Vineyard is all about zealously or passionately “doing the stuff”. Why do we feel this way? What has influenced us?
One of the main influences, if not the major influence on John Wimber’s life was an understanding of the kingdom of God. Learning about the kingdom of God gave John a new perspective. In his own words, his Christian life took on an entirely different meaning. Attending church was no longer a dreaded activity, but became, exciting gatherings in which the people of God are equipped to go and preach and demonstrate the gospel.
The kingdom of God gave John (and all of us who are a part of the Vineyard movement which he founded) our biblical and theological key for power evangelism and experiencing signs and wonders today. The kingdom of God has shaped our approach to ministry, and given us the basis and motivation for equipping the saints and joining the fight against Satan. Teaching about the kingdom of God has become a deeply ingrained practice in Vineyard churches.
We will reproduce a number of blog posts about the Kingdom of God in the coming days, that had been featured in discontinued NLV online site.
TOPICS
Ignore at your own peril!
Beginging to end: About restoration
Rejecting Jesus is rejecting the kingdom
The kingdom creates the Church
Kingdom authority
Sometimes heroes
Being filled with the Spirit
Overwhelming our personality
The Indonesian Partnership is always looking for new and strategic ways to continue their efforts towards building community, both here in the US as well as in Indonesia… and another idea has sprung up!
Indonesia is known for their lush vegetation, plentiful rainforests, and exotic wildlife. This ecosystem is one of the most diverse in the world but it’s not only for aesthetics – the entire world benefits from the oxygen produced there. Many of the trees and plants are used daily to financially support villages and communities. Rubber, teak, and acacia trees are just three of the main types of timber planted, grown, and harvested for a living. Just one acre of 5 year old rubber trees can support a family of four, providing them approximately $150 per month!
With Christmas just around the corner, our Indonesian partners have initiated a project called, Trees for Lives, to help church planters reach rural communities by selling t-shirts and Christmas ornaments.
By purchasing a t-shirt and/or ornament a tree will be planted in your name and will help:
• Provide jobs so Indonesian church planters can hire local people to work planting the trees
• Build and enhance relationships between church planters and their new communities as they demonstrate care for the environment and their neighbors
• Reducing carbon emissions
• Helping parents to send their kids to school with new cloths & supplies
• Fund investments in new properties to continue building Communities of Hope
• Develop tree farms for long term employment harvesting rubber and other tree products.
These trees represent bringing new life to communities. They represent that there are still communities in the world who want to see growth by engaging and supporting win-win projects with other communities … such as Trees for Lives!
If you would like to participate in this project please contact:
Through the introduction of Jon, I met with Adolfo “Chito” Aquino recently during the latter’s visit to Singapore.
Chito and a number of other pastors founded and currently lead the LJOR Church in the Philippines. LJOR is the acronymn for the Lord Jesus Our Redeemer, and the church comprises of more than a hundred local churches spread all over the Philippines and elsewhere in the world. It is committed to: “Love God, Love One Another; Proclaim, Teach, and Advance God’s Kingdom to the Ends of the World.” Now isn’t that remarkably like NLV’s vision, to Love GOd, Love People, and Co-mission with Christ?
The elders of LJOR are open to networking with NLV and they have started coming to our Sunday morning meetings.
LJOR has a small Filipino fellowship going in Singapore and we are delighted to be hosting their Sunday afternoon meetings in our premises.
The new hostel has taken in 19 children for this school year. From the pictures below, we can see that they are settling into their “home” in the city.
NLV joins the Vineyard Indonesian Partnership, which currently comprises of 10 Vineyard fellowships.
Vineyard churches have worked together in partnerships to plant churches all over the world. It is more effective to work together since you can pool people and resources in order to nurture an indigenous, self-sustaining church planting movement in the adopted country. A partnership allows a small fellowship like NLV to make a significant contribution toward the accomplishment of the Great Commission.
Efforts to date made by the Indonesian Partnership, include short term team visits coming to participate in training indigenous church planters, and to support other ministries, from worship concerts to developing small businesses to make inroads into communities. The Indonesian Partnership has also contributed generously to tsunami aid and they have helped construct a new orphanage for the children of tsunami victims on the island of Sumatra.
Here is a video clip of a short term team visit made to Indonesia in 2008.
