Ethos and Practice of Causeway Coast Vineyard  

Causeway Coast Vineyard is a hope-filled and passionate church community pursuing God’s heart for the causeway coast area through our everyday lives. We are a church where lives are changing as people say ‘yes’ to Jesus and experience life in a fresh way. We are a people who bring life to every area of our community and a place of transformation as we pursue the dreams that God has placed in our hearts. 

We are part of the Vineyard movement (VCUK&I) and subscribe to the Evangelical Alliance basis of faith. 

In light of this, we affirm that … 

  1. Every person is fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image and that our choices and actions are informed by a reverence and respect for human life. That God loves and cares for everyone in their physical, cultural and ethnic diversity; and that we are called to love everyone and treat them with dignity, mercy, compassion, kindness, humility and justice. (Genesis 12:3; Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 16:19, 24:17; Psalm 139:13-16; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8; John 15:12)
  1. Jesus is good news and has commissioned his followers to go and make disciples. We are passionate about inviting others to surrender their ‘yes’ to Jesus and generously serving those in need. (Matthew 25:35-36, 28:16-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:15)
  1. We are being discipled to love God, follow Jesus and respond to the Holy Spirit through regular prayer and worship, engaging with the Bible, participating in church and other spiritual d Our behaviour matters to God and impacts others and so we strive privately and publicly to live holy lives that honour Him and reflect His character. (Mark 8:34-38, John 14:15-31, Ephesians 6:18, 1 Peter 1:13-16, 2 Peter 1:3-11) 
  1. We are God’s children, empowered by his Spirit, extending his Kingdom together – everyone, everywhere every day, and in every way. (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; 2:38-42; Ephesians 3:14-19; 2 Corinthians 3:12-18; 1 Peter 2:9)
  1. God created human beings in His image, male and female, possessing equal value, made to glorify Him and together reflect His image. The human body in its given form, including biological sex, is an intrinsic part of human identity. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:23; Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Corinthians 6:19). 
  1. Friendship, family and marriage are gifts from God, designed for the flourishing of humanity and to glorify God. Sexual activity is a good gift from God that belongs exclusively within marriage between one man and one woman. God calls us to chastity within marriage and celibacy outside of it, and we seek to lovingly hold one another to these standards. (Genesis 2:20-24; Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:1-12; John 15:12-17; Romans 8:14-17; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 7:8-16; Ephesians 5:21-27; Revelation 19:6-7, 21:1-2)
  1. God made the earth and entrusted humanity as its stewards and so we take seriously our responsibility to care for and cultivate His good creation knowing that God will make all things new. (Genesis 1, Genesis 2:15, Psalm 8; Colossians 1:19-20; Revelation 21:1-5)

 

Wholehearted Agreement – We expect board, SLT members and pastoral staff to wholeheartedly agree with the statement of ethos and practice. In practice this means being fully onboard – privately believing and publicly defending our ethos. 

Support – We expect staff and wider leaders to support the statement of ethos and practice. In practice this means publicly backing the position, living consistently with it and it precludes any form of public disagreement. However, it does allow space for those who may have private reservations but can agree to public support. 

Respect – We expect volunteers to respect the statement of ethos and practice. This means reviewing the statement and understanding that it shapes the life of CCV. This allows for some level of disagreement and the private raising of questions, but it would be inconsistent to advocate or campaign for change.