The Heal......To Help......To Hug

Why Vineyard Recovery Church? 
Why does it exist?
Aren't there enough churches already?
Good questions.
Questions I have to ask myself all along this journey we call life.

Why does VRC exist?
Well, we are downtown for a reason. 
"To Heal.......To Help.........To Hug.'
In other words, we are an outpost for the Kingdom of God.
Our mission is to simply "Follow In His Steps."
His steps, those of Jesus, have led us to this place and this point in time.
We want to be more than just another meeting.
We want those who come on Saturday night to be able to experience God's love and presence.
O.K....I'm about to use a word that freak's out a lot of folks, especially the religious crowd..........I want whoever comes on Saturday night to Feel the love of God. 

Being a believer of the born-again kind, then VRC was conceived and born from heaven. John 3:3 tells us that "Unless one is born again (or born from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God." I didn't come up with the idea of VRC. It was given to me as a directive from God. The exact words that I heard (in my spirit) were...."I want you to return to the Vineyard. I want you to move the Saturday night meeting from Rapha to the Vineyard. It will be my meeting. I will build it." Pretty simple right? Just do it. And that is exactly what I've done, with the exception of me getting in the way from time to time.

Our goal, as a church, is very simple.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit.......
We want to:
1.) Speak the word.
2.) Do the works of Jesus.
3.) See the wonders of the Kingdom.
In my heart, I believe that the people who are the church (eklesia- the called ones) have been commissioned, or called if you will, to advance God's kingdom. Collectively, we have been given the task to push back darkness and re-establish new boundaries of the Kingdom of God. According to Scripture, those boundaries that the kingdom of God is to operate in is the "ends of the earth". So we have a lot of work to do. 

So how do you push the Kingdom of God forward?
How do you push back against a kingdom of darkness overseen by the Devil?
It is very simple. No need to complicate it.
Every time we pray for someone....
Every time we feed someone....
Every time we minister to someone....
The Kingdom of God is being advanced.
Seeds are planted in the lives of those we reach out to.
We may never see the fruit that comes from that seed, but we rest in the knowledge and understanding that (1) it's good seed, and (2) we have been called to plant.

VRC, and the church at large, is in the thick of a war, whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not. 
"We are instruments of God's rule confronting and destroying evil in all its forms. We are the called of God enforcing and advancing, for the sake of this world, the victory that Jesus has already accomplished" --John Wimber.

Keep in mind that the Kingdom of God we read about in Scripture is not an event, but rather an intervention of God into human history. It is His dynamic rule and reign here on planet earth. Where ever people are falling in love with Jesus, and are following Him.......there you have the Kingdom of God.
We get a taste of the "power of the coming age" right now. 
Hebrews 6:5 - And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. 

VRC has been commissioned and given a mandate to be an expression of God's love and kingdom to a segment of society that has been marginalized because of their condition. Because of a choice they made, they have been affected spiritually....physically.........mentally......emotionally .....and financially. I speak of addiction. All addiction begins with a choice...I want those who come on Saturday night to realize that healing also begins with a choice. A choice to answer the invitation to new life with Christ.
Come and visit with us. We'd love to see you. VRC starts at 7 p.m., every Saturday night. Downtown at Gadsden Vineyard, located on Broad Street, between 4th and 5th streets.

God on you....
mb