The History of Vineyard

After pastoring a congregation for eight years in Slidell, Jim and Betty Long left their church, which was part of a conservative denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America. This church had as part of its confessional statement, the belief that revelation ceased with the age of the apostles. This belief was different from Jim’s view that God still gave counsel and guidance to His people, and that the Spirit moved in the various gifts as found in I Corinthians 12-14. Thus, Jim and Betty found disfavor and were forced to leave the denomination or face censure. They had both been raised in conservative Presbyterianism and found it frightening to have to strike out on their own. They founded a tiny non-denominational and non-charismatic fellowship called "New Life Community Church" in Slidell in 1982. There, God began to open them up to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God.

In 1984, they had begun to hear of John Wimber and the Vineyard, and were led to attend the James Robison Bible Conference in Dallas where John Wimber was a featured speaker. Returning again to the conference in 1985, Betty joined Jim in the release of the Spirit in her life as John Wimber once again ministered. Shortly, Jim and Betty contacted a new infant VCF in New Orleans, where a national Vineyard leader was to speak. Many of the members of the New Life church were touched and Jim felt the call to join the Vineyard officially.

Danny Daniels, at the time worship leader at the Vineyard in Denver, was dispatched to minister that Sunday in our fellowship. Wow! God showed up! The congregation quickly shrunk as people feared the power of God, and soon we were asked to find a new facility.

Since that time in 1985, the Vinedresser of the Vineyard has been pruning, growing, nurturing and expanding the Vineyard Church in Slidell. Much has been suffered, and much has been done and learned in God’s kingdom.

As of 1993, Pastor Jim began going on mission trips to Columbia, South America and Costa Rica, Central America. 1994 saw the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our fellowship after area Vineyard leaders went to Toronto where God was doing a mighty work.

In the ensuing years, the Lord has broken ambition and pride, and brought an expectant humility to the leadership of the Vineyard. With that has come an acute desire to only see God’s purposes accomplished and not their own.

In January of 2002, God has prepared several factors that will propel us into the labor of the new season. A new building was completed and occupied in mid-January, new staff joined the endeavor, and a vision and action plan was initiated to evangelize and minister to the surrounding community.

The Vineyard Movement

In 1974, after working as an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California and planting a church called Jesus Chapel in El Paso, Texas, Ken and Joanie Gufliksen moved to Los Angeles to begin a ministry that had been on their hearts for several years. Starting as a small Bible study, the fellowship quickly grew into a church. God prophetically gave the name "Vineyard" to those who initially gathered together. In Isaiah 27:2-3 Ken read, "A vineyard of wine, sing of it! I the Lord, am its keeper, I water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I guard it night and day." The Lord was saying, "You are the Vineyard." In the next few years, literally thousands received Jesus Christ through the ministries of the church.

God graciously worked through the many mistakes and failures as well as the successes, as people were willing to take risks to become like Jesus and to communicate the gospel. Several couples soon went out from that group and began other Vineyards in California, quickly growing churches with priorities of worship, fellowship, healing, training, and giving.

In the spring of 1982, John Wimber and several other pastors led their churches into relationship with the Vineyard, as their vision coincided with and completed that of the original Vineyards. It was obvious that God had called John to pastor the pastors and to encourage men and women to pursue what God had given them. As a result, the people called the Vineyard have reached out to bless and encourage churches all over the world, as well as planting churches. The Vineyard has extensive and fruitful relationships with many American denominations and pastors, the Church of England, and many churches in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, Latin America, Russia, Canada, and the South Pacific. These relationships include parachurch groups such as YWAM, World Vision, seminaries like Fuller, and underground churches in Asia and China. Many of these relationships are through the personal ministry of John Wimber; others are through many local Vineyards churches.

In 1987, the various Vineyard churches formed the Association of Vineyard Churches. The churches are self-governing but overseen and encouraged by older pastors who serve as District, Regional, and Area Coordinators. As of 2002, there were approximately 500 Vineyards in the U.S. and 200 in thirteen other countries. All of these numbers are expected to increase. God, however, has shown us not to seek to build the Vineyard but instead to seek His Kingdom and to build His church, to bless what He blesses, to love what He loves, and to give ourselves away freely. We want to be like Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our plan is to seek God and to cooperate with Him as He reveals Himself in the process.

John Wimber served as the International Director of the Vineyard until his death in 1997. Berton Waggoner currently serves as the National Director of the Association of Vineyard Churches. Bob Fulton now serves as the International Director.