The re-launching of The Vine Church
Published 10:49 pm Friday, July 27, 2012
The Vine Church is re-launching.
Beginning Aug. 12, The Vine Church will hold Sunday morning services at the Troy Recreation Center.
Louis Johnson, church pastor, said The Vine has outgrown its current facility and needs more room to fulfill the new vision for the church.
The Vine Church will vacate its location on U.S. Highway 231 north of Troy in excited anticipation of the opportunities and challenges ahead.
“We are re-launching with a new vision for a life-giving church,” Johnson said. “Being a life-giving church means making church about others instead of about us. We used to make decisions about our services based on what we like.
“A life-giving church makes decisions based on what those who are seeking God want and need. A life-giving church equips people to fully walk out their God-given destiny. That’s what it means to be a life-giving church and that is the way that The Vine Church will fully walk out its God-given destiny.”
Johnson said to be a life-giving church The Vine must concentrate on four things.
“First, The Vine must provide Sunday morning experiences that are exciting and geared toward people who don’t know the Lord or are away from Him,” Johnson said. “Then, we must come together in small groups that encourage all members to mature in their faith and connect to each other on a personal level.”
The Vine’s growth track is a simple process that people can go through to join the church, learn their strengths and learn about the Dream Team.
“The Dream Team is the final step where all members find fulfillment by serving in an area that they are gifted and passionate about.”
The Vine Church is a non-denominational church that is affiliated with the Association of Related Churches (ARC).
“There are almost 900 ARC churches, many of which have been named among the fastest growing churches in America,” Johnson said. “Churches of the Highlands in Birmingham, Montgomery and Auburn are all members of ARC.
“Through ARC, we have received some of the best leadership training we’ve had in 25 years of ministry.”
This leadership training has been valuable and essential to the re-launching of The Vine Church and to fulfilling its destiny.
“At The Vine Church, you will always find passionate, up-beat worship and a relevant, encouraging message,” Johnson said. “We provide for the entire family through our nursery and children’s program on Sunday and our youth ministry, which is held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday nights at In His Step Dance Studio on Highway 29 south.
The Sunday morning worship service begins at 10 with a Sunday school-type program for children through sixth grade at that same hour.
The Vine Church offers a more contemporary service and opens with a 30-minute praise and worship service.
“As a life-giving church, our focus is on others,” Johnson said. “And, we believe that by re-launching our church, that will will offer and provide life experiences for those who are lost and want to come back to God and back to church.”
The Vine Church is evangelical and innovative in its outreach.
“We are all given at least one gift,” Johnson said. “We provided opportunities for our church people to find those gifts and then join together with others who have the same talents to do work for the Lord as members of Dream Teams.”
Johnson said a Dream Team is a group of talented people who have discovered their gifts and passions and are actively serving in them. Dream Team opportunities are offered from creating a comfortable environment by serving on a Host Team, to leading the next generation to Jesus by serving on a Children’s Ministry Team.
“The Dream Teams are all about one thing and that is serving God by serving his people,” Johnson said.
The Dream Teams decide when and where they will meet and with what purpose.
“This is a wonderful time for our people to come together with a purpose and to find the wonder of God’s love through relationships,” Johnson said.
“At The Vine Church, we have a place for everyone and an opportunity for everyone. Some people might want to step forward and join in our praise and worship time while others might want to come and find a place where they can worship in a quiet corner. The Vine Church is here to meet the needs of our community as a life-giving church. At The Vine Church it’s all about others.”
The doors of The Vine Church are always open and all of God’s people are invited.