Our Mission
One In Christ, Reaching Out To Many
United by our faith in Christ, we are called to continually serve each other and our neighbour in His name.
Our Vision
Core to VAPC’s sense of Christian community is the value of caring for others. Care has been central to our congregational identity from early days. Expressing care through Christian love to others is one way we express our love for God, for we are called to do both (Luke 10:27). As a Spirit-led community, on a faith journey to follow ever more closely the way of Jesus Christ, we wish to grow further as a missional congregation with care at its core. In so doing, we celebrate the joy, hope and beauty God brings to life.
We aspire to express our love of Christ, through how we act in the world…
…caring for others through faith and connection,
…welcoming all, in kindness and with justice,
…seeking to build community among ourselves and in the neighbourhood.
Our care does and will take many forms, within and beyond our congregation.
In our care, we aspire to nurture Faith and Connection.
In growing our faith, we further God’s work in the world, proclaiming the good news (2 Corinthians 10: 15-16). Our goals are to:
-foster faith development in people of all ages, since in caring, we desire that people know “the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).
-enrich and expand our networks of care, through formal structures and informal individual habits.
-increase congregational activities to meet growing needs among people of all ages.
In our care, we aspire to be Hospitable.
We are an open and inclusive community for all. This includes but is not limited to people of any age,
gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, ability, or citizenship. We are all children of God, and are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28). Our goals are to:
-grow more intentional and pro-active in welcoming all, helping new relationships develop into close, meaningful ones.
-recognize and celebrate cultural differences that newcomers bring to our congregation.
-seek opportunities to act justly and kindly towards all whom we meet (Micah 6:8)
In our care, we aspire to grow Community.
Blessed by our God-given spiritual gifts, we desire to build community in our wider neighbourhood for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7). Our goals are to:
-respond with relevance and our unique resources, to the local issues and needs, to the fullest extent of our abilities.
-develop further as a community hub, as a welcoming and safe place for the community to gather.
-meet neighbourhood needs collaboratively, growing partnerships with other neighbourhood organizations, so strength can be added to strength.
The Cited Scripture Passages
Galatians 3: 26-28 --26For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 28There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Luke 10:27 -- You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.
1 Corinthians 12:7 -- To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Micah 6:8 -- God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
2 Corinthians 10: 15-16 -- 15 We do not boast beyond limits, that is, in the labors of others; but our hope is that, as your faith increases, our sphere of action among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may proclaim the good news[f] in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in someone else’s sphere of action.