In the Vineyard

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE BELIEVE


We are deeply committed to the Bible as the Word of God and adhere to the traditional creeds of the Christian faith.
At the same time, we are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit and love partnering with Him to do all the things that Jesus did.


Our heart is to connect people with the Father's heart for them. The times we live in can be so challenging, and it's not always easy to see where God is at in all of it. But He sees you, He loves you, and He is for you. Do you know this? Do you experience it? If not, we'd love to talk with you about it. It's also our hope that you'll experience something of the magnitude of the Father's heart for you when you join us in worship or in small groups.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Ephesians 3:18-19


SOME OF THE THINGS WE VALUE

  • The presence of God.
  • Praise and worship, which invite the presence of God. Worship has always been one of the calling cards of the Vineyard.
  • Prayer. We love praying and would love to pray for you!
  • Teaching our young people and children that God can use them, too. We rejoice to see him working in and through our kids!
  • Reaching out to serve the community, especially the poor and struggling.
  • The biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit, given by a God who never changes. We live expectantly, inviting the Spirit’s work through all the gifts the Bible speaks of, including miracles, prophecy and physical healing.

We're Part of a Family

Vineyard Church of Elgin is part of a church family known as Vineyard USA. Congregations in the Vineyard are autonomous; while there may be wide variety in worship, ministry, and any number of other things, we also share much in common due to our common heritage. Our values and distinctives are what unite us with the 600+ other Vineyard churches across the country and 2,500 around the world. The Vineyard has been called one of the fastest growing church movements of our time.

The Bible is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. We have a deep regard for God's Word and living in obedience to it, and at the same time we embrace the best of Pentecostal/Charismatic traditions by welcoming the empowering of the Holy Spirit. We like to say that we are the “radical middle.” We stand on the Word of God; we likewise stand on the conviction that all the biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit are alive and active today.

What Makes Us Unique

The Vineyard movement, birthed in the 1970s and influenced greatly by the leadership of John Wimber, has certain distinctives that define our personality in the wider Church and our unique way of doing life as Christians.
1. THE ALREADY AND NOT YET OF THE KINGDOM
In the Bible, Jesus sometimes talks about the Kingdom of God being here, and within our reach. People are healed. Lives are transformed. Signs and wonders occur. At other times, Jesus talks about the Kingdom as a future reality, as our hope beyond this life. People are not always healed in the present. Intractable social issues remain. Jobs are lost, hunger continues, and suffering is real.

Our theology of the already and not yet of the Kingdom enables us to believe God for miracles (a theology of the miraculous) and also trust God when pain is occurring (a theology of suffering). We believe that both are necessary for a healthy Christian spirituality.
2. EVERYONE GETS TO PLAY
We believe that anyone can do the work of the Kingdom. We don’t have an elite or superstar leaders. We are all commissioned—men, women and children of every background.
3. COME AS YOU ARE BUT DON'T STAY AS YOU ARE
You’ll be loved no matter what state you are in when you come to the Vineyard. We believe that Jesus can love us all to health.
4. NATURALLY SUPERNATURAL
We avoid all hype or emotional manipulation. Going about our lives naturally, we pray for healing and listen for God’s voice in all circumstances.
5. FAITH IS SPELLED R-I-S-K
We believe the call to be the Body of Christ involves getting outside of our comfort zones. Adventurous faith is welcome in the Vineyard.
more vineyard distinctives



FIVE CORE VALUES

In the Scriptures, we see Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God as the overarching and integrating theme. Vineyard’s Kingdom theology embraces five core values:

1.  PARTNERING WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
We partner with the Spirit by asking Him to accomplish what we never could on our own. We pray for the sick, confront injustice, and seek to hear the voice of God on behalf of others—partnering with a Person beyond ourselves.

2.  EXPERIENCING AND WORSHIPING GOD
Experiencing God’s presence is central to our faith and life. When we lift our voices and bow our hearts, we expect to experience God’s presence as a palpable reality. There are many ways to worship, but singing is vital to the Vineyard.

3.  RECONCILING PEOPLE WITH GOD AND ALL CREATION
We are committed to carrying out Jesus’ work of reconciliation by becoming a healing community. We seek to break down divisions between people—men and women, rich and poor, different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds—and we encourage diversity, allowing the power of the cross to reconcile what has been separated by sin.

4.  ENGAGING WITH COMPASSIONATE MINISTRY
We lean toward the lost, the poor, the outcast, and the outsider with the compassion of Jesus, as sinners whose only standing before God is utterly dependent on the mercy of God. We seek to serve the poor as though serving Jesus Himself.

5.  PURSUING CULTURALLY RELEVANT MISSION IN THE WORLD
We are called to bring the Gospel of the Kingdom to every part of creation, faithfully translating the message into language and forms that are relevant to diverse cultures. To this end, we promote a creative approach to ministry that is faithful to Jesus and expressive of His heart to reach those who are far away from God.
Our Statement of Faith is based on the conviction that the Kingdom of God is the central theological motif that gives definition to all that we believe.