The Vineyard Church || Mishawaka/South Bend, IN

<body bgcolor="#ffffff"> <p>you need to have the ability to view frames</p> <p>Welcome to The Vineyard Church—where you'll find real people discovering real relationships with a real and unchanging God. At The Vineyard Church we offer relevant music, media and messages, quality nursery care, exciting children and youth programs, dynamic adult small groups, significant service opportunities, and free coffee! To learn more about The Vineyard Church, take a look around our web site. Then, if you'd like to learn more, come and join us for one of our Saturday or Sunday Celebrations. We'd love to have you as our guest! Meeting Saturdays at 5:30 pm and Sundays at 9:45 am & 11:15 am Purpose The Vineyard Church exists to make new followers of Jesus Christ and disciple Christians into maturity. We will do this by establishing a church that is filled with the compassion of God, teaches the truth of God (the Bible), and demonstrates the power of God to those who attend The Vineyard Church and the world with whom we come in contact. When: Our weekend celebrations take place on Saturday nights at 5:30pm, and on Sunday mornings at 9:45am and 11:15am. All three celebrations are identical – the music, the coffee, the children’s programs are all the same – so come when it's most convienent. And be sure to invite a friend! Where: We're on the south side of Mishawaka/South Bend, just off the US 20 bypass. Our address is 16219 Jackson Road, Mishawaka. But don't use Google to try and find us (they've got us listed incorrectly). If you're familiar with the south side, we're catty-corner from the Meijer on Bremen Highway. And of course, feel free to use the map below. Vision Imagine a group of people who were miraculously saved from a catastrophe by the efforts of just one man. In response, that group of people, so filled with gratitude, pool their resources of time, energy, and talents to help others avoid the same catastrophe. They together embark to save everyone in their path. That is The Vineyard Church. Jesus has given us a new start in life and great hope for the life to come. Our desire is to partner with God's Spirit to do the same for every person we come in contact with. Values affect how we think and, consequently, what we do. Here at The Vineyard Church our values are an intrinsic part of us and play a critical role in the life of our fellowship. These ten values are a driving force not only in our present ministries but also in the ministries that are yet to be developed. At The Vineyard Church, we value: 1. The Pursuit of God ~ The depth of God's relationship with us is inexhaustible (Ps. 41:1; I Cor. 2:6ff; Phil. 3: 8-10). Therefore, we seek him and wait expectantly for his presence in all that we do (John 4:34; 5: 19-20). 2. The Bible ~ The Bible is our final authority over opinions, dreams, revelations, visions, and any other authoritative source that we may look to for direction. 3. Relationship ~ Caring for people is our highest priority after submission to God. To the best or our ability we will treat each person with respect, dignity, and loving patience. 4. The Equipping of Individuals ~ God calls and enables believers to express the talents, gifts and ministries that he has set aside for them. The orientation of all ministry is toward the integration of biblical truth into everyday living that impacts our community and beyond - not limited to individual improvement or self-fulfillment (Eph. 4:11-13). 5. Compassion and Mercy ~ We desire to accept into our fellowship any sincere believer who is attempting to walk in obedience to God, is repentant of his or her sins, and is in submission to the authority of the church. 6. Unity ~ Our brothers and sisters are not our enemies. Therefore we relate to one another honorably, seeking to preserve the bond of peace. 7. Family ~ We deeply value the building up of families and believe in the priority of children. 8. Generosity ~ We are stewards of God's gifts and resources (Matt. 10:8, 39; 13:45-46). This means that when God directs we will be willing to give away what we have; to risk the security of current success in order to advance the kingdom on earth in greater ways. 9. Simplicity ~ We want to be "naturally supernatural," avoiding behavior that draws attention away from God and to ourselves. Simplicity affects our worship style, how we pray for the sick and minister to the poor, carry out discipleship, teach the Bible and so on (1 Cor. 2:2-5; James 3:13; I Thess. 4:11-12). 10. Risk-taking ~ We are willing to let people make mistakes as they grow in their gifting. We know that gifting develops in an environment of trial-and-error, so we are willing to be patient with people's weaknesses and failures while they learn (John 21: 15-19; Gal. 5:22-23). Hope Walk into The Vineyard Church and you’ll feel it right away. There is an energy and an undercurrent. It’s undeniable. It’s hope. In a day when news headlines are dismal, there is hope to be found at The Vineyard. This local church on the south side of Mishawaka/South Bend is growing and giving hope to hundreds. Despite the dismal economy, a year ago The Vineyard Church has built a brand new building, allowing more room for people. Since then attendance has more than doubled from 450 to 950 people. People in this community are hurting, and the church has offered people a place to connect, a place to serve others, and place to find God. Each week, it seems like there is another story about the hope that is growing at The Vineyard. In one recent church service, there was a special segment of the service all about children. Kids are a big deal at The Vineyard because we know that God loves them and that it’s our responsibility to care for them. After telling the congregation of the need to find 36 additional volunteers, 59 people responded, far exceeding expectations. The church recently held an event called Art for the Heart of Africa – an art benefit auction to raise funds and bring hope to orphaned children in Southern Sudan. The goal was to raise $5,000 to put a roof on an orphanage. More than 40 local and regional artists donated pieces and the event raised a staggering $15,000. When one unemployed, uninsured, RV industry worker was facing medical concerns with little way to afford a doctor’s appointment, the men in his small group gathered and pooled money. In one evening, 12 men, many of whom were unemployed themselves, collected more than $500 so their friend could seek the medical attention he needed. Its stories like this that are changing the lives of people in our community and across the world. It’s a group of people who, in response to the life-changing, soul-saving love of Jesus, decide to serve and sacrifice and weather the storm together. At The Vineyard Church, we know that, in these tough times, we won’t make it without Jesus. He is our only hope. A hope that we want to share with you. Contact Us The Vineyard Church 16219 Jackson Road Mishawaka, IN 46544 Click here for directions Phone: 574.257.1924 Email: office@thevineyard.org People can recognize the way Christians love others. It's different than what is experienced in the world. As a church, we are continuously striving for relationships that build a strong community and help us grow in our love for Jesus. Click on the links to discover our vision, what we believe, and who we are. If you have a question, contact us for more information. History The Vineyard Church began in the basement of a home in November of 1995. God called Mark Pope (our Lead Pastor) to plant a church that would reach out to the lost of our community on behalf of Jesus Christ. Our first meetings were simple. A few families met for worship, prayer, and teaching on Saturday evenings. Soon we rented an auditorium from a local church. We still met on Saturdays, but this new place gave us room to grow. It was the beginning of establishing a new church in our community. During this time, we were known as Community Fellowship. Our church made its jump to Sunday morning Celebrations on Easter Sunday 1998. We rented a small reception hall in downtown Mishawaka and packed in almost 100 people that first Sunday. We worshiped with a band and established our Children's Ministry. That summer we experienced one of our most joyous moments in those early years, our first baptism service, this was a taste of what was to come and the first of what has become a great tradition at our church. It was during this time that we were blessed by establishing relationships with several Vineyard churches. Those relationships have grown and ultimately we felt God's call to link up with the Association of Vineyard Churches. On Christmas Eve 2000, we officially became Vineyard Community Church and moved into our first full-time facility on South Merrifield Avenue. We quickly kicked off our Small Group Ministry, Media and Technical Teams, Hospitality Teams, and in 2002 we launched our Student Ministry. We saw God develop skilled teams of individuals joining together to better promote the Gospel in our community. In 2004 we began the process of looking for a long term place to call home. We established our first building fund. During this time we also experienced a surge of numerical growth. We responded to this move of God by offering two Sunday Celebration times. December 5th, 2004, (our first Sunday to offer two services) we served almost 300 individuals. God was expanding the family that called Vineyard Community Church their home. In November of 2005 we closed on 11.4 acres of land on the south side of Mishawka/South Bend. Within a year, God provided, through his people, the finances needed to pay off the land. In March of 2008 we broke ground on our new church facility on Jackson Road, at the corner of the US 20 Bypass and Bremen Highway. Our builder estimated that it would take a year to compete the building so during that time God continued to keep our attention focused on ministry to people rather than building buildings. We launched several new small groups, reached out to the community through SOS service projects, and partnered in the development of churches and orphanages in The Sudan. On March 1, 2009 we had our first Sunday Celebration in our new building and simplified our name to The Vineyard Church. In just the first few months we saw a couple dozen people come to Christ, our attendance exceeded 700 people, and we saw small groups and ministry teams come alive with excitement! Not even a year later, we were experiencing another surge of numerical growth. We would find ourselves scrambling to set up folding chairs in the auditorium along with having children meet for small groups in hallways. As a result of this growth, we added a Saturday Celebration on January 23, 2010. Over the course of the weekend we counted 1009 total people in attendance! Sure some people we double counted (children's workers, musicians, ushers, etc) but still, what a milestone! At The Vineyard, our history is rich, but our future seems even brighter! The Vineyard Church has grown since those early years in that cramped little basement. With the development of staff, leaders and teams, we now look forward to even greater impact. Although our location has changed and our numbers have grown, our hearts are still the same as when we started. We want to continue to reach out of our community on behalf of Jesus Christ. Mark Pope Position: Lead Pastor Email: mark@thevineyard.org .. more Clint Schwartz Position: Pastor of Newcomers & Missions Email: clint@thevineyard.org .. more Rob Wallace Position: Pastor of Weekend Celebrations & Promotions Email: rob@thevineyard.org .. more Donnette Patterson Position: Assistant to the Pastoral Staff Email: donnette@thevineyard.org .. more Tammy Vandervort Position: Overseer of Small Group Ministries Email: tammy@thevineyard.org .. more Tara Wallace Position: Overseer of Children’s Ministries Email: tara@thevineyard.org .. more Matt Poorman Position: Director of Student Ministries Email: matt@thevineyard.org .. more Emily Rupchock Position: Director of Early Childhood Ministries Email: emily@thevineyard.org .. more Rick & Cara Poelstra Position: Directors of Home Groups Email: rick@thevineyard.org; cara@thevineyard.org Bobbie Young Position: Director of Publications Ministries Email: bobbie@thevineyard.org .. more Brax Vandervort Position: Assistant Director of Worship Ministries Email: brax@thevineyard.org .. more Hugh & Laura Johnson Position: Asistant Directors of Growth Groups Email: hugh@thevineyard.org; laura@thevineyard.org Dawn Morehouse Position: Coordinator of Prayer Ministries Email: dawn@thevineyard.org Eddie & Crystal Swoverland Position: Coordinators of Cleaning & Maintenance Leah Poorman Position: Coordinator of Finances Matt Hancock Position: Student Ministries Intern Vineyard Mishawaka,Vineyard South Bend,Vineyard Syracuse,Vineyard Church,The Vineyard Church,Vineyard,Church Mishawaka,Church South Bend,Church Granger,Church Elkhart,Church Goshen,Granger Community Church,River Valley Church,Southgate Church,Calvary Temple,LeSea Ministries,Living Stones Church</p> </body>