Addresses:
Vancouver Native Pentecostal Church
304 E.26th Ave Vancouver BC V5V 2H5
Fax: 604-876-4144
Telephone: 604-876-4166
Backgrounder
Vancouver Native Pentecostal Church (VNPC) is a 100% Aboriginal owned and operated registered non-profit organization. VNPC was established and incorporated in 1985 and is located at 304 East 26th Avenue Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada .
During our 21 Year History, Vancouver Native Pentecostal Church has experienced varying degrees of congregational membership. However, in recent years, VNPC has experienced a significant increase in membership and currently has 150 members, 23 associated Aboriginal churches and numerous partnerships throughout British Columbia , Canada and abroad.
Our Mission
To positively affect Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, communities and associations through the salvation of Jesus Christ by means of:
1. Capacity Building; a ctions that improve our organizational effectiveness to manage change, resolve conflict, enhance coordination, advance communication, establish proper foundations for family structures;
2. Leadership, Stewardship and Discipleship Development; to produce purpose, unity, structure, training and evangelism in the church body;
3. Partnerships; to foster, develop and maintain healthy working relationships with government, industry and community;
4. Evangelism; to share our faith with others by teaching them how to witness the way Jesus did;
5. Deliverance; to deliver and free from restraint or sinful activity through the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ;
6. Healing; to receive the "breath" or inspiration of the Holy Spirit;
7. Cross-Cultural Ministries; to serve and equip the Church for ministry in our multi-ethnic society, by providing resources, stories and practical information by helping build partnerships between ethnic and Anglo churches in Canada and abroad; and,
8. Reconciliation; to commit to working for peace, justice, and the nonviolent resolution of conflict and misunderstanding.
In addition, VNPC will be the link between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Church through the development and implementation of enhanced communications which enrich the Church as a whole and brings together Aboriginal Christian leaders from various Aboriginal communities across Canada .
Our Vision
To be a Spirit-filled congregation of disciples called to carry the gospel and presence of Jesus Christ to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, communities and associations across Canada and abroad.
Our Values
The core values of VNPC are:
1. The Life Changing Power of God’s Word: His Scriptures. We view all of life through the absolute truth of the Word of God.
2. The Trinity Person of God: His Nature. We are centred in Christ (John 14:6) and led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25 ) to glorify God the Father (Romans 15:6) through crucified lives (Galatians 2:20 ) that are filled with prayer and worship.
3. The Importance of the People of God: His Church. We acknowledge the central position of the Church in God’s plan to build His kingdom and seek to build His people through intentional discipleship and accountability as they are prepared to assume their role in the Body of Christ. (Acts 2:42-47)
4. The Worldwide Purposes of God: His Will. We are focused on God’s global mission of disseminating the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20) by providing excellent education for maximizing our effectiveness for Christian service.
Our Beliefs
We believe that:
1. The Holy Scriptures to be the divinely inbreathed, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God;
2. That there is one God, eternally existent in the Persons of the Holy Trinity;
3. In the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, His deity, His sinless humanity and perfect life, the eternal all-sufficiency of His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the Father's right hand, and His personal coming again at His second advent;
4. That justification is a judicial act of God on the believer's behalf solely on the merits of Christ, and that regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation;
5. In holy living, the present day reality of the baptism in the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Lord's supernatural healing of the human body;
6. In Christ's Lordship of the Church, the observance of the ordinances of Christian baptism by immersion for believers and the Lord's Supper; and,
7. In the eternal blessedness of the redeemed in heaven and the eternal doom of the unregenerate in the lake of fire
Our Activities
VNPC Ministries has been actively and directly engaged in the following:
1. Hospital Visitation Ministry (21 years)
Our Hospital Visitation Ministry is intended to carry out the instructions of Jesus to "visit the sick." He said that when we respond to someone in need, we are responding to Him. As His ambassadors, we become His hands and His feet in order to be a blessing to those who are hurting. Our ambition is to bring comfort and the gospel message to those who are in our local hospitals, medical centers, recovery homes, and individual residences.
2. Corrections Ministry (20 years)
We take the Bible literally as what it is, the inspired Word of God. It is our firm belief that even the most hardened of criminals, or troubled youth offenders, can be touched and changed forever by the power and love of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
We also provide free counseling and encouragement, not only for repentant convicts and juveniles who want to turn from their past and live for Jesus (see Isaiah 61:1, John 1:12 -13 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 ), but also for incarcerated new believers and backsliders who are struggling hard to understand the Bible and to live the Christian faith.
3. VNPC Evangelism Outreach Ministry (18 years)
Our Outreach Ministry provides encouragement, resources and networking for congregations as they reach out to those in their communities.
We, (1) advocate for sharing the Gospel with those who are struggling hard to understand the Bible and to live the Christian faith; (2) train Christians and churches in evangelism and help them reach their own community; and, (3) mobilize members of our church to share the gospel and the love of Christ with those who do not know Jesus Christ as their savior.
4. Discipleship Training (18 years)
The purpose of Discipleship Training is to help believers in our congregation to grow into mature devoted disciples of Jesus Christ through intentional discipleship training. To help this happen we have prepared a cyclical training series to help turn ‘seekers’ into believers, believers into disciples, and disciples into disciple-makers. Training includes: (1) Mentorship; (2) Skills Training; and, (3) Bible Study.
5. Sunday School (18 years)
Our Kid's Sunday School is our source for fresh, creative Children's Ministry resources, Sunday school lessons, Bible crafts, activities, object lessons, stories, skits, games, songs & much more. Teaching Sunday school has never been so much fun!
6. Downtown Eastside Food Ministry (15 Years)
Our Downtown Eastside Food Ministry is designed to be a provisions relief program that reaches out to everyone in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, BC. This dynamic ministry crosses all denominational lines and brings the body Christ together in a joint effort to share the Love of Jesus. This provides an outstanding opportunity to reach out to the local community in a positive manner and invite new visitors to the church who otherwise may not come.
7. Aboriginal Regional Training Seminars (13 years)
We will evangelize our Aboriginal people and establish and plan Aboriginal churches.
Our Aboriginal Regional Training Seminars provide:
1. Conveyance of the message;
2. Assurance that believers will join a local church and mature in Christ;
3. Establishment of regional training centres;
4. Development of energetic, vigorous discipleship programs;
5. Training for lay leaders;
6. Further training for pastors;
7. Facilitation on church growth;
8. Planting of churches; and,
9. Promotion intercessory prayer. (Breakthrough Aboriginal Ministries)
10. Canadian Native Bible College (12 years)
Our Native Bible College is devoted to providing the necessary program of study and time to teaching the Gospel. Through faith, service, excellent Bible teaching, biblically integrated education and cross-cultural missions’ education, we strive to develop and prepare a new generation with the understanding of their connection and responsibility to the Body of Christ and its global mission.
11. Aboriginal Family Camp (10 years)
Our Aboriginal Family Camp has been built on a foundation of ministry in the name of Jesus Christ and exists for His Glory. We assist Aboriginal families to build upon their capacity and strengths, utilizing a holistic approach in the provision of Christian family support and community development services.
The project aims to: increase families' understanding, knowledge and skills about Christ leading to improved family well-being; increased linkages between Christian Aboriginal families and family support services; and increase the community's understanding of how to support Aboriginal Christians.
12. Youth Ministry (11 years)
Evangelism, Fellowship, Worship, Discipleship, and Ministry is why this Student Ministry exists.
The ultimate challenge in every generation of the church is to "make disciples." While every culture has its obstacles, the imperative remains... win, build and send disciples--disciplined followers of Jesus Christ.
The goal of VNPC Youth Ministry is to equip the church to make disciples of Jesus Christ, so our Youth Ministry carries the three-fold philosophy of "Win, Build, and Send."
13. Love Corps Outreach (11 years)
Our Love Corps Outreach Ministry engages in reciprocal Mission initiatives and partnerships to create educational programs for students, to promote leadership through service and to foster social justice and civic engagement.
14. All Nations Mission Outreach (8 years)
Desiring to fulfill our Lord's great commission, this ministry monitors the mission ministries we support, recommends new works to support and challenges our congregation to a deeper commitment to winning our world for Christ.
At the present time we help missionaries on preach the Good News to people that have much less opportunity to hear about the saving grace of Jesus Christ than we here in Vancouver , BC .
15. Christian A.A. Program (6 years)
The term "recover" actually does appear in the Bible in 2 Timothy 2:26. The Greek word used there, "ananepho" actually means to "return to a state of soberness, as from a state of delirium or drunkenness."
Our Christian A.A. Program emphasizes the fact that it is a process and not something that happens in an instant and implies an on-going activity, rather than a one time act.
Visitors to group meetings share their experiences, challenge successes and failures, and provide peer support for each other. Many people who have joined this group report they found success through Jesus Christ that previously eluded them.
We encourage Visitors to group meetings to actively and consciously engage in an on-going process of separation from their old sinful way of life and to increasingly set themselves apart to God through a continual renewal of their minds.