The main reason why we call it a brief history is because the history of our church is really brief!
A few years ago, a small group of people began to meet at our pastor's home. The purpose of the get together was principally for prayer, fellowship and connecting Christian people who were looking for a more contemporary expression of the Church. As the group grew steadily it became apparent that the next step was the establishment of a local church. Enter Vineyard USA! A few of the key leaders of the group had become acquainted with the Vineyard movement over the years and identified with them in a number of areas. There was an awareness among us that we possessed much of the spiritual "DNA" of Vineyard without actually being an official member of the organization. We began to relate with one of the larger Vineyard churches in a nearby community and wholeheartly jumped into the process. In January of 2007 we moved into our present location at 1505 20th Street in Vero Beach.
In addition to a large worship auditorium, Children's and Youth areas, and offices, the new church features a Vineyard Cafe and eventually a Media Center. This will kind of be a cross between Starbuck's and Barnes & Noble, but with a Christian twist. Friends and visitors will be able to browse thru the selection of current Christian books, music CD's, or teaching series in a comfy chair, and always enjoy free coffee and hot chocolate. There is also internet access available if people just want to come in and hang out in a casual, Christian atmosphere. We are hopeful that the Media Center will be complete sometime in the near future as funds come in. On Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM, prior to the worship service we serve a free continental breakfast in the Cafe, complete with fresh Panera pastries, fruit, crackers & cheese and plenty of warm bagels and cream cheese.
A brief history of Vineyard USA
The Vineyard Church movement has its roots in the Jesus movement of the late sixties and early seventies where tens of thousands of young people came to Christ during a powerful time of spiritual awakening. The first Vineyard began in 1974 with a small Bible study in Los Angeles led by Kenn and Joanie Gulliksen. This Bible study grew into a large church of musicians, business people, students, actors, homemakers, and many others who were simply hungry to know God in a genuine way. The group grew and planted ten other churches in California. The Vineyard's philosophy and values today reflect that powerful time in which many were so deeply impacted.
In 1982, after having been powerfully impacted by the Holy Spirit, John Wimber and several other pastors involved in the Calvary Chapel movement led their churches to join the group of Vineyard churches in Southern California. John was soon asked to serve as leader of this movement. In 1987, the Association of Vineyard Churches was formed and has, since that time, grown to over eight hundred churches worldwide.
The Association of Vineyard Churches promotes evangelism through church planting, church renewal, and ministry training conferences around the world. God however, has shown us not to seek to build the Vineyard, but instead to seek His kingdom and to build His church, to bless what He is blessing, to love what He loves, and to give ourselves away freely.
The main reason why we call it a brief history is because the history of our church is really brief!