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Mark and Sonja Fuller |
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 " The
Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed
Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to
heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord."
Luke 4:18-19
This mission statement of Jesus has
become our mission statement...
...in other words, The Spirit of the
Lord is upon us because he has anointed us to preach the
gospel to the poor; he has sent us to heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those
who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord.
As we join in the ministry of Christ
to the whole person, we rely on his power and the
ministry of his kingdom to come. Our desire is live out
the promise of the remainder of that text found in
Isaiah 61. We desire to be a comfort to all who mourn,
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment
of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Then we will
be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor (Isa. 61:2-3).
Sonja and I want to encourage you to
visit, check things out and see if what the Lord is
doing with us is a fit for you. If not, that's fine. The
Lord's church (body) is a big one, each with its own
flavor and distinctives. If it looks like, sounds like
and feels like "home" to you, we'd love to partner in
ministry with you!
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The Call to the Area
Though I have been away from the area for more than 17
years, I have always carried an assurance from
the Lord that one day He would draw our hearts towards
home. I was saved at a church in East Longmeadow, MA
(just over the Enfield, CT / MA line in 1968). My family
lived on a mountain that overlooked the CT Valley /
Pioneer Valley (from Springfield, MA to Hartford, CT).
Over the next ten years the Lord would call me to my
bedroom window, overlooking the valley lights below. I
sensed the Spirit saying; "Look at these lights. Where
are these people going?". Tears would come to my eyes as
I pondered the eternal destiny of the people that each
light represented. Every twinkling light represented at
least one (perhaps at least three or four) people that
Jesus Christ died for. Again and again the words came;
"where are they going?, where are they going?".
Education and training (both not to confused with each
other) took me away from my home calling -- first to New
York for college and next to Denver for seminary and
church planting / pastoring experience. All along, the
Lord would never let me leave behind the initial vision
He gave me. At strategic points, God reminded me of my
initial visions of the valley from the mountain. My
heart would resonate and respond as more tears would
form in my eyes ("where are they going?, where are they
going?"). During our last ministry
trip to the area (11/95), the Lord again called me to
the mountain--again the lights--again the question
("where are they going?")--a song was added (this may a
bit corny) but I sensed Him saying; "this land is your
land, this land is my land.". Someone once said: a
vision repeated becomes a call, a call repeated becomes
a ministry, a ministry repeated becomes a life and a
life is an investment for eternity. .......Where are
they going?...... 'Pastor Mark Fuller' |
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Values |
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Values are
what we treasure -- things that are important to
us. The Bible instructs us concerning many values.
Here, we want to highlight some specific biblical
values that describe how things are done. The best
way to discover these values is to see them in
operation. Values invade all aspects of church
life as the Kingdom of God finds its expression
through them as they work their way through the
vision, priorities and practices of The Vineyard
of Greater Hartford. Here are some key values that
we hold on to:
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WORSHIP
Intimacy with the Lord as we direct our focus to
him personally.
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WAITING
ON GOD
Seeking and pursuing his presence and direction.
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SIMPLICITY, HONESTY AND GENUINENESS
Being real and authentic, turning away from
acting religious and operating in low-key,
non-hype patterns.
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TEAM
MINISTRY
Decentralized pastoral care through servant
leadership of small groups, ministry teams and
pastoral mentoring.
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PURSUIT
OF CHRIST AND HIS KINGDOM
We aim to move in the signs of the present
fulfillment of the Kingdom, invoking the
Spirit's powerful presence, ministering through
spiritual gifts and seeing God heal and work
wonders.
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DISCIPLESHIP
Training and equipping of new and young
converts to release God's activity and ministry
to them and through them to others.
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RISK
TAKING
Is an expression of our faith as we minister
to others and obey the Lord. We understand that
there will be mistakes and failures along the
way, but the only true failure is never to have
tried. In an environment of acceptance and
mercy, risk-taking is encouraged.
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CULTURE
- CURRENT
We desire to present the unchanging,
timeless gospel in a form that is relevant to
our generation. We reflect this through worship
music that is of popular style. We aim to
develop an atmosphere of ease and to speak, act
and dress in ways which our generation can
respond positively.
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Vision |
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The
Kingdom of God finds its expression through the
biblical values that underlie how things are
done. In addition, each work seems to have some
areas of emphases that the Lord impresses on its
leaders. I (Mark) have said that vision is like
closing your eyes and describing what you see.
The following areas of emphases are a simple
expose of the vision the Lord has given for this
work.
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EVANGELISM, OUTREACH TO THE LOST, UNCHURCHED
AND PRODIGALS
St. Augustine said that "the chief end of
man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever".
Our glorification of God moves beyond ourselves
to others. It is a sign post of the Kingdom.
Just as Jesus came to point beyond himself, so
too we point beyond ourselves. This earth walk
is not about us, it's about Him. The great
commission is a command that Jesus gave us to
fulfill. Every function of the Vineyard of
Greater Hartford will have some component of
evangelism and outreach incorporated into it.
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THE NEXT GENERATION
We have a vision to reach to the future of
the Kingdom as it is expressed by sensitizing
ourselves to the needs of the "baby busters".
Our desire is to target and relate to the next
generation with the gospel of the Kingdom. We
will be intentional about seeking, equipping and
mentoring the next group of disciples and
leaders for God.
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BREATHING LIFE ON THE CITY
Too often the church has retreated from the
city -- maybe because of fear, lack of financial
resources and a fortress mentality (though we
realize the need for rural and suburban
ministries). Retreat has left the metro area
somewhat devoid of a real, powerful and credible
witness -- outside of a few independent,
faithful and sacrificing ministries. The metro
area needs the life of God! The Lord has spoken
to us about being a credible witness to the
city. This means receiving and exhibiting a
radical faith that will risk (see values) and
require courage. It means eventually locating
the ministry center at least adjacent to the
urban corridor with the ability to minister in a
credible way to the needs of the city.
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