We Are Vineyard

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay chats with Jessica Gatton. Jess shares about the profound experience she had with Jesus as a young child, being immersed in ministry as a teenager while her dad was her youth pastor and the decision she made in college to stay the course in her faith. Jess talks about how studying social work helped her make sense of her observations of the world, and the grace of coming to the end of herself in ministry, slowing down and doing some internal work. Finally, Jess and Jay discuss the incredible ongoing partnership between Alpha and the Vineyard, the turnkey evangelism course Alpha provides, and the profound gift of bringing churches back to the basics of hospitality, Jesus’ love, and experiencing the Holy Spirit. 

Jessica Gatton has been in the Vineyard for 30 years and is now on staff as VP of Ministry with Alpha USA.

Show Notes: 

Alphausa.org

Emotionally Focused

Watch Nicky Gumbel’s interview at the 2023 Vineyard USA National Conference! 

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with John Mark Comer about starting in ministry at a young age, the gifts he received from the staunch evangelical worldview in which he was raised, and the life circumstances that inspired him to learn a more biblical model of discipleship and spiritual formation. John Mark shares about the ancient practices that have helped him feel unstuck, the changes he noticed in his church during a season of extreme growth, and how their metrics of success had to change once they altered the social contract of their church. 

John Mark Comer is the New York Times bestselling author of Practicing the Way, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, Live No Lies, and four previous books. He’s also the Founder and Teacher of Practicing the Way, a simple, beautiful way to integrate spiritual formation into your church or small group. Prior to starting Practicing the Way, he spent almost twenty years pastoring Bridgetown Church in Portland, OR, and working out apprenticeship to Jesus in the post-Christian West. He lives in Los Angeles.

Show Notes: 

John Mark Comer’s Website  

Welcome to season 3 of the We Are Vineyard podcast! This year marks the 50th anniversary of Vineyard churches in the US, and to celebrate we will be highlighting stories of local churches throughout the country. In today’s episode, Jay talks with John Elmer and Brad Bailey about Westside Vineyard Church. John and Brad share stories of how the church was formed, the approach to learning leadership lessons as they were figuring things out in the early days, and some characteristics and values of the Vineyard that have remained through all these years. 

Brad Bailey serves as the Lead Pastor of the Westside Vineyard Church (on the Westside of Los Angeles). He began attending the church in 1985 and became the Lead Pastor in 1991, the second to follow Kenn Gulliksen who had initially planted the church. Brad is also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has valued serving the Vineyard movement as an Area Leader and Missional Partnership Leader for India. Brad’s wife Leah is a Bone Marrow Transplant Coordinator at UCLA. They have four young adult children, having left the “nest” to Buddy…the Golden Retriever.

Show Notes: 

Listen to John Elmer’s episode of We Are Vineyard (season 1, episode 14)

The Ferment Podcast by Vineyard Worship 

The Way It Was by Carol Wimber 

The Quest For The Radical Middle by Bill Jackson 

Empowered Evangelicals by Rich Nathan and Ken Wilson

“I’m a Fool For Christ”– John Wimber’s testimony 

Show Notes: 

Listen to sessions from some of our Regional gatherings: https://vineyardusa.org/2023-regional-conferences/

Financial Well-being of Pastors Initiative: https://vineyardusa.org/financial-well-being-of-pastors-initiative/

Evangelical Covenant Church: https://covchurch.org/

2024 Better Together Conference: https://bettertogether.vineyardusa.org/

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Geno Olison, leader of our VUSA Black Pastors and Leaders Association, shares a devotion he has prepared on the theme of Love from 1 John 4:7-14, Romans 5:8, John 3:16, followed by the song “Behold,” the title track of Vineyard Worship’s newest album release, created in partnership with Heaven and Earth, Vineyard Columbus’s worship and songwriting community.

We’ll see you in February 2024 with new episodes!

Show Notes: 

Behold

Heaven and Earth Worship

Vineyard Worship

Vineyard USA Associations

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Kirk Yamaguchi, leader of our VUSA Asian American Pacific Islander Association, shares a devotion he has prepared for the third week of Advent on the theme of Joy from Philippians 4:4-5. We’ll then hear the song “This Joy” from Vineyard Worship!

As a reminder, we’ll be taking off the month of January, but we’ll be back in February with our regular interviews!

Show Notes: 

This Joy

Vineyard Worship

Vineyard USA Associations

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Rubén Quintero, leader of our VUSA Hispanic Association, will be sharing a devotion he has prepared for the second week of Advent on the theme of Peace from Luke 2:13-14, followed by the song “Shalom” from Vineyard Worship’s album “This Joy.”  

As a reminder, we’ll be taking off the month of January, but we’ll be back in February with our regular interviews!

Show Notes: 

This Joy

Vineyard Worship

Vineyard USA Associations

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Melanie Forsythe-Lee, leader of our VUSA Women’s Association, shares a devotion she has prepared on the theme of Hope from Isaiah 11:1-10, followed by the song, “O Come O Come Emmanuel” from Vineyard Worship’s newest album release “Behold,” created in partnership with Heaven and Earth, Vineyard Columbus’s worship and songwriting community.

As a reminder, we’ll be taking off the month of January, but we’ll be back in February with our regular interviews!

Show Notes: 

Behold

Heaven and Earth Worship

Vineyard Worship

Vineyard USA Associations

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with Tish Harrison Warren about Advent. They discuss the beautiful ways that observing the church calendar provides intentional points of connection with the Holy Spirit, and how it affords the chance to learn the entirety of Scripture by working within the story communally throughout the year. Tish also talks about how the season of Advent not only connects us with the waiting of the past and the places where we’re still waiting for Jesus to come today. 

Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She is the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life (Christianity Today‘s 2018 Book of the Year) and Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work, or Watch, or Weep (Christianity Today‘s 2022 Book of the Year). 

Currently, Tish writes a weekly newsletter for The New York Times and is a columnist for Christianity Today. Her articles and essays have appeared in Religion News Service, Christianity Today, Comment Magazine, The Point Magazine, The New York Times, and elsewhere. 

For over a decade, Tish has worked in ministry settings as a campus minister with InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries, as an associate rector, and with addicts and those in poverty through various churches and non-profit organizations. Now, Tish serves as Writer in Residence at Resurrection South Austin. She is a founding member of The Pelican Project and a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum. She lives with her husband and three children in the Austin, Texas area.

Show Notes: 

Advent: The Season of Hope by Tish Harrison Warren

Register now for Better Together!

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with David Parker about growing up as a troublemaker in an irreligious home and the backward way he came to know Jesus. David shares about building a church where people feel comfortable bringing their loved ones, some practical ways to make your church more welcoming to unchurched people, and why he loves having a church filled with non-Christians.

David Parker is Pastor Emeritus of the Desert Vineyard Christian Fellowship, an outward-focused church in the high desert of Southern California. Over its 45-year history, the Desert Vineyard has pursued a vision to connect with its community and culture in a way that has produced a diverse and fruitful congregation. 

David has a B.A. in Ancient History from the University of Missouri and an M.A. in Theology from Regent College, Canada. He has been a featured speaker for the past 35 years at worldwide Vineyard and New Wine conferences.  David and his wife Nancy have a loving marriage of 47 years and a close family of four adult children and five grandchildren who live in the western parts of Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

Show Notes: 

David Parker’s sermon at Arvada Vineyard 11/5

Knowing God by J.I. Packer 

Register Now for Better Together!