The Vineyard

My success in the insurance business started to grow and yet I still yearned deep in my heart for a return to ministry. I still made regular trips down to West Virginia to visit John, Marilyn, and a gang of old friends. In the early to mid-1980's there was a movement that began to stir out in California. It was later called the Vineyard when adopted by John Wimber who at that time was a church consultant and a former rockin' roller who played keyboards in the 60's. I loved the beginnings of the Vineyard church. Apparently there were a number of former Christian leaders and pastors that were totally worn out by church. In a last ditch effort to keep some kind of community alive they would meet in a home somewhere in Southern California. The gathering was at first depressing and actually quite embarrassing because those that gathered were tired and weary of each other as well. There was nothing new under the sun that they hadn't tried and so they seemed destined to walk away from the whole church scene until one particular gathering took place that changed their lives forever.

Apparently in this one gathering they openly began to confess their bitterness and resentment that they had for each other and the frustration began to mount and then it happened. The Holy Spirit embraced the group as they began to confess their faults one to another and they all broke down into deep remorse and wept for hours. This "Great Sob" experience continued into the next day and into the next few weeks as the house where they were meeting began to fill with repentant believers from all over the area. The house was filled daily from room to room and yet not much was spoken as the people entered. There was just a lot of weeping and cleansing going on. The Lord came in a mighty way to wash them and revive them. Many were saved during this experience and yet no one attempted to organize or make anything out of what was taking place.

After several months, John Wimber was invited to meet with this group to give his opinion of what had just taken place. The funny thing about his initial impression is that John Wimber didn't think that this fledgling group was going anywhere and he didn't really have much direction for them. It really didn't matter what John Wimber thought initially, the Lord had plans for him. The group eventually invited John to Pastor them and Wimber could not resist the promptings of the Lord. John Wimber was appointed as Pastor of this gathering later to be called Vineyard Christian Fellowship.

The Vineyard grew leaps and bounds and eventually found its way to Wheeling, West Virgina. The story of the Wheeling Vineyard is incredible. A young man in his early 20's named Todd was sent to Wheeling, West Virgina to plant a church. When the Lord spoke to him about Wheeling, he didn't even know that there was a Wheeling, West Virginia. The Lord was on the move and a great story was about to be written right under our noses about 60 miles west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was able to see this happen and for the first time in many years I saw hope for the church.

Next up......

The Wheeling Vineyard