Capital City Vineyard is part of a larger association of churches known as “The Vineyard”, a growing group of contemporary churches begun in the late 1970’s during the Jesus Movement. Due to its active & ongoing commitment to church planting, the Vineyard movement now includes more than 600 churches in the United States and over 1000 churches in other nations as well. The Vineyard now has an active presence in over 60 different nations worldwide.

What purpose does our participation in the Vineyard serve? Our network with other Vineyard churches provides us with the excitement, the unity, the accountability, and the partnership that comes from being part of something God is doing that’s much bigger than our own local church. As an association of independent churches, Vineyard churches are self-governing, and are primarily connected to one another relationally. This allows for a greater degree of freedom and autonomy in our local churches. As independent churches, every Vineyard congregation has its own local governance and owns its own assets.

As a whole, the Vineyard is committed to bridging the gap between “Spirit filled” Pentecostal churches and “Bible based” Evangelical churches, by aiming to reflect the best of both: the fullness of the Holy Spirit and Biblical truth. Thus, we often speak of our identity in the Vineyard in terms of being “Empowered Evangelicals”. In this sense, we recognize that as we make disciples of Jesus Christ we are specifically called to the task of “teaching them to obey everything” Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:20a), which is recorded in the Word of God. Yet we’re also convinced that the key to our obedience as followers of Jesus is submitting to the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, which is the indwelling presence of Jesus that he promised would always be with his disciples (Matthew 28:20b, John 16:7-15, Acts 1:8). In addition to this sense of identity, all Vineyard Churches also share in common a set of Biblical and theological convictions (our Vineyard Statement of Faith), as well as five core “Vineyard Values”, which express the heart of our particular style of ministry. They are: 1. The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God, 2. Experiencing God, 3. Culturally Relevant Mission, 4. Reconciling Community, and 5. Compassionate Ministry.

The leadership of each local Vineyard Church consists of a Board of Advisors (or Elders), who are appointed by and serve under the direction of the Senior Pastor according to their adopted bylaws. West Michigan area Vineyard Churches, including Capital City Vineyard, are now under the pastoral oversight of Area Pastor (AP) Ken Thomas, from Lakeshore Vineyard in Holland, Michigan. All the Vineyard churches in “Vineyard USA” are now under the leadership of new National Director Phil Strout, and our new Great Lakes North Region is under the oversight of Regional Overseer (RO) Ray Befus from Grand Rapids Vineyard North.

For more information about The Vineyard please visit our Vineyard USA national web site.