The Birth of the Wheeling Vineyard

While I was pursuing my career in insurance my friend John was sharing community with some of the old gang down in West Virginia. I would visit occasionally and during one visit I found that John and Marilyn were making frequent visits to Wheeling. The arrival of young Todd Hunter from the Anaheim Vineyard was starting to develop into something. Todd was around 21 years old when he arrived. He got a job at a McDonald's and began to spread the word. When his fellow workers would ask him why he moved from California to little old Wheeling Todd would promptly reply, "The Lord sent me here to start a church". Todd really didn't have the look of a pastor. He would often wear clothes that gave you a clear indicator of where he came from. He wore real colorful surfing shirts that clearly defined him as west coast.

Todd began evangelizing the Wheeling area's young people. He started one small group of new believers and after a short period time he would start another. Young people were coming to Christ through his ministry and along with the new believers came an up beat style of Christian rockin' roll. The groups continued to grow because the Lord was in charge of this mission for sure. When the Lord speaks clearly and we obey then great things will happen. I was watching this from afar and my heart began to soar with excitement because it reminded me so much of my beginnings. Now that I look back I can see the difference between Todd and I. He was plugged into and commissioned by a body of believers. This had to give him great assurance of his mission as he traveled 3000 miles to a city completely unknown to him.

The Wheeling Vineyard grew against all odds. The area was depressed because the steel mills went down. Wheeling certainly didn't fit the demographics for the optimum church plant. There was one ingredient that made it all work and to His glory it was because the Lord himself prompted Todd to move to Wheeling. The Wheeling Vineyard surely smacks in the face of our business like approach to church planting. The Wheeling Vineyard grew into many small groups in a short period of time without meeting in a central location. The power behind the growth was ignited by a powerful move of the Holy Spirit. It was exciting to watch it grow. I truly envied what was happening there because a lot of my old gang eventually became part of the church.

I was so encouraged to see this happening in Wheeling and yet I saw no such thing developing in Pittsburgh. I was very much entrenched in my business but I continued to visit Wheeling on occasion. I saw what Todd was doing and it was miraculous. I knew what he was experiencing because it happened to me on a smaller scale in Follansbee. It gave me hope that God was still moving. I continued to practice my early morning sermons and journal before every work day. I still yearned for a rekindling of the fire that once moved me.

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His Powerful Presence.....