Millions of people around the world don’t have access to a Bible-believing church. Vineyard Missions is working hard to change that by planting indigenous churches in these places. Read more to learn how God is using this mission to further His kingdom.
History of the Vineyard Movement
The Vineyard movement emerged in the late 1970’s, following the spiritual awakening within the hippie culture of the 1960’s. Kenn Gulliksen started the first Vineyard church in West L.A. in 1974 as a crossroads of American Christianity and culture. Sometime later he became friends with John Wimber, who was a pop musician living a wild life until he converted to Christianity at age 29. John eventually emerged as the leader of the growing network of Vineyard churches.
About Vineyard Churches
Today there are over 2,400 Vineyard churches with over 300,000 people in 95 countries around the world. Vineyard churches emphasize pure biblical teaching, living in the kingdom of God and inviting the Holy Spirit. They desire to see peoples’ lives radically changed through meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Vineyard Missions is the mission arm of Vineyard USA, a worldwide association of churches and other ministry organizations.
The Mission of Vineyard Missions
Seeing sustainable churches being planted around the world is the heart of Vineyard Missions. They were formed around the turn of this century to equip U.S.-based Vineyard churches to participate in missions around the world. Providing tools and support, their goal is to mobilize church planting movements in every nation by developing local leaders to pastor their communities. Vineyard Missions currently connects and equips churches in over 60 countries throughout Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and the Middle East.
What Type of Work Does Vineyard Missions Do?
Connect: Vineyard Missions helps pastors, leaders and missionaries develop relationships with emerging local pastors around the world who are seeking to plant churches. This partnership will help the indigineous pastor plant a sustainable church in their community. They are also building a network of relationships with U.S.-based Vineyard churches that want to play a role in international missions.
Equip: Vineyard Missions provides the ongoing training, tools and other resources to local churches, partnership churches and missionaries for successful church planting. They equip U.S. churches in how to raise up local leaders and create a sustainable church presence in the community. They offer churches valuable guidance as they send missionaries abroad. Vineyard Missions also helps to strengthen national leadership in countries where relationships exist. Their digital library of equipping resources prepares church-led teams for the realities and challenges that lie ahead.
Support: Vineyard Missions supports the Vineyard USA churches by interacting with interested individuals and organizations internationally, organizing various volunteer groups, and reporting back to the churches on the development of church planting efforts internationally. They provide capacity building in cross-cultural skills, assist with cross-cultural leadership development, and assist with each church’s care of their long-term, cross-cultural workers, including providing expertise in crises.
How Can You be Praying for Vineyard Missions?
There are many ways you can be praying for this mission agency, but here are a few specific items:
- Pray that more indigenous pastors will be raised up to start churches in their communities.
- Pray for the Vineyard Missions training programs as they train new workers.
- Planting churches in unreached areas is difficult for foreigners for many reasons, one being access. Pray for creative access so Christians can enter and remain in these places long term.
Good Neighbor Insurance loves the work Vineyard Missions is doing. We provide health insurance to protect their foreign workers so they can perform their important church planting work. If you are interested in learning more about the organization or how you can get involved, visit their website (http://www.vineyardmissions.org).