Churches That are Always On-Mission
Missional living is a central part of the values and beliefs of the Vineyard—we are a church-planting movement, after all. God’s mission is our reason for existing. Swiss theologian Emil Brunner put it like this: “The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.” Because of the God we serve, our churches must be […]
Engaging Our Communities With Love: The Vineyard Pasadena
What are some of the ways that Vineyard Pasadena reaches out during traditional holiday seasons? Here are two examples of how this church uses important holidays to make a difference. Mother’s Day For Mother’s Day, we wanted to find inexpensive but impactful ways to bless the homes in the vicinity of our gathering place. We’re […]
4 Ways to Train Worship Leaders (Even If You Can’t Play a Note)
We want worship leaders who are fully equipped to pastor the church in worship; who model for us how to respond to God’s presence. And while many pastors and church planters have been worship leaders themselves, there are many who have not. So how can they train someone in to fill this highly important role? […]
The VUSA YouTube Channel
The Vineyard USA YouTube Channel has videos that are perfect as Sermon Starters or Small Group Discussion Starters on a wide range of topics. See all our Playlists here and subscribe to the Channel. Ways To Use The Channel There are many powerful ways you can use the hundreds of short video clips on the […]
3 Churches That Made Jesus Famous
Vineyard pastors do not set out to be famous — they set out to make Jesus famous. They don’t set out to conquer their cities, they set out to love their cities. One common prayer of Vineyard church planters is they they do enough good in their city that they would be missed if they […]
Four Churches – The Finger Of God
At First, Failure I inherited my first church plant from its exiting pastor. In six months we grew the church from about 100 … all the way to 30. After that, Jan and I went to Bible college, and from 1980 on, we’ve had a lot of great stories of God’s favor on us. But […]
Church Plant Theology
Every church planter knows about “the question.” Whether planting in the Bible Belt, on the coasts, or anywhere else in the U.S., The Question can haunt us. It’s usually asked innocently, but if we are unprepared for it, it can send waves of panic, insecurity and dread through us. The following thoughts are intended to […]
It’s The Little Stuff That Will Get You
Today a friend told me about visiting a church in another city. The first time he went it was for a Sunday evening service he found on their web site. But when he got there the place was closed – no signs, no lights, no notice, and no people except for three other newcomers who […]
Why Does My Spouse Want To Wring My Neck?
A frequent question for church planters is how to balance church and family. I generally give a two part answer: one answer for the first year of planting, another answer for all the years after that. In the first year I recommend working all out, especially at gathering, in hopes of getting the church to […]
Leaving Well
When my wife was having our first child, the midwife was very concerned because the baby was in the breach position. If the baby was to try to leave her body that way there would be real damage to the baby and my wife. In the birthing process, leaving well is critical. Leaving well in […]
