The Exhaustion & Excitement Of Being A Sending Church
A few years ago, I had two vivid dreams and I awoke to find myself weeping over those in my community who didn’t know Jesus. Those experiences led me to a strategic decision to become a sending church. Over the last three years, our church has started three new campuses and sent out two church […]
A Decade In Ethiopia: Better Together
In February 2018, the Ethiopian Partnership celebrated its 10th anniversary. Among us were six churches from four nations and three AVCs (Association of Vineyard Churches), not to mention the now 31 Ethiopian Vineyard churches along with their emerging national-level leadership team. International partners were present from all but one of the churches in the partnership. […]
How I Accidentally Planted a Church
As a teenager I said I would never pastor a church. I had watched my father and mother pastor. It made me respect them, but I also saw the cost of pastoring first-hand. I pursued my education in law school, but every time I turned around there were people around me, people I was loving […]
Puerto Rico One Year Later: Thriving Through Maria
September 20, 2017. It was a perfectly normal rainy day in Puerto Rico. Until it wasn’t. Sure there was a hurricane coming, but the whole event was only supposed to take 12 hours. The hearty, family-oriented communities built within cities, tucked away in mountain villages, and spread across the rolling countryside of Puerto Rico took […]
An Unlikely Brother
I spent the second half of the trip on the north shore of of this island, where I’m excited to say, we now have our first official La Viña in this nation! Although Vineyard is not a recognized denomination there, the congregation has started to call themselves, La Viña Casa de Amor. On one of […]
At Home Or Abroad, Posture Is Everything
In Mozambique, most places we visit lack running water, restrooms, etc. But Mozambicans understand the need for hygiene, so the custom is to offer a pitcher of water and a basin to wash your hands. The water is usually warmed over an open fire. Before any meal, when you enter a home, or even sometimes […]
Why We Continue To Send Out Our Very Best Leaders
[ytp_video source=”lvSauTdYlOI”] As pastors over the past few decades, we have seen a lot of really great leaders come and go. In the Vineyard we have always been taught to hold our leaders open handedly. We’ve discovered that by being the kind of people who will not only invest in others, but also be willing […]
What it Means to Embrace a Kingdom Vision
A kingdom vision requires a church and its pastors to have a vision much larger than its own four walls or its own two acres. When a church extends its focus, prayer, resources, and strategy to reach beyond their local context into regional, national, and global contexts, then the church is well on its way […]
4 Essentials For Discerning Your Calling
The beginning stages of church planting come as an invitation that can feel like a longing or a burden for a people group or a city. Jesus knows the hopes and pains of our world better than we could ever imagine and that longing comes from him! Church planters carry the beautiful role of partnering […]
A Firm Foundation for Church Planting
Have you ever known anyone who has had a crack in the foundation of their home? It can be a very nerve-racking experience waiting for the professionals to give their assessment. A major crack can cost a homeowner around $4,000, and if the homeowner does not address the crack, it can compromise the structural integrity […]
