We at the Vineyard believe that ongoing discipleship is important to all Christians. It is not enough to just be "part of the crowd" in your walk with Christ. Jesus commanded to:
" ... go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you ... ." (Matthew 28:19-20, New International Version)
We believe it is imperative that we give the people who come to our local church the tools they need to move from 'The Crowd' to being committed members of our church and even lay ministers, helping in our mission to reach out to the unchurched of our community.
We use a model that is outlined in Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Church that takes people "around the bases." The leadership of the Vineyard initially developed five classes to start a person's trip around the bases and help bring that person to spiritual maturity and service within the local church. These classes are only the beginning. Getting plugged into a Small Group is also a key part of the process.
These initial classes are meant to be taken in
order from 101 to 401. They are not mandatory, however, for those who aspire to
be leaders in the body, taking all classes are required.