In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay chats with Christian Dunn about the importance of the teenage years, and how commitment and time are vital to forming relationships with youth. Christian talks about annual nationwide youth camps, Project Timothy, and the ministry fruit he’s seen in young adults who attended Project Timothy as teens. Christian also shares some encouragement for parents of teens. 

Christian and his wife Mandy pastor CityLight Vineyard Church in Newark DE which they planted in 2017.  He has worked in youth ministry for three decades has had the pleasure of serving as the East Region Youth Task Force Leader and the VUSA National Youth Director. He is the author of “Finding the One: How Dating Prepares You For Marriage” and “More Than Spectators: Empowering Teens for Ministry.” He is excited about imparting to young people a passion for following Jesus, discovering their gifts, and pursuing their ministry callings.

 

Show Notes: 

Vineyard USA’s Day of Giving 2025 

Hear more of Christian’s story

Vineyard Youth USA

Project Timothy 

Alpha Youth

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay and Jason George talk about the gift of generosity, the responsibility of stewardship, and the discipleship opportunities available in this conversation. They also discuss some practical matters such as wills and legacy giving, the outcomes of last year’s Day of Giving, and the goals and focus of this year’s Day of Giving. 

 

Jason George is the Chief Development Officer for Vineyard USA. Jason was born in Toledo, Ohio, but considers himself a Columbus kid because that’s where he survived & sometimes thrived during middle school & high school. Deciding to stay in Columbus, he earned a B.A. in Journalism from The Ohio State University, and also met Jesus. 

That decision has shaped all of Jason’s life since. Following Christ led him to full-time vocational ministry for 14 years after graduation. That time included serving on a staff with a local Central Ohio church for two years and then 12 years between two parachurch organizations.  Along the way, he also graduated from the Vineyard Leadership Institute (VLI). During his time in ministry, he spent 5 years in Central Asia focusing on bringing the Gospel to local communities so that churches could be raised up. Jason believes living and serving overseas transformed much of his understanding of what it means to live with a Kingdom mindset.

After returning from his last stint overseas in 2015 Jason went through a very difficult season of change and needed growth. That’s when he found his current church home, Delaware City Vineyard (in Delaware, Ohio), and learned how to transfer that Kingdom paradigm, along with his skills, to a career in fundraising. He started that new phase of his career as an Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center before becoming a Development Officer with Kenyon College. Jason feels that all his experience in ministry and educational fundraising has uniquely equipped him for this role to help support the vision of Vineyard USA to see more churches planted that “Embrace the Kingdom and engage the world.”

Jason is married to Jill and has 4 kids – Vera, Jonah, Seva & Coen. They keep life busy, full, and mostly fun. Lately, their goal together as a family is to choose to cultivate a posture of learning, laughing, and loving… not necessarily in that order.

 

Show Notes: 

Day of Giving 2025

Day of Giving Media Kit 

Vineyard Leadership Essentials 

Sign up for the VUSA Monthly  

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with Kirsten Schwartz about growing up in a military family, cultivating a meaningful career in urban planning, and the family crisis that led her to join a church staff (tw: brief mention of infant loss). Kirsten shares about her research on building a culture of generosity within a congregation, how to raise money without running campaigns, and how generosity aligns with stewardship.  

After years of serving as the Director of Generosity at a large church in Cincinnati, Kirsten Schwartz, our Director of Church Partnerships, is a trusted resource for empowering the church to live and give generously. Kirsten has a passion for helping churches navigate around obstacles and complications to grow a culture of generosity.

Because her father was an Air Force pilot, Kirsten grew up in many places including Japan and Germany. She has two degrees: a masters in urban redevelopment from the University of Pennsylvania and in landscape architecture from Clemson University. She worked professionally in urban redevelopment with a focus in disaster recovery for cities around the country.

Kirsten met her husband, Jason, at a triathlon in Florida. They live together in Cincinnati, Ohio with two children, Asher and Evelyn. Kirsten loves being active, sharing the good news of Jesus, and empowering women to lead in the Kingdom.

 

Show Notes: 

Learn more about JOGs and Generous Giving  

Here’s a video for Pastors on how Generous Giving can help them create a culture of generosity at no cost to them. 

Follow Generous Giving on socials: 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GenerousGiving

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/generous.giving/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/generous-giving

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay chats with Chris Jensen about how a blue-haired punk rock kid ended up in ministry, the prayer that interrupted his life, and learning to be himself in a secular work environment. Chris talks about becoming an organizational health consultant, the role of artificial harmony in the dysfunction of the Church, and markers of health he’s looking for when working with a team. Finally, Chris shares why he decided to work with the Vineyard, and what he’d like to say to Vineyard pastors. 

Chris brings over 15 years of experience to his partnership with The Table Group. Whether he's working with a CEO and their leadership team, addressing groups of leaders during a conference or workshop, or counseling a client one-on-one, Chris brings his passion, enthusiasm and contagious optimism for organizational health to every client he touches.

Currently, Chris works regularly with CEOs and executive teams in quickly and effectively applying the concepts related to organizational health. His clients span a broad spectrum of various industries, including aerospace, consumer goods, health care, technology, education and local churches.

Chris has extensive first hand experience building high-performing teams by implementing the models in his own teams under pressure to produce results. 

Prior to partnering with The Table Group, Chris worked for InsideTrack, a San Francisco based technology and service organization, in the enterprise education segment. Before that, he worked in the ministry for nearly 10 years in California. He received his degree in Biblical Studies from Patten University.

Chris lives with his wife and five children in Portland, Oregon. 

 

Show notes: 

Vineyard USA’s Day of Giving 2025 

The Table Group 

5 Dysfunctions of a Team 

The Advantage by Patrick M. Lencioni 

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month! Rubén Quintero, leader of our Hispanic Association chats with Joel and Emmy Seymour about their visit to the US/Mexico border, Miguel Aviles about pastoring a predominantly immigrant Vineyard church, and Jimmy Reyes about the cultural differences in Hispanic and American churches, navigating a multilingual church, and maturing toward unity. 

Joel Seymour serves as a Super Regional Leader for Vineyard USA. 

Emmie Seymour is a junior studying nursing at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. She has a deep desire to combine healthcare and missions and feels a calling to become a medical missionary. Her love for the Vineyard runs deep - she grew up at the Lancaster Vineyard in Ohio, where she’s served in many roles over the years, from leading Alpha small groups to volunteering with kids and serving as a youth ambassador. Emmie completed the leadership track for Project Timothy in 2023, which helped shape her growth as a leader.

Miguel Aviles serves as the lead pastor of La Viña Burnsville in Minnesota alongside his wife Rocio Hernandez. La Viña Burnsville is a vibrant and diverse community, representing people from 17 different Latin American countries and highlighting the cultural richness of the body of Christ. Additionally, the church is home to a flourishing Brazilian ministry, led by a dedicated team, which continues to grow and impact lives with the message of the Gospel.

Jimmy Reyes is the lead pastor of the Valley Vineyard in Reseda, CA. He has helped plant two Viña communities in Los Angeles, produced 2 Spanish albums with Vineyard Worship, and led worship at the first Vineyard Hispanic Gathering in the 90’s as a teenager. He also currently serves Vineyard USA as an Area Leader in Southern California. 

 

Show Notes: 

Register for Vineyard USA’s Women’s Conference: More.

Day of Giving 2025 

Vineyard USA’s Hispanic Association 

Vineyard USA celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Dr. Charles Montgomery, Jr. talks with Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin about when she first recognized she was called to leadership and the philosophy of redemptive leadership. Dr. Massie Martin also discusses how the Lord shapes us through the struggles and sacrifices of ministry, likening us to a piece of clay on the Potter’s wheel. 

Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin holds degrees from Vanderbilt University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She is the Chief Operating Officer at Christianity Today and founder and Executive Director of Soulfire International Ministries. She is an accomplished writer and author, serves on various boards and councils, and leads the Grow Ministry at Kingdom Fellowship AME Church in Maryland. She and her husband, Mark, are proud parents to two amazing daughters.

 

Show Notes: 

Register for Vineyard USA’s Women’s Conference: More.

Nailing It by Nicole Massie Martin

Nicolemassiemartin.com 

sfiministries.org 

Get a year of Christianity Today for free! 

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay and Dr. Charles Montgomery, Jr. talk about the preliminary work of the Associations, and how immersive experiences like Sankofa and a trip to the border wall of Mexico opened up opportunities for connection and sharing experiences. Charles also shares how the ordination process dovetails with the work of Associations to make more space at the table for historically underrepresented leaders, the opportunities created by clear systems, and how you can be praying for the Vineyard. 

 

Charles A. Montgomery, Jr serves as the Associations Director for Vineyard USA.

Charles also founded a successful multiethnic Campus (Vineyard Columbus East) and has pastored there since 2012. His passion is to develop Beloved Communities as espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, an alumnus of Charles’ alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Charles has a B.A. in Mathematics from Morehouse, a Master of Divinity from Emory University (Ga) and a PhD in Ethical and Creative Leadership from Union Institute University (OH).

He has earned several credentials in Diversity Training and is a Certified Spiritual Director through the Sustainable School of Faith.

He considers his greatest accomplishment (ok, grace) being married to his childhood crush, Kimberly. Charles and Kimberly are avid Buckeye fans (Go Bucks!) and make their home in Columbus Ohio.

 

Show Notes: 

Register for Vineyard USA’s Women’s Conference: More. 

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