Your Kingdom come, your will be done on Earth...
[in our lives, in our relationships, in our church, in our city]
...as it is in Heaven
If you’re new to our church, this is the lunch event for you! Join us after church for a free lunch and a brief run-down of who we are, what we believe, and our hopes and dreams for our church, as well as what we believe God is calling us to. You’ll get a chance to meet other newcomers and members of our staff and elders. This event is biannual, so check out our events page for the next Vineyard Partnership Lunch and to register.
WHO WE ARE & OUR BELIEFS
Vineyard is a God-initiated global movement of churches (of which Vineyard USA and our church is a part) with the Kingdom of God as its theological center. The Bible is our rule of faith and practice. Our desire is to know the Bible, do what it says, and experience the way of living it describes. We embrace a full range of kingdom practices from proclaiming the Good News of Jesus, to healing and deliverance, to ministry with the poor. We embody a praxis that includes intimate worship, equipping ordinary people for ministry, responding to the initiative and leading of the Holy Spirit, and joining God’s mission in the world.
We are a People of the Kingdom of God -
Where God’s beautiful future is breaking into our present experience.
Mission and Vision
Transforming People.
Transforming Our City.
Together in Christ.
The “win” for our church is seeing unchurched and lost people commit to Jesus, then discipled to do life with God, life with others, experience inner transformation and participate in community transformation.
CORE VALUES
Be a RESTORATIVE FAMILY
We believe Nicky Gumbel says it best that a "Church is not an organization you join; it is a family where you belong, a home where you are loved and a hospital where you find healing."
Pursue KINGDOM TRANSFORMATION
Through Jesus' life and ministry, God's future world - and its entire value system - is breaking into our human existence. It leads to a personal, inner transformation (sometimes what we call Spiritual Formation) that leads to Kingdom Transformation in our relationships, our churches, and our communities.
To Experience GOD’S POWER AND PRESENCE
When one enters the kingdom she/he experiences the dynamic reality which exists within the triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This means that the experience of the kingdom of God (and thus, the experience of God’s presence) is central to our faith and Christian life.
OUR DISTINCTIVES
Engaging in Compassionate Ministry
We lean toward the lost, the poor, the outcast, and the outsider with the compassion of Jesus.
Intergenerational
We value leaning younger while bringing together young and old.
Both/And
We value embracing tension in an either/or world.
Everyone Gets to Play
We value equipping & multiplying.
Intimate Worship
We value experiencing God.
Our Story
Our community of faith began back in the summer of 1998. Joel Seymour, our Founding Pastor, along with his wife, Kristi, had been impressed upon by God to move to Lancaster and plant a Vineyard church. In May of ‘98, they left the church they had helped plant in northwest Ohio to start the Lancaster Vineyard with a handful of people. A few of these folks had prayed for quite a while for a Vineyard-style church to be planted in Lancaster and the Lord answered their prayers! With that initial group of people, they began to worship God, study His Word, and live out their faith in this community in the form of a small group.
By January 1999, a second small group was created. In June ‘99, not only was a third small group started, but also a Sunday night gathering at a local hotel conference room was in full swing (see the vertical picture above). In March of 2001, we began meeting on Sunday mornings at the YMCA with just under 100 people. Outreach has always been a priority, so in 2007, we started a Food Pantry on West Wheeling Street and annually we distribute 140,000+ pounds of food to approximately 4,000 families!
After years of growing at the "Y”, and praying for a space of our own, the Lord answered those prayers and we broke ground in 2007 for the building on Whiley Road. In late May 2009, we moved into our new facility and we’ve been here ever since!
In fall of 2021, Founding Pastor Joel Seymour took a position with Vineyard USA as a “Super Regional Leader;” a role that entails being a pastor of pastors for churches in our region. In January of 2022 we installed our new Lead Pastor, Johnny Friesner.