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The History of the Open Door Vineyard |
Our history is but a small part of the history of the Association of Vineyard
Churches, so we include the history of the Vineyard movement first to give the
context and background to the history of the Open Door Vineyard. The
history of the Vineyard was taken directly from the Vineyard USA web site.
History of the Vineyard Movement
The Association
of Vineyard Churches is one of the fastest growing church-planting movements in
the world. The Vineyard story is about ordinary people who worship and serve an
extraordinary God. The Vineyard is simply one thread in the rich tapestry of the
historic and global Church of Jesus Christ. But it is a thread of God’s
weaving.
From the
beginning, Vineyard pastors and leaders have sought to hold in tension the
biblical doctrines of the Christian faith with an ardent pursuit of the present
day work of the Spirit of God. Maintaining that balance is never easy in the
midst of rapid growth and renewal.
John Wimber was a founding leader of the
Vineyard. His influence profoundly shaped the theology and practice of Vineyard
churches from their earliest days until his death in November 1997. When John
was conscripted by God he was, in the words of Christianity Today, a
"beer-guzzling, drug-abusing pop musician, who was converted at the age of
29 while chain-smoking his way through a Quaker-led Bible study" (Christianity
Today,
editorial, Feb. 9 1998).
In John's first
decade as a Christian he led hundreds of people to Christ. By 1970 he was
leading 11 Bible studies that involved more than 500 people. Under God’s
grace, John became so fruitful as an evangelical pastor he was asked to lead the
Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth. He also later
became an adjunct instructor at Fuller Theological Seminary where his classes
set attendance records. In 1977, John reentered pastoral ministry to plant
Calvary Chapel of Yorba.
Throughout this
time, John’s conservative evangelical paradigm for understanding the ministry
of the church began to grow. George Eldon Ladd’s theological writings on the
kingdom of God convinced John intellectually that the all the biblical gifts of
the Holy Spirit should be active in the church.
Encounters with Fuller missiologists Donald McGavaran and C. Peter Wagner
and seasoned missionaries and international students gave him credible evidence
for combining evangelism with healing and prophecy.
As he became more convinced of God's desire to be active in the world
through all the biblical gifts of the Spirit, John began to teach and train his
church to imitate Jesus’ full-orbed kingdom ministry. He began to ‘do the
stuff’ of the Bible that he had formerly only read about.
As John and his
congregation sought God in intimate worship they experienced empowerment by the
Holy Spirit, significant renewal in the gifts and conversion growth. It became
clear that the church’s emphasis on the experience of the Holy Spirit was not
shared by some leaders in the Calvary Chapel movement. In 1982, John's church
left Calvary Chapel and joined a small group of Vineyard churches. Vineyard was
a name chosen by Kenn Gulliksen, a prolific church planter affiliated with
Calvary Chapel, for a church he planted in Los Angeles in 1974. Pastors and
leaders from the handful of Vineyard churches began looking to John for
direction. And the Vineyard movement was born.
Twenty years
later, there are more than 850 Vineyard churches worldwide,
an
international church planting movement, a publishing house and a
music
production company. Vineyard worship songs have helped thousands of churches
experience intimacy with God. Many churches have been equipped to continue
Jesus' ministry of proclaiming the kingdom, healing the sick, casting out demons
and training disciples.
The Vineyard's journey has not been a straight path. It winds through many trials and triumphs. If interested in more, we recommend Bill Jackson's book, "The Quest for the Radical Middle." This readable history explores the events, issues and people who shaped the Vineyard in its first two decades.
The History of the Open Door Vineyard Christian FellowshipPastor
Keith and Linda have served together in the ministry since 1987. Keith retired
from the military in 1998, after serving 20 years in the U.S. Army. While
Stationed at Ft. Lewis in 1986, Keith had a radical conversion to Christ and
began his spiritual journey while Linda re-dedicated her life to Christ.
In
the fall of 1987, Keith received his call to plant a church in this area and to
be in full-time ministry. Keith studied at Liberty University, where he obtained
a Bachelor's of Science Degree and majored
in Biblical Studies. He continued his studies and obtain a
Masters of
In the spring of
1997, Keith & Linda were asked by the Federal Way Vineyard Christian
Fellowship to begin assembling a church planting team. Our first Sunday morning
meeting took `place on September 12, 1999, at the Spanaway Elementary School in
Spanaway, WA. In February 2003 we moved to Camas Prairie Elementary
School, our current home on Sunday mornings. We want
to meet the needs of the Tacoma, Spanaway, Fort Lewis, McChord AFB, and
Lakewood, Washington areas.
Together, Pastor Keith & Linda have been ordained and sent out by the Federal Way Vineyard Christian Fellowship to plant this church for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
The
Open Door Vineyard
(Office)