When Judith and John Hix became the lead pastors at Seattle Vineyard over five years ago, they felt called to invest in a long-term overseas missions partnership. “The Seattle Vineyard has always valued international missions, and it was important to us to find a country that we could build relationship with.” They spent four years discerning which country to partner with, and after attending three Missions Leadership Meetings (MLM), asking God how they should be involved in missions, and connecting on calls with the Vineyard Missions Team, they decided to visit the Philippines.
“We are two blocks away from the University of Washington and have a large number of Asian students in our congregation, so it made sense to focus on an Asian country. We attended a large conference last year in Davao with four college students from our church, and it just clicked!” Judith says it was a really special trip for many reasons. “I was born in the Philippines but was raised in Hawaii, so I hadn’t been back in over 40 years. It was also the first time my husband joined me in the country, and he connected really well. He immediately said, ‘We’re coming back!’” Judith says it was beautiful to see the Vineyard expressed in Filipino culture, and the Seattle Vineyard officially registered with Vineyard Missions last year.
Judith shared that they visited two Vineyard churches on their trip, the Tancontian Vineyard in Metro Davao and the Baguio Vineyard on the island of Luzon. As Judith was born in Baguio, she was curious to see what the church was doing there, so the team took a five-hour bus ride to visit, and they witnessed a miraculous event. “They were going on an outreach to a very poor community called Agoo, which has a history of being a displaced people. They’ve struggled to survive, and the Baguio Vineyard brings them food and clothes, tangible things to care for people and share God’s love.” The Seattle Vineyard donated money to provide lunch for the outreach, but after expecting to feed eighty people, over 160 people showed up. “I have a picture of how much food we had, and I watched it being served because I was serving the one pot of rice. I don’t know how to explain the fact that we prepared enough food for 80 people, and more than twice that many were fed.” Judith says it felt like the Lord’s blessing on the day.
The Bagiuo Vineyard has planted a Vineyard in Agoo, naming it the Seaside Vineyard, and its dynamics are more subtle but feel no less miraculous. “Two groups of people who don’t normally have relationship are coming together for these outreaches, and the town’s officials are giving approval and honoring the Baguio Vineyard for helping this group of people. There are amazing things happening that are outside of our concept of what church planting looks like, and we want to be a part of that. There are over 7,000 islands and 63 Vineyard churches. It’s amazing how God is moving there.”
Judith and John are worship leaders, and their gifting has led to additional opportunities for investment and partnership. “While we were at the conference in Luzon, we were asked last-minute to do a breakout session on worship. We had no time to prepare, but we hosted a Q&A with about forty people, ages 17 to 70. This opened a door where we were invited to provide a training workshop about worship and Vineyard values, which we’re modeling after Vineyard Worship Essentials.” Judith says that while several Vineyard worship leaders have visited the island to provide training over the years, no one had been there in quite a while, and they were asked to step into that role. Judith and John will be hosting six online sessions, along with a two-day in-person worship conference in late Spring. They’re being very mindful of all the cultural dynamics. “This is an honor, and it came because we were there and had built trust. We understand that as we’re teaching Vineyard values, the expression of them will look different in the Philippines. The intimacy part of how we worship is complicated to teach culturally, but people are open to it if it’s taught in a way that is sensitive to the culture.” Judith explains that it’s important that they check in with leaders to ensure they are supporting attendees in a way that strengthens their relationship with God and their growth as leaders without hindering it. “It’s important to ask, ‘How does this strike you? How did it feel when we used these words? What can we do to translate the lyrics in a way that allows you to fully worship God?’ The Philippines is a place that has multiple islands, tribes, and languages to navigate, so we try to be very clear that while we’re teaching values, how they’re implemented within a specific context is up to them. We can also learn a lot from how they express themselves in worship. It’s so joyful and celebratory, and that’s really beautiful.”
Judith and John are very excited about the future of their partnership with the Vineyards in the Philippines. “It’s important that we see beyond our own culture because it opens our eyes to God’s heart for all nations. There’s something incredibly enriching about having people living in the U.S experience life outside of the U.S. It’s a continuation and expansion of how God views people across the globe. Intentional investment in one country is more sustainable for a church community of our size, and it’s very important to build relationships and trust. It’s beautiful to share in the work of God over a duration, to see the ebbs and flow of a church and its work in a community.”
“The ultimate goal is to empower and train indigenous people to plant their own churches, so we’re there to connect with the Vineyards on the ground and see how we can come alongside what they’re already doing in the community. We’re grateful to God for this ‘Jesus adventure,’ and we plan to bring as many people as we can each year. John Wimber always used to bring young people along as he traveled, and we have that heart as well, as we’re in a college town. We’re grateful that our church is excited about this track we’re on with the Filipino people, and as long as we’re the lead pastors of the Seattle Vineyard, we’ll be connected to the Philippines.”
How Can My Church Get Involved with Missions?
