"So what is 'the Vineyard' anyways? Are there grapes and wine involved?!"
Good question!
The Vineyard is an extended family of churches worldwide that began with a group of well-known musicians and artists in a home in L.A. in 1975. In 1982, the Vineyard became a rapidly growing movement under the leadership of John Wimber until his passing in 1997. Today, there are over 1500 Vineyard churches worldwide. Often, the Vineyard is associated with the new music that emerged from its churches to impact the whole of the Christian church. Click Vineyard History for a video of John Wimber’s story, which has greatly shaped the Vineyard movement.
The Vancouver Eastside Vineyard Church began on Easter Sunday in 1989 in the Hastings Community Centre, as a church plant from the Langley Vineyard, led by Joe and Charmaine Kelder, who were part of the “Jesus People” movement in Vancouver in the 1970s. In 1996, they passed on the leadership to Gordie and Kathleen Lagore, who have been the lead pastors since that time.
Our Vision is to be passionate followers of Jesus, joining together on a journey of healing and growth in love – for God, one another, our neighbours and world. It’s a journey because we are all lifelong learners and we come from a common place of need for God’s grace. Please click VEV Statements on Mission and Values to see an expanded version of our mission and vision and what that looks like here at VEV.
Statements of faith are an important reminder of the Story we are in, but because there are so many interpretations of secondary issues in Scripture that have divided the church, they can tend to exclude rather than welcome. We believe in a generous orthodoxy that embraces the main creeds of the Christian Church, especially the Apostles Creed as a summary of our Story. For more information on Vineyard beliefs and practices see “About Us” at our Vineyard Canada website.