Compassions

Compassion Ministries “Build bridges of friendship and let Jesus walk over them.”

Our vision is to partner with God by identifying, recruiting, and training Christians to share the love of Jesus, to tell His story, and to offer new life to anyone who is willing to admit their need. We want to become the bridge that connects those who hurt with the extravagant love of Jesus. We will do this by looking for ways to meet their practical needs and by helping to connect them with a healthy community where they can thrive as followers of Jesus Christ.

Living compassionate lives is one of our priorities at the Vineyard. When something is a priority, it means that we spend our time, money, and energy on doing it. To live compassionate lives means that we are willing to suffer right along side of those that are lost, hurting, and in need.

One of the main ways that we show compassion is through relationship—there’s really nothing more valuable than giving someone a few moments of your time. Whether you pray for someone at the Fruit of The Vine, encourage a brother or sister through Christ Life, or check someone into the Free Medical Clinic—these are all practical and relational expressions of God’s love.

We want to accomplish our vision in three ways. We will:

Identify what bridges of friendship we are to build.
In Matthew 9:35-36, Jesus demonstrated the extent of his extravagant love by going out to all the towns and villages, telling people about the Kingdom of God, and by healing people who had all kinds of diseases. He looked at the crowds and saw them as harassed and helpless—like shepherd-less sheep. He identified the needs that were to be met and we are do to the same.

Use Jesus as our example of ministry.
Large crowds constantly flocked around Jesus because he had something real to offer them. He was willing to touch lives in practical ways and heal those who were willing to admit their need. In Matthew 8:1-3, Jesus healed a man with leprosy after the man worshiped Jesus and asked him for healing. Jesus didn’t refuse anyone who was willing to come to him for healing.

Learn to do what the Father is already doing.
It’s sometimes daunting to think of all the ways that we can help people in need—there’s really no end to what we could do for them. In the Bible, we never saw Jesus as “busy” or torn over what to do next—he just did what his Father told him to do in a day and we are to live the same (John 5:19).

Jesus was available to spend time with people who openly admitted their need for him. He didn’t hang out with people who claimed they were “fine.” Serving alongside in Compassion Ministries is like spending time doing what Jesus himself would be doing—if you want to be intimately connected with him, come be where he’s at!