The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is an international neocharismatic evangelical Christian association of churches.Despite the fact that some might see denominational labels as divisive, the founder of the movement John Wimber said "The Association of Vineyard Churches – for better or worse – is a denomination." Nigel Scotland Charismatics and the New Millennium (Guildford: Eagle, 1995).
The Vineyard Movement is rooted in the charismatic renewal and historic evangelicalism. Instead of the mainstream charismatic label, however, the movement has preferred the term Empowered Evangelicals (a term coined by Rich Nathan and Ken Wilson in their book of the same name) to reflect their roots in traditional evangelicalism as opposed to classical Pentecostalism. Members also sometimes describe themselves as the "radical middle" between evangelicals and Pentecostals, which is a reference to the book The Quest for the Radical Middle, a historical survey of the Vineyard by Bill Jackson.
It has been associated with the "Signs and Wonders" movement,Nigel Scotland Charismatics and the New Millennium (Guildford: Eagle, 1995) the Toronto blessing, the Kansas City Prophets and a particular style of Christian worship music.
The Vineyard operates a publishing house, Vineyard International Publishing.
History The Vineyard has its origins in the founding of a Calvary Chapel church by Kenn Gulliksen and his wife Joanie, members of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, in 1974, in Los Angeles in the United States.Drew Blankman, Todd Augustine, Pocket Dictionary of North American Denominations, InterVarsity Press, USA, 2010, p. 22Randall Herbert Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition, Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 713 In early 1975, thirteen groups met at the Beverly Hills Women's club. These Bible studies, and others like them, were attended by many popular actors/actresses and musicians including Bob Dylan. Gulliksen's Vineyard had spun off sister churches. The church was renamed “Vineyard Fellowship”. William L. Hooper, Congregational Song in the Worship of the Church: Examining the Roots of American Traditions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2020, p. 260
In 1977, John Wimber, an evangelical pastor and teacher on church growth, founded a Calvary Chapel in Yorba Linda, California. Wimber's teaching on healing and the ministry of the Holy Spirit led to conflict. In a meeting with Calvary Chapel leaders, it was suggested that Wimber's church stop using the Calvary name and affiliate with Gulliksen's Vineyard movement.Jackson, Bill. "A Short History of the Association of Vineyard Churches" in Church, Identity, and Change: Theology and Denominational Structures in Unsettled Times. David A. Roozen and James R. Nieman, Editors. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005. . p. 136. In 1982, Wimber's church changed its name to the Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship. Gulliksen turned over the churches under his oversight to Wimber, beginning his leadership of the Vineyard movement. Evangelist Lonnie Frisbee credits Gulliksen as founder of the Vineyard movement. In 1982, 8 churches founded the Association of Vineyard Churches.Peter Clarke, Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2004, p. 672
Beginning in 1988, Wimber established relationships with leaders known for their prophetic ministry, such as Paul Cain, Bob Jones, and Mike Bickle who pastored Kansas City Fellowship, an independent church which would come under the Vineyard banner as Metro Vineyard (see Kansas City Prophets). For a time, these men had considerable influence on Wimber and the Vineyard—according to Jackson, Wimber's son was delivered from drug addiction through a prophetic word from Jones.Jackson (2005), p. 137. However, there were those in the Vineyard who were skeptical, and Wimber himself became disillusioned over the restorationist teaching and failed prophecies of these men. Around 1991, Wimber began to distance himself from the prophetic movement, leading the Vineyard back to a church-planting direction, while Bickle's church withdrew and dropped the Vineyard label.
The Vineyard Movement suffered a visible leadership vacuum after Wimber's death on November 16, 1997. However, Todd Hunter, who served as National Coordinator since February 1994 and as acting Director of the Vineyard at the time of Wimber's death, became the National Director in January 1998 and served in that capacity until he resigned in May 2000. After Hunter's resignation, the National Board of Directors named Bert Waggoner of Sugar Land, Texas, as the new National Director. As of 2007, the Association of Vineyard Churches includes over 2400 churches around the world, and this number continues to grow due to a strong priority placed on church-planting within the Vineyard mission. In October, 2011, Phil Strout was selected by the National Board of Directors to succeed Waggoner as National Director in January 2013. He served until October, 2021 when Jay Pathak was installed as the National Director.
Statistics According to a census published by the association in 2022, it had 2,400 churches in 95 countries.Association of Vineyard Churches, Our Global Family, vineyardusa.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022 The 2010 US Religious Census showed over 200,000 members in the United States.
Beliefs and practices Doctrinal statements For most of the early life of the Vineyard Movement, Vineyard churches had no official statement of faith. This is not to be interpreted as an absence of a common belief structure; rather, the primary reasons for the absence of such a declaration were:
the demonstrative teaching of John Wimber, who effectively set the tone and doctrinal beliefs of the movement a desire to reflect the "low-key", "low-pressure" environment of the church that encouraged people to "come as you are" specifically, de-emphasizing any atmosphere or actions that could be considered overtly dogmatic.
According to text in the official Vineyard Statement of Faith released in 1994, an effort to create a common Statement of Faith had been underway since 1983, but took 10+ years to complete because: "On one hand, we felt obliged to set forth our biblical and historically orthodox beliefs; on the other hand, we wanted to describe the values and priorities that make the Vineyard unique within the context of Evangelicalism."
LGBTQ+ position In a 2020 letter to local church leaders, Vineyard Canada expressed its position that having a non-heterosexual orientation is not itself sinful, however the church does not allow the officiating of same sex marriages or licensing people in same sex marriages for pastoral ministry. This letter also distinguished gender identity from sexual orientation as its own theology and policy matter that requires further consideration.
Branches
United States The national headquarters of Vineyard USA is currently located in Stafford, Texas. Vineyard USA is divided into nine regions which are overseen by a Regional Leader. Regions are further divided into areas, which typically consist of a single state, except in a few cases where a cluster of churches is located closer to a state of another region. Each area is overseen by an Area Leader who reports to the Regional Leader. The purpose of both Area and Regional Leaders is to provide relational encouragement and spiritual care, as well as accountability, to churches and pastors. Both Area and Regional Leaders are active pastors of a local Vineyard church. Additionally, there are two Super Regional Leaders who support Regional and Area Leaders and help to train, lead, and provide spiritual care for local pastors. The central governing body of the Vineyard in the U.S. is known as the Executive Team, and includes the National Director. Currently, the President and National Director is Jay Pathak. All major strategic decisions, including theological and doctrinal statements, are made by the National Board. In 2018, Vineyard USA is estimated to have approximately 200,000 members in 600 churches.
In the United States, Vineyard is nondenominational and evangelical.; .
United Kingdom and Ireland
Denmark As of December 2022, there are seven Vineyard churches in Denmark. Those are located in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Roskilde, Aalborg, Rønne (Bornholm), and Helsingør.
Vineyard Worship
Vineyard Worship is a record label created and used by the Association of Vineyard Churches. The organization uses it to release worship albums. A UK branch of the record label exists, called Vineyard Records. Its musicians include Carl Tuttle, Samuel Lane, Brenton Brown,the late Brian Doerksen, David Ruis, Cindy Rethmeier, Scott Underwood, Andy Park, Kevin Prosch, Johanna Blanding-Koskinen, Anabeth Morgan, Tim Brown, Joshua Miller, Tina Colón Williams, Kyle Howard, Casey Corum, Ryan Delmore, Darren and Jessie Clarke, Nigel Briggs, Nigel Hemming, Jeremy Riddle, Kathryn Scott, and others.
History Vineyard Music was developed by the Vineyard church in 1985. The church began to write its own worship songs, so John Wimber founded Mercy Records. This later became Vineyard Worship.
Early discography Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 1: Hosanna (1985) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 2: You Are Here (1985) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 3: Come Holy Spirit Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 4: Glory (1986) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 5: Draw Me Closer (1988) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 6: We Welcome You (1989) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 7: No One but You (1989) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 8: Give Him Praise (1990) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 9: I Want to Know You (1990) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 10: Refiner's Fire (1991) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 11: Bring Your Kingdom (1992) Worship Songs Of The Vineyard 12: Lord Over All (1993) Hungry (1999)
Controversies
Healing on the Streets A leader within the Causeway Coast Vineyard, in Northern Ireland, Mark Marx, started a branch of the church called 'Healing on the Streets'. This organisation made promises to cure medical conditions through faith healing, first on the streets of Coleraine and then training other churches. These claims—including the claim they could heal cancer—have been challenged by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) who concluded that the claims were "misleading". This led to media stories around the Bath group, and the Nottingham group.
The Evangelical Alliance policy arm is led by Peter Lynas, who is also Chair of the Causeway Coast Vineyard board. Evangelical Alliance supported Mark Marx organisations and believes the regulations should not apply to the Healing on the Streets activities.
Mark Marx and Causeway Coast Vineyard founder Alan Scott have now moved together to Dwelling Place, California.
Causeway Coast Vineyard The founder and trustees of the Causeway Coast Vineyard in Northern Ireland have been the subject of a number of internal and external investigations. Founder Alan Scott has been accused of having a messiah complex, and in 2023 several of his family members had to resign from leadership positions in the church following historic allegations of spiritual abuse.
The church's founders, Alan and Kathryn Scott, had left and moved to Anaheim Vineyard, California, in 2018. Before Alan and Kathryn left, Kathryn's sister, Janet Young, along with her husband, Neil Young, were made joint senior pastors.
A prominent Theologian, Dr. Luke Martin, attended the church as a teenager. He has criticised Alan publicly and pointed out that there was no open recruitment between Alan and Kathryn Scott leaving Northern Ireland, and the appointment of their family members Neil and Janet Young. Dr. Martin also noted that neither Neil and Janet had any theological qualifications.