ABOUT
Our VISION
VIANOVA wants to be more than a mission. We are a dynamic and innovative movement that incarnates the love of Jesus in the heart of our society. We meet people, we serve them, we journey with them.
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We believe that unconditional love for our fellow human beings can have such an impact that they are determined to learn more about the driving force of our lives, Jesus. As they discover more, they embark on the journey of a disciple of Jesus and allow themselves to be molded into his image.
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All disciples gather in contextualised communities where each one contributes to the growth and development of the others. Filled with divine love, they are, in turn, ready to embody Jesus among their friends and walk along new disciples.
We choose to live outside of our comfort zone and meet others. We therefore devote part of our time to our civic commitment, in secular work and in volunteering. This goes beyong "Christian ministry". Every follower of Jesus is invited to live his/her true disciple identity where he/she lives.
A never-ending JOURNEY
ENGAGE
The love of Jesus in action.
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The followers of Jesus have a "double citizenship": both citizens of a Kingdom that is not yet fully revealed and citizens of the world in which they live. Instead of looking up to heaven hoping for a better future, they integrate their society and are involved with their culture to the point of becoming its guests, intentionally, not grudgingly. Guided by Jesus, the entire community goes out and reintegrates the society to manifest God's love through its acts of kindness.
Like Jesus who draws near to the weakest among us, like God who stoops to the point of experiencing the worst trials of human beings, regardless of social class, we approach others. Incarnation is within reach of everyone. Whether a student, a retiree, a working adult, part-time, full-time, with a work calendar about to explode, or with a few spare hours available for volunteer work, the key is to intentionally live out one's identity as a disciple, to be of service to others, to proactively seek their good and to walk with them through life, directly from where we live and work and play.
DISCIPLE
A process of constant transformation.
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Our journey begins in the world, where God challenges and prepares us, until we have an encounter with Jesus and make a commitment to follow him. When we do so, we become his "disciple" and He becomes our Master. A disciple allows himself or herself to be transformed by the Spirit of God, both in character and in commitment to do good, over the long term.
As the disciple interacts with society, meeting people and building friendships, some friends might be intrigued by this behavior and will want to learn more about the famous Jesus. Thus begins a long process where the disciple accompanies her friend on her journey.
Each journey will be different, specific to each one, with its own forms, its own rhythm, and for a duration and a finality to be lived and discovered together. Shaping disciples is an ongoing and contributory process of transformation into the image of the Master and model of incarnation, Jesus.
GATHER
Reflecting both Jesus and the local culture.
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Discipleship is a collaborative and reciprocal team effort that we make "as a family” within a community. The assembly of the citizens of Christ's Kingdom (i.e., disciples) takes on multiple, visible, identifiable and contextual expressions. In line with incarnating Jesus, each community is meant to be Jesus-centered, while reflecting its surrounding socio-cultural context.
To enable it to fully develop its own personality, a community will intentionally focus on the people surrounding it in order to maintain, stimulate and facilitate spontaneous family life and involvement in societal contexts. Community flourishes on three levels: intimate (small growth groups), private (a "home" group, around the Word shared in small groups of disciples), and public (the gathering identified by those outside the community as "the" community meeting). In all three cases, participants move at their own pace.
Living as a DISCIPLE
INTEGRATION
We are in the world.
The disciple wants to follow the perfect model of integration -- Jesus Christ. He who is perfectly God becomes man and comes to meet the world to love us and to show us the way to the Father.
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God calls us to join him in his mission by incarnating the love of Jesus among our contemporaries.
COMMUNITY
We are a family.
God gathers his disciples into a people who live by his principles.
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Those who choose to follow Jesus are no longer strangers, but adopted children in a new family, a foretaste of the coming Kingdom.
JOURNEY
We are on the way.
Everyone is journeying, everyone is looking for the path to fulfillment. God draws those who seek him to discover the narrow door that opens onto a new path.
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The disciple is on the way to Jesus, letting himself be transformed into his image. Each one at his own pace and together in community.
PARTICIPATION
We are collaborative.
The community is a space of mutual service, collaboration and each disciple has a role to play. The discussions are open.
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People searching for answers can ask sincere questions and share their opinions without judgement. The answers are not limited to an elite, everyone participates.
A new LIFESTYLE
DEPENDANCE
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We choose to surrender control of our lives to God. We discipline ourselves to listen to his Spirit in prayer and contemplation, to explore his Word and to share our experiences with other disciples in community. We follow the movement initiated by God in Jesus.
INTENTIONALITY
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We choose to sift through all of our projects by asking "why?", and to have a lifestyle that is proactive and coherent. Since we want to use all of our talents for the expansion of this movement of love, we regularly ask ourselves the question of "why" we do it.
AUTHENTICITY
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We choose to live transparently. We do not want to pretend, we want our schedule to reflect our commitment as disciples. We do not want to hide our weaknesses, we want to own them and value them by putting ourselves at the service of those we work with every day.
SIMPLICITY
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We choose to embrace simplicity, which helps keep a movement sustainable. We refuse to be obsessed by a relentless quest for quality that inherently limits the possibility of everyone's participation.
REALISM
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We choose to remain flexible in a constantly changing society. We want to remember that every project is adaptable. We reassess, readjust, acknowledge our dependence on Jesus, demonstrate intentionality, welcome authenticity, embrace simplicity. We remain realistic and seek creativity is using the resources we have been given, and trust that God will provide the rest.