The Vineyard Movement refers to a loosely affiliated group of evangelical Christian churches that originated in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. The movement emphasizes connecting with God through worship and seeking the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Vineyard churches have a casual and contemporary style of worship, often incorporating modern music and a welcoming atmosphere.
The Vineyard movement has its roots in two main streams. The first is the Calvary Chapel movement that began in southern California in the 1960s. This was a revival movement emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit, contemporary worship music, and casual church settings. In 1982, John Wimber, who was leading the Calvary Chapel in Yorba Linda, California, left that association and affiliated with Kenn Gulliksen’s Vineyard church in Los Angeles. This brought the Calvary Chapel emphasis on the Holy Spirit to the Vineyard name and network of churches.
The second stream that fed into the Vineyard movement was the emphasis on spiritual gifts and renewal coming out of C. Peter Wagner’s church growth movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The Fuller Theological Seminary was a key training ground for church leaders learning principles of church growth, and the importance of spiritual gifts was emphasized. As these Fuller graduates spread out into ministry positions, they brought renewal theology with them.
John Wimber was one of those Fuller graduates who underwent a profound experience with spiritual gifts. After receiving some pushback over exercising spiritual gifts like healing and prophesying in his Calvary Chapel church, he left to join the Vineyard in 1982. Wimber’s emphasis on present-day operation of New Testament spiritual gifts became a core distinctive of the newly formed Association of Vineyard Churches under his leadership.
Thus, the Vineyard combined a Calvary Chapel emphasis on contemporary worship and the work of the Holy Spirit with an openness to charismatic gifts coming out of the church growth movement. The casual, welcoming atmosphere was maintained along with an expectation that God could speak and act in tangible ways through spiritual gifts.
Beliefs and Practices
Vineyard churches believe in the core doctrines held by evangelical Christians, including the authority of Scripture, the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus, and salvation by grace through faith. However, they have some distinctive beliefs and practices as well:
- Emphasis on developing intimate relationship with God through worship – There is a focus on connecting with God’s presence through singing and prayer. Worship services aim to facilitate encounter with God.
- Pursuing the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit – Vineyard churches encourage members to identify their spiritual gifts and employ them for ministry. There is an openness to present-day operation of gifts like prophecy, healing, and speaking in tongues.
- Relevance to culture – Seeking to stay relevant to contemporary culture through casual atmospheres, modern music, and embracing current media.
- Wholistic ministry – Vineyard seeks to minister to the whole person – body, soul and spirit. This leads to emphasis on prayer for physical healing along with spiritual renewal.
- Church planting – There is a strong focus on training leaders and planting new churches to spread their approach to ministry.
In practice this leads to a very experiential, contemporary style of church. Worship often consists of 30-60 minutes of singing recent worship songs or praise choruses led by a worship band. Extended times of prayer for healing, prophetic ministry, or other spiritual gifts are common. Teaching is generally practical in nature, focused on living the Christian life. Church architecture and dress are informal to create a relaxed, welcoming environment.
History
The Vineyard movement originated out of two streams in the 1960s and 70s – the Calvary Chapel revival movement and the charismatic renewal coming out of Fuller Seminary’s church growth program. A key pioneer was John Wimber, who led the Calvary Chapel in Yorba Linda, CA until theological disputes led him to leave in 1982 and join with the Vineyard church in Anaheim led by Kenn Gulliksen. Wimber’s emphasis on exercising spiritual gifts aligned with Gulliksen’s charismatic orientation and became part of the Vineyard identity.
Wimber became the leader and public face of the movement as the Association of Vineyard Churches (AVC) was officially established in 1983. Rapid growth occurred through church plants and existing churches joining the association. By the early 1990s it had grown to over 560 churches. The Vineyard Music Group was launched to publish contemporary worship songs coming from Vineyard churches. The popularity of these praise choruses helped fuel the praise and worship movement spreading through evangelicalism and mainline denominations.
In the mid-1990s two issues led to controversy and slowing growth. One was the Toronto Blessing associated with the Vineyard church in Toronto airport led by John Arnott. Ecstatic experiences, being “slain in the Spirit,” and strange manifestations resulted in media scrutiny and charges of hyper-emotionalism. Wimber sought to reign in the excesses while validating the core desire for God’s tangible presence.
The second issue was Wimber’s openness to dialogue and cooperation with Roman Catholics and leaders from across the theological spectrum through his “Signs and Wonders” conferences. This ecumenism troubled more conservative charismatic and evangelical leaders. Vineyard pastors with strong Baptistic leanings also worried about connections with Rome.
These tensions led to defections of pastors and churches over the second half of the 1990s until Wimber’s death from cancer in 1997. After that, the international Vineyard movement decentralized into national associations and adopted a looser affiliation model. Growth and church planting has continued, but at a slower pace than the rapid expansion of the 1980s and early 90s. Currently there are over 2400 Vineyard churches worldwide in over 95 countries.
Theology and Practice
The Vineyard accept the core doctrines of evangelical theology, affirming the authority of Scripture, the Trinity, Christ’s incarnation, sin and salvation by grace. Their beliefs and practices that set them apart include:
Empowerment of the Holy Spirit
There is a strong emphasis on pursuing the Spirit’s empowering gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 – wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. These gifts are seen as still active today to build up the church.
Contemporary Worship
Seeking intimacy with God through worship is a high value. Services include up to an hour of contemporary praise and worship songs and choruses with a full worship band.
Casual & Welcoming Atmospheres
Vineyard churches meet in warehouses, schools, homes or wherever space is available. The dress code is come as you are. The goal is removing barriers to those who don’t feel comfortable in a formal church setting.
Kingdom Ministry
This emphasizes demonstrating God’s supernatural power through gifts of healing and doing works of power that bear witness to God’s Kingdom and Lordship over all creation. Power ministry aims to restore God’s rule on earth.
Spiritual Warfare
There is an emphasis on taking authority in Jesus’ name against demonic strongholds and sin. Strategic-level spiritual warfare became a controversial practice of trying to map out and target territorial demonic powers.
Church Growth
Vineyard pastors are trained in the principles of church growth theology. Planting new churches and developing future leaders are top priorities.
Recovery Ministry
Drawing on 12-step recovery language, recovery ministries aim to help people overcome hurts, habits and hangups through the power of Jesus Christ. This can include support groups and prayer counseling.
Social Concern
Seek justice, defend the poor, welcome the outcast. Vineyard clergy were active in causes like fighting poverty and slavery, aiding refugees, and pursuing racial reconciliation. But primarily emphasis is on personal conversion rather than social gospel.
Worship Style
The worship style of Vineyard churches is one of their most identifiable characteristics. Worship is seen as a vital time of connecting with God’s presence and power. Services typically include:
- 30-60 minutes of continuous praise and worship music
- Use of contemporary worship songs and praise choruses
- Led by a worship band using guitars, drums, keyboards and vocals
- Congregation encouraged to sing loudly, raise hands, close eyes – encountering God
- Songs progressing from celebrating God to intimacy with God
- Few slower hymns or traditional worship music
- Prophetic singing – spontaneously singing new songs over the congregation
This all contributes to an informal but spiritually-focused atmosphere where people are encouraged to freely respond to God’s presence.
Criticisms & Challenges
The Vineyard movement has received criticism on theological and practical grounds:
- Excess emotionalism and lack of depth in worship
- Overemphasis on spiritual gifts vs. theological knowledge
- Prosperity gospel tendencies by emphasizing spiritual power and healing
- Unchecked charismatic excesses led to disrepute
- Watered-down preaching light on repentance and biblical truth
- Ecumenical coziness with Roman Catholicism
- Church growth focus leads to consumerist programs over spiritual substance
Internal challenges have included maintaining identity between strong central leadership and grass-roots diversity across churches. Keeping a consistent biblical focus while staying culturally relevant is an ongoing tension.
Conclusion
The Vineyard movement has made a substantial impact on the global church over the past 50 years. It helped pioneer contemporary worship music and ministry training focused on growing churches and developing leaders. At its best, it has demonstrated God’s love through spiritual gifts and preaching the Scriptures. Excesses and failures have occurred at times. But the desire to connect with God’s presence in worship, demonstrate his power, and reach out in love remains at the heart of this experiential, charismatic, evangelical association of churches.
