PASSION FOR GOD. COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE. PERIOD.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus of Nazareth 

The Vineyard of Licking County is not for the super-spiritual.

It is not for muscular Christians who have made John Wayne and not Jesus their hero.

It is not for scholars who would imprison Jesus in ivory towers of exegesis.

It is not for noisy, feel-good folks who manipulate Christianity into a naked appeal to emotion.

It is not for hooded mystics who want magic in their religion.

It is not for Alleluia Christians who live only on the mountaintop and have never visited the valley of desolation.

It is not for the fearless and tearless.

It is not for red-hot zealots who boast with the rich young ruler in the Gospels: "All these commandments I have kept from my youth."

It is not for the complacent, hoisting over their shoulder a tote-bag of honors, diplomas, and good works actually believing they have it made.

It is not for legalists who would rather surrender control of their souls to rules than run the risk of living in union with Jesus.

If anyone is still reading…

The Vineyard of Licking County is for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out.

It is for the sorely burdened who are still shifting the heavy suitcase from one hand to the other.

It is for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don’t have it together and are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.

It is for the inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker.

It is for the poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents.

It is for earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay.

It is for the bent and the bruised who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God.

It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest disciples who admit they are scalawags.

The Vineyard of Licking County is for anyone who has grown weary and discouraged along the Way.

YOU HAVE A FATHER.  YOU HAVE A FATHER WHO LOVES YOU.  YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL KIND AND NURTURING FATHER WITH WHOM WE’D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU.

WE WANT TO BRING THE LOVE OF OUR FATHER’S HEART INTO THIS FATHERLESS GENERATION.
"You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Luke 3: 22

Pastor Steve awoke from a dream where God gave him a message to share.  “Tell them they HAVE a FATHER who loves them.”  The words were simple but the impact was very deep.  Steve felt the love of God flowing in rich waves through him, sensing a deep inner acceptance, even pride from his relationship with God in that dream.  It changed him internally.  Having been a pastor for over 25 years, he’d been caught in the “I’ve got to prove myself to God” mode.  Having never really feeling and sense of acceptance or pride from his own father, he for the first time was released from the bondage of trying to measure up.  God was saying to him that what he was now feeling is also the message he is to present to this fatherless generation.  Jesus' story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32) reveals the heart of our Father who is patiently waiting for us to come home.

Here at The Vineyard of Licking County, we desire to offer that same hope to the "prodigals" of our community. Yet is Jesus' parable just about a wayfaring son and his trek back home? Certainly the reader must not overlook as well Jesus’ equally intriguing story of the older son whose heart has grown cold. In truth, Jesus’ parable not only tells the unique tale of two "distant" sons, but paints an even more powerful picture of a faithful, loving father and his readiness & willingness to receive both of his sons back home.

We believe we live in a "fatherless" generation....a generation of "prodigals" and "older sons and daughters". One survey reveals that 22 million people in America no longer attend church because of hurt or believing that today’s presentation of the Gospel is not relevant in today’s world. Our primary mission as a church is to bring the Father Heart of God back to this "fatherless" generation...those whose sense of abandonment has nearly overwhelmed them.

Our communities are full of "prodigals", wayward sons and daughters who for one reason or another have decided to venture out into the world without God...taking life as it comes. Over time, like the "prodigal" son, our dreams begin to crumble, reality sets in and we find ourselves all alone with no one to help.

Our churches are full of "older sons and daughters", whose spirituality has become dry and brittle. For years we have faithfully attended church, only to have our loving relationship with God replaced by dutiful service, our joy of amazing grace overcome by legalistic tradition.

In his book, The Secret of God’s Love, Andrew Murray states: “The great downfall of the Christian life is that, even where we trust Christ, we leave the Father out. Christ came to bring us to God, the Father…His life of dependency on the Father was a life in the Father’s love…Our life must have its breath and being in a heavenly love as much as His. What the Father’s love was to Him, His love will be to us…The weakness in our Christian life is that we do not take time to believe that this divine love really does delight in us…Love will awaken your faith and strengthen it. Occupy yourself with that love; worship it; wait for it. You may be sure it will reach out to you, and by its power take you up into itself as your home."

Our prayer is that God, our Father will open up our hearts and minds, revealing His amazing love for all His sons and daughters, "prodigals" and "older sons" alike. As Jesus' story so strongly states, our heavenly Father is faithfully scanning the horizon looking for our return home to…The Father's House!

OUR HISTORY

Having received a calling into full time ministry at the age of 16, our Sr. Pastor, Steve Osborne, found himself preparing for ministry by first gaining a B.A. in Bible and Greek studies, then a M.Div. degree in pastoral ministry and finally a D.Min. degree in Church Growth and Discipeship.  He served in a denominational setting for 23 years when God specifically (and audibily) called him to plant a Vineyard!  After attending a Vineyard Pastor’s conference in Anaheim (Vineyard’s Pioneer ministry church), Steve began meeting regularly with Danny Meyer, then senior associate at the Columbus Vineyard.  Through a series of God coordinated events, Steve and his wife Carole found themselves propelled into starting a new church.  Having no place to meet, they were offered a horse arena (The Arabian’s Keep) for free.  They schedule their first meeting and were overwhelmed as 147 persons showed up at the celebration.

The church was first launched as the “River of Life” church in August of 1999 in full anticipation of aligning with the Vineyard movement from its inception.  They quickly moved to a High School auditorium in Heath, Ohio (due to quickly changing temperatures) and then to the Granville High School which became home until God miraculously launched them into a 42 acre purchase, the building of an outdoor hilltop chapel, a huge shelter house/garage (which 2nded as a worship center), and finally our current 20,000 square foot facility.  It would take pages to describe how God pulled all this together and we can take none of the credit!

That’s the building, but we recognize that the real church is the people.