Our national web site is www.vineyardusa.org.
You can check it out for music resources, position (theological) papers,
a directory of churches in the U.S., plus upcoming regional and national
conferences.
History of how and why Vineyard churches got started.
The Vineyard Church of Guilford is part of the Association of Vineyard Churches, a growing denomination that now includes nearly 850 churches in 47 countries (from Katmandu, Nepal to Berne, Switzerland) including over 500 churches in the U.S. (from Cambridge, Mass. to Palo Alto, California). The Vineyard story is about ordinary people (i.e., those who still mess up quite a bit) who serve an extraordinary God. And we are simply one thread in the rich tapestry of the historic and global Christian faith. More simply put, from Catholics to Baptists, we are all part of God’s very big, very diverse Church.
The first Vineyard began inauspiciously in 1974 as a young man named Kenn Gulliksen led a small group of discouraged Christians in the Los Angeles area. Those first meetings included a lot of singing and praying to God in an attempt to experience Him as a living, life-changing friend and not just as a theory - which had been the experience of all too many in the group. Their little fellowship, many of whom were artists, musicians and actors, grew quickly as people got wind of the fresh things God seemed to be doing in their meetings.
When praying about what name to call themselves, they felt drawn to a passage in the Bible - Isaiah chapter 27, verse 3, in which Isaiah quotes God as saying "Sing about a fruitful vineyard; I, the Lord, watch over it; I water in continually..." and the name Vineyard Christian Fellowship was born.
By 1980, they began looking for someone who could give shape to what had by then become a rapidly-expanding group of seven churches, they heard about a pastor named John Wimber, who had been experiencing some remarkable things in his own right.
When John was “conscripted” by God he was, in the words of Christianity Today magazine, a "beer-guzzling, drug-abusing pop musician, who was converted at the age of 29 while chain-smoking his way through a Quaker-led Bible study." But John later spent several years pastoring, then training ministers at Fuller Theological Seminary, one of the most respected seminaries in the world.
He and his wife, Carol, much like those under Gulliksen's leadership, were looking for a fresh experience with God that was more like the dynamic, supernatural experience of following Jesus that they read about in the New Testament.
In 1982, John was pastoring a church of more than a thousand people, which was bursting the seams of the high school gym where they were meeting in Anaheim, CA.
That year, Wimber took over the leadership of Vineyard churches and in
1984, Gulliksen moved to Boston to start one of the first East Coast Vineyards
in Framingham, MA. Although John Wimber died in 1997, he left behind a
congregation of almost seven thousand people in Anaheim, CA and an association
of churches reaching more than a hundred thousand people.
Vineyard churches have become known for helping people find God in an
informal, but sincere context - with less of the stylistic/cultural barriers
that have made many of us wary of organized religion overall. Many songs
written and recorded by various Vineyard musicians (mostly in the folk/acoustic
rock genre) are sung worldwide, across many denominations.
That’s wonderfully in keeping with our intent to be humbly collaborative with as many churches and denominations as possible.
For further reading, check out Quest for the Radical Middle by Bill Jackson, an insider's look inside the formative influences and history of the Vineyard. (This can be ordered through the vineyardusa.org site.) Another good reference, but for people who have been around Christian circles for a while is Empowered Evangelicals, co-authored by Rich Nathan, a former law professor and now pastor of one of the largest Vineyard churches in the U.S.
About our congregation here in Guilford, Connecticut:
We started public services in 1995 under the leadership of Tom & Debbie
Routolo. Tom
was previously a pastor in a Christian Missionary Alliance church in neighboring
Madison, and several couples/families joined with him to start a new congregation
in Guilford that would soon become a Vineyard church.
Tom resigned in the summer of 2001, and for exactly a year, the church was without a formal pastor. During that period, the congregation declined to only 30-40 people, but continued meeting together as a group of faithful, committed friends - and assumed all the functions, from preaching and teaching to all the administrative nitty gritty.
In July of 2002, John Reichart officially began as the church’s
new pastor after what truly seemed divinely orchestrated timing and circumstances.
John and Kate were both born and raised here in Connecticut and have been
part of Vineyard churches since Kenn Gulliksen’s first East Coast
church plant in 1984. For the previous four years, John co-pastored a growing
Vineyard church in Hopkinton, Mass. that invested a lot in helping the
drug/alcohol addicted, and those honestly investigating God again.
STATEMENT OF FAITH of the Association of Vineyard Churches.
A. WE BELIEVE that there is ONE LIVING AND TRUE GOD, eternally existing in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all. (Matt. 28:19, Isa. 40:12-26, Isa. 46:8-11)
B. WE BELIEVE that the SCRIPTURES of the Old and New Testaments are the
Word of God, fully inspired, and the infallible rule of faith and practice;
and that they are to be interpreted according to their context and purpose
and in reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through them in living
power. (2 Tim. 3:14-17, Rom. 15:4, James 1:22)
C. WE BELIEVE in GOD THE FATHER, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect
in holiness, wisdom, power, and love; that He concerns Himself merciful
in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer, and that He
saves from sin and death and all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
(Matt. 6:9, Isa. 6:3, Rom. 11:33-39, Psalms 138:5-6, Matt. 7:11, Isa.
55:6-7)
D. WE BELIEVE in JESUS CHRIST, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings, His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return to earth. We believe that in His first coming Jesus inaugurated the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. (John 1:14-18, Luke 1:18-20, Heb. 4:15, Rom. 5:8, 1 Cor. 15:1-8, Eph. 1:20, 1 Thess. 4:16, Mark 1:14-15)
E. WE BELIEVE in the HOLY SPIRIT, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ; we believe the Holy spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, Teacher, and Guide. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all the biblical gifts of the Spirit. (John 15:26, 16:8, Titus 3:5, Acts 1:8, Rom. 8:9, Eph. 1:13, John 14:16, 1 Cor. 12:4-11)
F. WE BELIEVE that all PEOPLE are sinners by nature and choice and are therefore under condemnation, that God regenerates and baptizes by the Holy Spirit those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. (Eph. 2:1-10, Acts 2:38, Ezek. 36:26, John 1:12-13, John 20:9)
G. WE BELIEVE in the universal CHURCH, the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members. (1 Cor. 12:12-13, Eph. 2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:4-5)
H. WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ committed two ORDINANCES to the church: baptism; and the Lord's Supper. We believe in water baptism and communion open to all believers. (Acts 2:38, 1 Cor. 11:23-30, Luke 3:3)
I. WE BELIEVE also in the LAYING ON OF HANDS for empowering of the Holy
Spirit, for receiving of gifts of the Spirit, for healing, and for recognition
and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve the church.
(Acts 13:3, Mark 6:5, 1 Tim. 4:14,
2 Tim. 1:6)
J. WE BELIEVE in the personal, visible APPEARING OF CHRIST to earth and
the consummation of His Kingdom; in the resurrection of the body, the final
judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous and the eternal punishment
of the wicked. (Acts 1:11, Matt. 25:31,
1 Cor.15:20-24, Rev. 20:11, Rev.
21:8)
K. WE BELIEVE in what is termed "THE APOSTLES' CREED" as embodying
fundamental facts of Christian faith, and endorse the historic orthodox
creeds of the Church.
Values of the Vineyard Churches.
We value THE PURSUIT OF GOD. We are hungry to know God's presence, hear His voice and follow hard after Him. (Psalm 63:1-3)
We value SIMPLICITY. We wish to do nothing for "religious effect" but rather to operate in natural low-key, non-hype patterns. We desire to do the ministry of Christ with joy. (Philippians 4:4)
We value the MERCY OF GOD. We believe that mercy is fundamental to all that God does in salvation. We, therefore, aim to extend mercy to one another and to all to whom we minister. (Colossians 3:12,13)
We value REALITY. We aim to walk in the Spirit and see real supernatural works of God. We aim also to function on the natural plane based on God's leading in conjunction with excellent, rational thinking. (James 1:5)
We value CHRISTLIKENESS. We desire that through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' love, mercy, grace, truth, purity, power, and integrity would shine through all that we are and do. (Ephesians 5:2)
We value UNITY. We are convinced that all who belong to Christ are one in His Body, the Church. We aim to maintain unity by honoring all who call on Jesus' name and by seeking reconciliation with all parts of the Church. (John 17:21-23)
We value COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS. We are honored by every person whom
God adds to the Vineyard. We aim to work together to build the Church through
maintaining mutual respect, open communication, determined cooperation,
and believing and speaking the best about each other.
(I Corinthians 13:4-7)
We value PRAYER. We believe that prayer is essential, because it is our primary means of communion with God, and because it is God's primary means of accomplishing His purposes in the world. (1Thess. 5:16-18; Philippians 4:6)
We value BEING SPIRIT-LED. We honor Jesus as our Head and the Holy Spirit as our Counselor. We seek to be responsive to the Holy Spirit in life and ministry. (Galatians 5:5; Romans 8:14)
We value SERVANT LEADERSHIP. We believe that Christ has put significant leadership authority in the hands of the pastor and associates. We aim to exercise that authority with humility, selflessness, grace, care for the sheep, and a sincere desire to build up the Body of Christ. (Mark 10:37,44-45)
Our Purpose
Ultimately, we’re all just trying to learn to love well in the context of becoming a community - but a wide community with a mission to become a living bridge to God for all backgrounds, nationalities and attitudes - including those who may have given up on God and/or the Church at large after some discouraging experiences.
Jesus said that he will build his Church...and that is an activistic, missional promise; it's not about maintaining an organization. So, we're invited to participate in Jesus' ministry on Earth. What's that? Compressed into a phrase, it is to reunite people with God and reconstruct/redeem their lives. And we get to join Him in that with rich comraderie and joy.