-changing power in it for every day living. |
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OUR BELIEFS
The Vineyard Church Of Montrose stands firmly in the center of orthodox Christian teaching. Out of loyalty to Christ and the gospel we have come to a number of convictions concerning the clear teaching of the Bible. At the same time, we have not included in our statement of faith much that can be legitimately debated by orthodox Christians. In other words, we do have boundaries, but our boundaries are broad and inclusive. On the spectrum of Christian churches:
* We are biblical.
* We are evangelical.
* We are empowered evangelicals.
We believe to reflect Christ-likeness and the clear teaching of Holy Scripture. In addition, as members of Vineyard Church Of Montrose, we make the following confession of faith:
*We believe in one living and true God, the Creator and Lord of the heavens and the earth. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, equal in power and eternity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
*We believe that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man yet one Messiah, the only Mediator between God and man. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
*We believe that Jesus Christ came down from heaven, was incarnated by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to the Father and was crucified on a cruel cross for our sins. He suffered, died and was buried and He rose bodily from the dead on the third day. As the God-man, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for His people. At His first coming, Jesus inaugurated the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.
*We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry every believer in Jesus Christ. He is an abiding Helper, Teacher and Guide. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all the Biblical gifts of the Spirit.
“We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts.”
*We believe that we, along with all men and women, are sinners by nature and choice and were under condemnation. We are now accounted as righteous before God only by the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, through faith in Him alone, and not by our own works – it is a gift from God.
*We believe that we have been born again by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit now lives in us producing faith, holiness, love and power.
*We believe in the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety, without error, in all that they affirm and as the only infallible rule for our faith and practice.
*We believe that the church is intended by God to be a worshiping community of believers observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His law; exercising the gifts, privileges and discipline invested in the church by His Word and His Holy Spirit; and seeking to extend the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.
*We believe Christ committed two ordinances to the church: water baptism and the Lord's Supper (Communion). We believe water baptism is available to all Christian believers following a clear profession of Christian faith. We believe that the Lord's Supper is open to all believers. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, the Lord's Supper nourishes our souls. It brings to our remembrance the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, our communion with Christ and the church and our obligation to persevere in faith and holiness to the end of our lives.
* We believe in the second coming – the personal, visible appearing of Christ to earth and the consummation of His Kingdom; in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment; and the eternal blessing of the righteous and the endless suffering of the wicked.” |
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