What are vineyard churches?

The Association of Vineyard Churches, is a family of churches sharing the Vineyard values and ethos of mission. Vineyard churches are ‘empowered evangelical’; to paint a picture of what that is; here is a quote from Rich Nathan’s book “Empowered Evangalicals”

"Word and Spirit. For too long evangelicals have emphasized the Word over the Spirit, while charismatics have emphasized the Spirit over the Word. But the Word and the Spirit belong together. The following saying is a handy summary:

If we emphasize the word without the Spirit, we dry up

If we emphasize the Spirit without the Word, we blow up.

If we hold the Word and the Spirit together, we grow up.

We won't gain more of the Spirit by having less of the Word. And we won't depend less on the Word by having more of the Spirit. We need as much of both as we can have.”

Vineyard History & Beliefs

Vineyard Churches were founded in the 1970’s in California and there are now over 2,400 affiliated Vineyard Churches worldwide.

At Central Vineyard we align ourselves completely with the Vineyard Statement of Faith.

You can read about Vineyard Vision, Values, Statement of Faith, and History here.

Vineyard GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Jesus called us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and to “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). He also said to love one another has He loved us (John 13:34). Vineyard churches outwork these commands through three guiding principles, for which we use the analogy of the head (our theological centre), the heart (our relational centre) and the hands (our ministry centre).

Head: Theological centre – kingdom theology and practice
Vineyard churches are committed to the theology and practice of the kingdom of God — which we view as the over-arching and integrating theme of the Bible. We are committed to proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and to bearing witness to the “already and not yet” of the kingdom in word and deed through healing (physical, emotional and social), doing justice and seeing people released to enjoy a full relationship with God.

Heart: Relational centre – loving God and loving people
Vineyard churches welcome God’s presence, seeking in worship and prayer to hear His voice and to be obedient to His leading. As we become increasingly sensitive and responsive to the Spirit’s presence, we “see what the Father is doing” and pursue that with passion. We also love people – inside and outside the church – with relationships characterised by respect and honour. “Being disciples, making disciples” spreads into every aspect of what we do, both with people who are part of our churches and those who are coming towards faith in Jesus.

Hands: Ministry centre – effective mission
Vineyard churches want to bring the gospel of the kingdom wherever we sense God’s leading, most often by planting culturally-relevant churches in a wide variety of settings. We are called to compassion and healing, leaning towards the lost, the poor, the outcast and the stranger as though we serve Jesus Himself.