VINEYARD MINISTRIES (Religious Movement)

The Vineyard movement emerged out of California in the 1970s. Kenn Gulliksen launched his church in Costa Mesa in 1974, with low-key, guitar-led worship in members’ homes, simple Bible teaching, and a faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to produce both miraculous healings and church growth. Three years later, John Wimber (1934-97), a one-time professional musician and Quaker convert, established a charismatic congregation in Yorba Linda. Wimber had been a church growth consultant for the Fuller Evangelistic Association and, through his contact with C.Peter Wagner, became interested in the role of the Holy Spirit in facilitating the growth and nurture of churches. Moreover, Wimber—like Gulliksen—made sense of the exponential expansion of his own church—ballooning to some 1,500 members in just five years—in terms of the charismatic gifts regularly manifest among the congregation.

Both Gulliksen and Wimber associated themselves with the Calvary Chapel churches, a network led by Chuck Smith which had emerged out of the Jesus Movement. Despite his background in the Foursquare Pentecostal church, Smith did not support the expression of glossolalia, prophecy and healing in public worship, and in 1982 the two churches formally separated from Calvary. The newly formed Vineyard was to be led by John Wimber, who remained its figurehead and spokesperson until his death in 1997.

The Vineyard has subsequently been marked by rapid expansion both across the USA and abroad. The eight Vineyards of 1982 had grown to 120 within three years, some with congregations of several thousand. According to its website, in 2002, the movement had over 500 Vineyards in the USA and was active in a further seventy countries, boasting thirteen churches in Sweden, twenty-one in New Zealand and seventy in the UK. Wimber’s influence has also spread through his ‘signs and wonders’ conferences and numerous publications, particularly popular among charismatics across the denominations in the UK. In this respect, the theology of the Vineyard has spread far beyond its institutional boundaries.

Popular Vineyard teaching adheres to a fundamentalist framework which stresses the immanence of the supernatural realm. It retains a classically evangelical emphasis upon Biblical authority (see Evangelical Christianity), the need for a personal relationship with Jesus and the costly nature of practical Christian living. But while the Bible is generally taken to be without error, the authority of passages is legitimated through the charismatic experience of individuals. Moreover, the Vineyard moves beyond the charismatic renewal movement in linking charismata more explicitly with a theology of mission. In this respect, evangelical strands of Biblical authority, charismatic gifts and evangelism are fused into a radical new package.

This is grounded in John Wimber’s teaching which, following George Eldon Ladd’s dualistic kingdom theology, places an overriding emphasis upon power. Wimber sees the kingdom of God as an invasive force, to be demonstrated in miraculous deeds as well as verbal preaching. According to Wimber, these ‘signs and wonders’ demonstrate God’s power in the present, serving as a divine witness and opening up outsiders to the truth of the Gospel. Charismatic gifts are also treated as a source of empowerment against evil spirits and physical ailments, enemies to be confronted in ‘spiritual warfare’. At Vineyard services, charismatic episodes are often dramatic and emotional, occasionally taking on bizarre forms, and it was at a Vineyard church that the Toronto Blessing first emerged in 1994. While the ‘blessing’ quickly spread all over the charismatic world, its intensity provoked significant suspicion and eventually Wimber dissociated himself and the Vineyard church from the Toronto phenomenon.

Vineyard ministries also reflect a wider evangelical movement, which sees cultural relevance as the key to successful evangelism. Accordingly, while theologically conservative, Vineyards are progressive in their ecclesiology, fostering loose organizational structures and encouraging lay leadership. At services, sung worship is exuberant but laid back, accompanied by light pop music, and sermons are light-hearted, illustrative, and informal. This reflects a conscious effort to engage with popular cultural trends, overcoming the formality and disconnectedness of a moribund mainstream church. Vineyard worship also stresses intimacy and the lyrics of its choruses depict the divine: human relationship in terms that stress feeling, familiarity and emotion. While notably popular (see above), the Vineyard appeals to a rather narrow cohort, resonating most with the culture of middle class, educated professionals. In this it reflects the Neo-Pentecostal movement, while its teachings on ‘signs and wonders’ place it firmly within the ‘third wave’ of charismatic renewal.

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