central vineyard welcome pack

JOINING GOD

TO LIFEIN THE RENEWALOF ALL THINGSTO BRING COMMUNITIES

New Welcome Pack SEPT 2013_Layout 1 10/10/2013 09:08 Page 2

WELCOME TO CENTRALVINEYARD

Our vision is to join God in the renewal of allthings, and for us this begins in our lives andthe communities in which we live, work andplay. It means seeing the people ofNorthampton (and beyond) transformed intopassionately engaged followers of Jesus. Welong for people not just to attend church, butto be the church. We recognize that God hasplaced within each of us gifts, passions andabilities to build the church and help bringthe kingdom of heaven on earth.

We have a saying here, that we are peoplebringing communities to life. Ephesians 3says the church is the manifold wisdom ofGod on display to the principalities andpowers. Its people, its life, its culture, itsservice and its sacrifice are telling a storyabout the God we serve.

Therefore our church doesn't just exist foritself, it exists to declare the glory and heartof God to the world.

Central Vineyard is a growingchurch community in theNorthampton area, which beganwith a small team of people inFebruary 2006.

We live out our vision in three directions:

UP,IN


We gather together to celebrate what God has been doing in our lives andcommunity throughout the week. During our time together, we place a highvalue on connecting with God through worship,teaching and prayer in a laid back,casual atmosphere. Our aim is to be a worshipping community, where worshipaffects every area of our lives. Worship is an act of freely giving love to God, and we want to do this in a style that is intimate, accessible and relevant to who we are.

REACHINGUP TO GOD

We’re seeking to build a community where people are learning to “do lifetogether”. We see ourselves as a family of believers who’s primary role is toencourage one another in our pursuit of God. Throughout the week we have smallgroups that provide a place for us to connect with others on a more personal level.We want to be a place where every member of the church has a role to play, where we can allserve one another with the gifts we have. We aim to train and equip men and women to do thethings that Jesus did and seek to provide training and development in all areas of life and service.

REACHING INTO EACH OTHER

Our desire is to make a difference here in Northampton and throughout theworld with acts of compassion, kindness, and love. The Bible repeatedly callsus to seek justice and to serve the poor and we want to live with open hearts andhands to the poor and broken, as we continually look for God-given opportunities toserve those most in need. We aim to be ‘Good News’ to our friends, our neighboursand our co-workers, in order to communicate something of God’s grace, love and forgiveness.We believe that over time we will train and send out teams of people to start newchurches throughout our region, the United Kingdom and beyond.

REACHING OUTTO THE WORLD


GETTINGINVOLVED

We’ve designed asimple path to makeyou feel at home as quickly as possible.

Please don’t hesitate to jump right in,to ask any questions you have and toget involved. We’re thrilled you’rechecking us out!

Every week, after the service, stick around foranother coffee and a chance to meet and chat withsome of the leaders.

10 MINUTE PARTY

About once a month we host a newcomers lunch ordinner, this is a great time to hear more about the story

and vision of the Central Vineyard, find out what it meansto get more involved here and ask questions.

COME TO THE NEXTNEWCOMERS’ EVENT

We know that sometimes gettingsettled into life at a new churchcan be tricky. So we’ve tried tomake it really easy for you to getplugged in.


After you’ve been to a Newcomers’ Lunch or Dinner, come to DiscoveringCentral Vineyard. It’s a four-week course that highlights some of ourcommunity’s key values and helps you become more orientated with who weare as a community. Discovering Central Vineyard is held several times a year.To find out more information on the next course, please speak to Steve Gee. Ifyou’ve come to our church during an “in-between” time (when Discovering CentralVineyard isn’t running) check out a Connect Group until the next round begins!

DISCOVERING CENTRAL VINEYARD COURSE

FIND A PLACE TO SERVE

Connect Groups are gatherings of 8 - 16 people that meet acrossNorthampton and beyond, usually on a weekly basis. The purpose of thesegroups is to help build community in the life of the church and they are anintegral part of church life. Groups run on a termly basis with opportunitiesto sign-up in September, January and May.

JOIN A CONNECT GROUP

We believe that everyone who says they’re a part of our community is a part of our family.Together we use our gifts, talents and money to welcome and serve our guests and thecommunity at large. There are many ways you can serve in and around our church. Pleasesee page 15 for more information.


VINEYARDCHURCHES

The Vineyard started in the late 70s andearly 80s. Birthed out of the Jesusmovement that came from the ‘Hippie’culture of southern California, it started witha group of people who desperately wantedmore of God. The group that wouldeventually become the Vineyard wasfounded by the late John Wimber.

The first Vineyard church in the UK wasstarted in 1987 by John & Eleanor Mumford,in the south west London area. From therethe Vineyard has grown to around 120churches here in the UK & Ireland.Collectively we are known as VineyardChurches UK & Ireland.

John Wimber

We are part of a family of churchesknown as the Vineyard, there arecurrently around 1,500 Vineyardchurches world wide.

I’m spare change in His pocket, He can spend me any way he wants

“ “


Our cluster leaders oversee and support our Connect Groupleaders by meeting and praying with them throughout the year.

OURTEAMLEADERSHIPTEAM

CLUSTERLEADERS

STEVEGEELEAD PASTOROversees: Vision &Direction, Newcomers,Teaching, Church Planting,Worship & Staff Team

TAMMYGEELEAD PASTOROversees: Vision &Direction, Newcomers,Pastoral Care & Kids &Youth

PETEWILLISASSOCIATE PASTOROversees: Connect Groups,Students, Communications& Sunday Serving

ANYAWILLISASSOCIATE PASTOROversees: Connect Groups,Students, Prayer & Re:storeNorthampton

SAMRAJAGOPALASSISTANT PASTOROversees: OverseasMission, HomelessOutreach, Re:storeNorthampton & Events

KEN & ANNWILLIS

PAUL & ESTHERVEAL


Re:store is a new charity formed by CentralVineyard to help better facilitate a number ofoutward focused ministries in the church.

THE FOOD BANKHunger is not just a third world problem.Right now in Northampton, there are manypeople living on the edge of poverty and TheFood Bank has been able to help manyindividuals and families who haveexperienced a crisis of some type.

The Food Bank provides local families andindividuals with essential food supplies at atime when they need them most, coveringthe days or sometimes weeks before otherparts of the social care infrastructure cancome in to play.

www.northamptonfoodbank.org.uk

RE:NEWWe want to help meet the needs ofindividuals and communities in our town inpractical ways. Working in partnership witha local Christian family refuge, Re:Newreaches out to vulnerable women andfamilies who have be re-homed after aperiod of crisis. As a team, we help peopleto make their accommodation more homelyby painting and decorating, workingalongside those referred to teach them newskills and build their confidence.

We also have a pastoral support team whichfollows up each project to provide additionalsupport and befriending. We don’t believethe church should be hidden away in abuilding, but instead be right at the centre ofthe community.


CAP MONEYThe CAP Money course is designed to helppeople gain a better knowledge of what theyearn and what they spend, devise amanageable budget, get their accounts inorder and learn to save, whatever theirfinancial situation.

The 3 session course is led by members ofthe church who have been trained to helpand advise in a range of financial situations.This is a helpful tool for both those within thechurch and outside, whether you haveserious debt problems or would like to savea little extra for a holiday. It is also beingheld in community venues across the townas a means to reach out further, andvolunteer be-frienders are often needed inthese settings.

THE ALLOTMENTThe Allotment is a two-part project, firstly ateaching programme lasting 4 sessions on acommunity allotment, led by a volunteer withappropriate knowledge and skills. The‘students’ will be nominated by NorthamptonFood Bank and other local agencies whowork with vulnerable adults and families. Theaim is to pass on the skills for growing theirown fresh vegetables and they will be givena small ‘starter kit’ at the end of this time.

The second part is moving these clients onand giving them ownership of growing theirown vegetables throughout the year. Theselected few will be paired with a mentor togive guidance and work alongside them, aswell as offering emotional support in regardsto life-issues. This provides a great opportunityfor volunteers within the church to make apractical difference in their wider community.


HOMELESS &VULNERABLE

We have a team of people who go intoNorthampton town centre to provide food,drinks and other essential items to those onthe street. The team go out weekly on aThursday evening and the ministry is run inpartnership with other Northampton churches,who go out on other nights of the week.

In addition to meeting the practical needs ofthe homeless our aim is to build relationshipswith individuals and to provide anopportunity to share the gospel and praywith them.

Street Church is a joint project for Churchesacross Northampton, which serves some ofthe town's homeless and most vulnerablepeople. Every Sunday afternoon there is anopportunity for individuals to share a simplemeal together with time for sharingtestimonies and stories of what God is doing intheir lives, as well as opportunities for prayer.Every 6 weeks there is a pampering session,where some of the ladies get their nailspainted and others can get a free hair cut.

Churches volunteer on a rota basis and wenormally need a team of about 6 to 8 peopleto make that happen 4 to 5 times a year.

www.streetchurch.org.uk

We are also involved in helping andsupporting those who are homelessand vulnerable in Northampton.

As a church, we have a desire to seelives transformed across our town. Ifyou have any ideas on how we canhave further impact on our town, wewould love to chat with you.


WHAT WE DO FOR...

AdultsNo matter what stage of life you're at,there's something for you at CentralVineyard. That goes for the entire familytoo - from infants and toddlers tograndparents. This is a safe place for thoseyou love the most:

Dedicating your children

If you would like to dedicate your children,we would be delighted to help youwith that. Just get in touch withPaul & Esther Veal.

Marriage & Marriage Preparation

If you are thinking about getting married, werun a marriage preparation course, whichincludes ongoing mentoring for youngmarried couples, from older marriedcouples. Also, if you are encounteringsignificant difficulties with your marriage andyou would like some help, we can providepastoral support. Contact Paul & Esther Veal

Help with your finances

If you are having difficulties managing yourfinances, we have a Money ManagementCourse that might help you to get things inorder. If you have debts that you cannotrepay, we can arrange for you to have a freeadvocacy service to negotiate with yourcreditors. We also have a short termbenevolence fund for moments of crisis,please contact Sam Rajagopal.

Baptisms

We see full immersion baptism as a publicdeclaration of our decision to follow Jesus.We schedule baptisms at various pointsthroughout the year. If you would liketo know more please contact Paul andEsther Veal.

‘‘ At Central Vineyard, I’mcontinually beingchallenged to ‘live out’what I say I believe in, andnot just keep it for myself

‘‘

‘‘ I feel Central Vineyard ismore like my family than achurch. I just love cominghome on a Sunday!

‘‘


WHAT WE DO FOR...

Our children are a valued part of our churchcommunity. L.I.G.H.T (Living In God HereTogether) takes place every Sunday.Registration for Bright Stars and Blaze startsfrom 10.20am and ends when the servicefinishes at around 12 noon. On the 4thSunday of the month the adults and childrenstay together as a whole church family forworship and communion.

Each week Bright Stars & Blaze spend someof their time together to worship, they thensplit into their own groups for theactivities tailored to their specific age group.Activities include drama, prayer, puzzles,craft, interactive stories and games. Our aimis to inspire our kids to build their ownrelationship with God and shine for Him.

Here at Central Vineyard we aim to makeour Sunday mornings as relevant to the livesof our young people as we can.

During the service we run a group calledIlluminate where we look at the bible andtalk about Jesus and what it means to followhim - the stuff we consider the mostimportant, but we also talk about you guysand we're here to listen! We want to makethe things we look at as relevant to you aspossible and be with you in the challengesthat come up in your everyday life.

Typically on a Sunday mornings the groupruns from the start of the service, but acouple of times a month we stay with theadults for worship. There are loads of waysyou can get plugged and be involved onSunday, why not check out what isavailable and talk to your parents aboutgetting involved?

We also run a youth connect group each term.

Kids Youth

WHAT WE DO FOR...

Sparklers is our 0’s - 3’s age group(stay and play)

Bright Stars is our 3’s - 7’s (Nursery toYr 2) age group

Blaze is our the7’s - 11’s (Yr 3 toYr 6) age group


WHAT WE DO FOR...

University provides an amazingopportunity and a uniquechallenge for students. We arethoroughly committed to providinga ‘home’ for students to feelsupported, envisioned andequipped to live passionately forJesus on campus.

At Central Vineyard we really want to helpall our students get plugged in to church lifehere in Northampton. We offer all ourstudents wanting to get more involved manydifferent training opportunities from,leadership, discipleship, mentoring, worshipand serving in the church.

As a church we are linked to Fusion, whofacilitate student mission, evangelism anddiscipleship through local churches. We alsohave a great relationship with the Universityof Northampton Christian Union and anumber of Central Vineyard students arepart of the Christian Union.

1. Join a Connect GroupConnect groups are communities of 8 – 16people that typically meet in peoples homes.They are the optimal place to grow inrelationship with God and with others.Groups run on a termly basis and you cansign-up for a group at the end of September,January and May.

2. Get stuck in!We don’t have any formal membership, butwe do encourage everyone who wants tomake Central Vineyard their church to getinvolved in some way and serve in an areaof ministry suited to them. That can beanything from helping out in kids work,playing in the worship band or doing morebehind the scenes stuff like setting up ourmeeting space on a Sunday morning.

3. Do the Discipleship YearEach year we run a Discipleship Yearprogramme, which runs from midSeptember to mid June and is for 2 to 2 1/2days a week (usually Thursdays, Fridaysand Sunday mornings). For moreinformation please contact Steve Geefor an Application Pack.

Students


SERVING ON AT TEAM

Serving on a Sunday at Central Vineyard isnot simply about just getting a job done.Being part of a serving team is all aboutcreating environments. Firstly we arecreating an environment where God isworshiped, where people can arrive at ourservice ready to worship. Secondly we arecreating an environment where people canencounter God. We want to remove thedistractions and give people everyopportunity to meet with God.

So, everything we do from setting up ourmeeting space, to showing people where topark their car, to helping people feelwelcome is all about facilitating those twothings. As Acts 15 tells us in verse 19 “...weshould not make it difficult for [those] whoare turning to God".

We encourage everyone who calls ourchurch home to get involved in some way oranother, some people may not be able tooffer a regular commitment but could act as‘back ups’ and can stand in occasionally.

“ Look at the needs in your church and community.Then jump in with a willing heart and open mind.Drape the servant’s towel over your arm and getbusy. Then you can begin to study about spiritualgifts and ask God to reveal yours to you. Don’t worryabout finding the perfect fit immediately. Giveyourself permission to learn as you experiment.”

Bill Hybels

‘‘ From the moment Iarrived for the first time,it felt like home

‘‘


There are a number of areasof service on a Sunday:

HOST TEAM

What to get involved? Speak to:

Includes welcoming, stewarding,car parking and catering

ROB LAWEST: 07854 209688E: [email protected]

LOGISTICS TEAM


Includes driving the van, setup ofmeeting space and packing away again

PETE WILLIST: 07726 601136E: [email protected]

WORSHIP


Including leading worship, singing, playingmusical instruments, sound desk and media

STEVE GEET: 07581 197464E: [email protected]

MINISTRY PRAYER TEAM


Being on hand to pray with people at theend of the serive, training provided

MIKE & KATE ADAMST: 07967 823694E: [email protected]

There are also other areas of serviceout side of Sundays, some of which arepart of our Re:store Northamptoncharity (see page 8):

Food BankRe:newCAP Money

The AllotmentSoup RunStreet Church

KIDS & YOUTH MINISTRY


Includes planing and leading each sessionworking in one of three age groups

TAMMY GEET: 07855 735232E: [email protected]


GIVING AT CV

We want to be a generous people, providingthe church with the resources to do thingswell, as well as to demonstrate God’sgenerosity outside this church in what wegive away.

We don’t teach a particular percentage asdefined in the Old Testament (10% of grossincome), but rather, with that as a guideline,we believe that “each [person] should givewhat he has decided in his heart to give, notreluctantly or under compulsion, for Godloves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

If you bank online you can set up a standing order to Central Vineyard (sort code08-92-99, account number 65278068, The Cooperative Bank), or you candownload and complete a standing orderform and send it to the Church Office whowill then send it on to your bank or buildingsociety. You can also put cheques (payableto Central Vineyard Northampton) and cashinto the offering basket on Sundays.Whichever method you use, if you area UK tax payer don’t forget to sign andcomplete the Gift Aid section on the form,this entitles Central Vineyard to claim the taxback that you have paid on your donation -that’s currently equivalent to 25 pence inevery pound, so your money will go evenfurther!

The Bible clearly teaches the principle ofgiving, and the giving of money is just onedemonstration of commitment to the work andministry of the church to which we belong.

Each of you should givewhat you have decided inyour heart to give, notreluctantly or undercompulsion, for God lovesa cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7


THECITY

We’ve realised at Central Vineyard that theonly way we will be faithful to God’s missionis to build a strong, welcoming andconnected community. However the largerwe grow, the harder it is to make friends,meet people and communicate witheveryone we’d like to.

What we need is a quicker, more intelligent,and easier way of staying connected. So theanswer is an online community-building toolcalled ‘The City’.

Visit:mycv.onthecity.org/kioskand get connected today!

Connect, Chat, Encourage,Advertise, Pray, Meet...


OFFICE ADDRESS

Central Vineyard HubUnit G3, Nene Enterprise CentreFreehold StreetNorthampton NN2 6EF

Tel: 01604 716323Email: [email protected]

Find us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/centralvineyard

Central Vineyard Northampton is a registered charity number: 1128417

Follow us on Twittertwitter.com/centralvineyard

GET IN TOUCH &STAY CONNECTED

‘‘ Central Vineyard isdynamic, outwardlooking, challengingand, most of all, home!

‘‘

‘‘ Chilled yet challenging!

‘‘


Unit G3, Nene Enterprise CentreFreehold StreetNorthampton | NN2 6EF

T: 01604 716323E: [email protected]

Central Vineyard Northampton is a registered charity number: 1128417

www.centralvineyard.co.uk


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