As followers of Jesus, we must not forget that our Lord, while on earth, spoke of bringing the gospel to every nation. Christianity should always be a missionary faith. We start with this as a given.
I pray that Vineyard churches can remain viable as we mean by Van Engen:
"The purpose of missiology, for which they only exist, a unique culture, people and the needs of their living conditions, and missionary work, only through which they reveal their own essence as God's people in God's world."
When I first got involved in the Vineyard, we didn't have a name for the work God was doing through the Vineyard. Later, God revealed his purpose for our advancement, which can be summed up in two words: "worship and compassion." God has called us to be His worshipers and soul savers.
It took a while to understand what the ministry of compassion entails. Several years of intense community gospel study helped clarify God's purpose for us in our environment. We are called by a compassionate God to serve the world around us with compassion in His name.
If we are not worshiping God and winning souls, we are not doing essential things. Until we proclaim Jesus in his entirety and continue his ministry, we do not do what is necessary to influence the world around us.
