The Mission Part 2: The Branches

The Vine will most certainly be an important piece to our passion to proclaim the Gospel and see disciples commit to Jesus.

I will say this right now, however.  We are not interested in just starting another "church".  A Sunday event where people show up, punch their spiritual time card and leave for their weeks.  A place with every conceivable program driven to satisfy all the consumers and the potential "felt needs" they might have.  There are plenty of these kinds of churches in Spokane, and they are fulfilling what God is calling them to do.  I am not knocking them, just saying that we are not interested in that model of "church".

Most of our ministry will take place in The Branches.  Here is our passion for what this vital aspect of our ministry is:

Because of Jesus' love for us, the branches grow from the Vine into our communities through the diversity of gifts God has given His people.

So lets unpack this idea a bit.

Again, first and foremost, it is the great love that Jesus has for us that compels us to love others for His sake and His glory.  Without loving people, we are not ministering or communicating the transforming message of the Gospel.

What we envision with the Branches are community specific, community driven ministries.  "Community" can be a misunderstood term in Christian circles.  At The Vine and the Branches, we view community from 2 angles: the place where you physically live and the place(s) where you live out your life.  With this definition in mind, a Branch grows from the Vine into the area you live, bringing the life-giving Gospel of Jesus to everyone who shares in that community with us.  

The main "Branch" will grow into the communities where our people live.  From there, offshoots will grow into other communities  (where we live out our life); each one tied into the Branch for nourishment, which in turn is connected to the Vine.

The forms that these Branches take on will vary from community to community.  There is no "one size fits all" approach to this.  That is because as ministers of  Jesus, He has uniquely gifted us to serve the people around us and to share with them the Gospel. 

Here is what we mean:

A branch grows from the Vine into the Manito area (a community in Spokane).  God's people in Manito unite together to minister to this unique community.  This could take on many forms based on the passions/gifting of the people there, balanced with the needs of the community around them.  Those are the offshoots.  They are still connected to the Manito branch, which is still connected to the Vine; but the ministry is focused on where they live, and the areas they live out their lives.  

The really cool thing about this is that because we are all connected to the same Vine, each Branch is very much tied into each other, modeling what believe the Body of Christ should be doing.

I will flesh this out more in another post for sure, but hopefully this gives you all some more understanding of what we are trying to do.

God is Good!!