Getting Organized as We Grow
During the past year at The Vine, we have seen great growth in our ability to impact our local and global outreach partners. In an attempt to better direct our churches resources both financially and through service, we recently commissioned a Partner Review Board, responsible for evaluating our current and new outreach partners and helping guide funding decisions. Over the past 6 months, the Board has reviewed our current partnerships and interviewed several new partnership applicants approving a few new outreach partners. Take a look at just some of our current Outreach Partners:
Fulltime Missionaries –
- Trey and Kiki Adams (Thailand)
- Chuck Phillips (Globally)
- John and Christina Krauss (China)
The Fatherless – We are working on plans for this ministry as many people have expressed interest in helping us serve in the areas of Foster Care, Orphans, Sex Trafficking, and Adoption.
Church Planting –
- We provide monthly support to ChristChurch Suwanee (Rod Entrekin’s church).
- We provide monthly support to Tim Barton as The Vine’s church planting apprentice.
- We provide support to Tom Woods’ ministry Church Multiplication Ministries (Tom occasionally steps in to preach on Sunday mornings)
Abba House – Dawn Kirkland and Ingrid Graham co-lead this ministry where we host monthly social dinners and other service events throughout the year to help .
STEMS (Short Term Missions) – Alex and Holly Compton coordinate efforts for our many mission trips planned to places like West Virginia, Haiti, Peru and Kenya.
Homestead – Debbie Attaway and many others help with tutoring, VBS, school supplies, and other events throughout the year.
ACT Together – This is a new ministry partner that The Vine will be supporting and is led by Vine member Heather Clark. This ministry provides mentoring, school supplies, and other events for marginalized youth.
Land of a Thousand Hills – Diane Campbell leads this Global ministry that focuses on selling coffee to help foster reconciliation and recovery in Rwanda and Haiti.
We could not effectively put these outreach ministries into action without the support and dedication of the Partner Review Board and all of our Ministry Leaders. We also thank God for bringing so many people with an outward-reaching heart to The Vine. We are truly thankful for their answer to the call to serve where God has given them a passion. We continue to pray that the Lord would guide us as we seek His plan and purpose regarding outreach at The Vine.
If you are interested in helping serve in the Loving the Community ministries, or you have an outreach partnership you would like to request for review, please contact mpugh@thevinecommunitychurch.
“If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” ~~ 1Peter 4:11
Blessings,
Mark Pugh, Director, Loving the Community
Posted in Blog
The Simple Gospel
We are all busy and, at times, we can feel stressed out. We desire rest and we look to many different solutions that don’t satisfy. Jon is teaching for 5 weeks about the beauty and simplicity of the gospel. The simple gospel is what we need to find rest as we learn to regularly align our hearts and lives to the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others to do the same.
If you have a friend or neighbor who wants to know more about God and His love for us, please invite them to join us for this 5 week series.
Planning & Planting at The Vine
Recently, the Elders of The Vine gathered together for their annual retreat to participate in a time of vision casting, ministry planning and relationship building. This retreat was just one component of a yearly strategic planning cycle that we’ve incorporated at The Vine over the past few years to help better meet the needs of you, our church family. The below information provides a condensed view of the church’s yearly planning calendar:
Jan - Feb: Staff dreams big and works on their 2-4 year Ministry Action Plans (MAP)
Feb: Jon takes some time off to hear from the Lord and cast vision for the church
The Staff and then, at a later date, the Elders get together for retreats to unpack Jon’s vision and begin church planning for the upcoming Fiscal Year (Sept through August)
April: The Staff and Ministry leaders work on each team’s yearly MAP to support the church’s vision
May – July: Spending budgets are created, reviewed and edited to support the Ministry plans
August: Final Ministry plans and budgets are approved by the Elder Board
Sept – Dec: Kick off and implement the new fiscal year plan
In addition, we have a Strategy Team which meets regularly to work on continuous improvement of existing programs and processes, as well as to efficiently integrate the new programs with existing activities.
There is so much more that goes into planning for our church calendar than just Sunday mornings. We have an incredible group of Elders at The Vine who desire to follow God’s plan for our church and support Jon’s vision. We would love for you to pray for the leadership of our church. And if you have any questions, feel free to contact Mark Pugh in the church office.
Posted in Blog
2012 Open Women’s Conference Podcasts
Feel free to share any of these podcasts from our March 2012 Women’s Retreat featuring Judy Mills from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.
Session 1 Podcast: Open and Filled
An overview of Titus from the perspective of how Christian women live in community, focusing on the primary role of mentoring. Focusing then on their individual walks with the Lord. We cannot give away what we do not possess, at least in some measure, ourselves.
Session 2 Podcast: Overflowing the Real Me
Two fold: the me as a new creation in Christ, but also not pretending I am something I am not, but being honest and authentic.
Session 3 Podcast: Protecting the Real You
Addressing our concerns about opening up with another person and setting a standard of creating a safe place where confidences are kept and grace, not judgment is given.
Posted in Blog
Mission Trip Luncheon This Sunday
Go therefore and make disciples…
Many of us know the scripture referred to as The Great Commission (Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – Matthew 28:19) but sometimes it’s hard to take that first step. At The Vine, missions outreach is one of our core values – Loving the Community – and we hope that as you start to plan your family vacation this summer, you might consider doing something a little different and being an active part of reaching out to communities in need in different parts of the world.
If you have thought about taking a missions trip, we invite you to join us this Sunday, March 11th, immediately following 2nd service in Auditorium A for an informational luncheon to find out more about all of the opportunities we have in the works.
We have had some changes to some of the trips, so this meeting is important to everyone who was planning on going, as well as those who might be thinking about this for the first time. Currently, we will be sending teams to:
- Fairmount, West Virginia – June 16-23 & July 21 – 28.
- Haiti – July 28-Aug 4.
- Peru – December 9 – 15.
We had so much interest in the West Virginia trip that we were able to add a second week to accomodate more people. If you have never been on a missions trip, this would be a great destination to start with. We have served there for several years and have several experienced team members going to West Virginia.
Our middle school trip has been cancelled BUT the middle schoolers will have the opportunity to attend GOLDRUSH at Perimeter Church which will, hopefully, allow many more students to participate. For more information on GOLDRUSH, click here.
In addition, our high school trip is still in the planning stages. We will not be able to partner with Jeff Lewis this year as we did last year. He just has too much on his plate. We are currently working out details for the possibility of partnering with Young Life. An additional possibility is for several of our students to participate on the later trip to Haiti which is being led by Caryann Barton. We have had several families express a desire to go and serve together and this trip will provide the perfect opportunity for that.
Please click here to RSVP for the luncheon so that we be sure to have enough food. If you will be needing childcare, please let us know in the response email how many children and what ages.
We are so excited about the opportunities we have to go and serve. Will you consider praying about joining us? We hope so.
In His Service,
Kari Fredrick
Communications Coordinator
Posted in Blog
New Learning Opportunities at The Vine
Good morning church family!
It is with excitement and pleasure that I share with you two great ministry opportunities that are currently unfolding at The Vine – an 8-week series of classes titled Starting Point that will help you in various areas of spiritual growth, and a Discipleship Training program that will create more “relational” connections between members as we go through life together. Please read the information below and pray about where and how God might want you to participate in either, or both, of these opportunities.
Starting Point
Starting Point begins this Sunday, March 4th and has been created to help members and regular attendees spiritually grow and better connect. The eight week series will cover incredible Christ centered topics – you can take one or all of them. Each week has a different area of focus so while it is not necessary to go through the entire series, if you are a new member or a new believer we definitely want to encourage you to take as many as possible. All classes will meet at 9 am in the Conference Room on that dates listed below.
Week 1 – Understanding Grace – March 4th
The Bible says in Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the Gospel (Grace), because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” The Gospel of Grace is the foundation, the power, and the central point of all the Christian life. In this session, we will talk about:
- What the Bible says about Grace
- Our daily need for Grace
Week 2 – Taking the Gospel to Heart – March 11th
The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the sacrifice of Christ. In this session, we will review what this means for our daily lives and how we can each personally apply the tenet of Grace in our lives. We will answer:
- What does it mean to truly live in the power of the gospel?
- What are the typical obstacles that hinder living in the gospel?
- How to identify specific challenges that hinder gospel living.
- Finding the doorway to freedom.
Week 3 – Living in the Gospel – March 18th
This session supports the believer’s journey as they begin walking in the power of the gospel on a daily basis.
Week 4 – RightPATH – March 25th
An engaging and insightful study of one’s personality… your strengths and challenges… how interaction with certain personalities can build-up or frustrate others… and your incredible potential to make an impact for Christ Glory.
Week 5 – Spiritual Gifts – April 15th
An enlightening and empowering study of spiritual gifts… how God has uniquely gifted each believer, God’s intentions for these gifts, and how one might best invest these gifts to make impact for Christ Glory.
Week 6 – Generosity – April 22nd
Generosity is about more than money. It is about opening your heart to what God desires of you and has planned for you and learning to trust Him with everything you have. God calls us to be wise stewards of all that He gives us, but he also desires that our generosity come out of a heart overflowing with love and thanks to Him and all He has done in every believer’s life. Come learn what “tithing” means, where it comes from in Scripture, and how you can start giving (in your time, talent and treasure) according to God’s Word.
Week 7 – The Heart of Reformed Faith – April 29th
The Bible is God’s way of instructing us concerning what we are to believe about him, and how we are to live in response to his grace. The Bible itself teaches us to view it as a whole when seeking to understand God and our relationship with him. During this week we will take a look at the basic understandings of the Reformed Faith, which we believe to be a summary of what the Bible teaches us from Genesis through Revelation about God and our relationship to him.
Week 8 – Making Connections: Community & Discipleship – May 6th
Being part of “community” is a craving for all people. Within Christ’s church, community found within life-to-life relationships and small groups serves as a vital foundation for personal growth and ministry opportunity. Come learn the value of engaging in small group learning and training, and find out more about the available Life Groups and Small Groups available at The Vine.
Discipleship
The Vine has always been a wonderful place for both spiritual growth and incredible relationships. With this historical backdrop, we are excited to further develop spiritual growth opportunities through discipleship groups. We are praying that these groups will create highly relational connections as we “do life” together. We expect that within this small group environment we will be nurtured and encouraged in our quest to know Christ better leading to greater spiritual maturity.
I am reminded of I Thessalonians 2: 8 that says… “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”
I know that Christ’s investment into the twelve was life-changing, and our intention is to model His effort and experience His transforming presence together.
Our discipleship groups will officially begin in the fall – stay tuned for more information. If you are interested in possibly leading a group, please join us on this Sunday, March 4th at 9:00 am to hear the details and enjoy a brief orientation to our training program. The gathering will be in Auditorium A.
Blessings,
Matt Brinkley
Director, Engaging the Next Generation
Posted in Blog
The Season of Lent
Ash Wednesday is the start of the Season of Lent. A season you may or may not know the meaning behind.
Lent is a forty-day period before Easter, and begins on Ash Wednesday. (We skip Sundays when we count the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection.) This year, Lent begins on February 22 and ends on April 7, the day before Easter.
We all come with various thoughts and experiences when it comes to Lent. Some do not have much experience with it at all. For others, there is a deep sense of meaning and tradition. And for still others, there might be a sense of forced tradition without much meaning at all.
It is our hope that no matter what your experience has been, you will join us this season of Lent with an open and expectant heart, ready for a discovery, rediscovery, or the continuation of a deep and meaningful tradition bringing you closer to God.
The season of Lent is a season of worship for both personal and corporate spiritual renewal in preparation for celebration of the central event in Christianity, the death and resurrection of Christ. It is a time for intense study of God’s word, for meditation, for prayer, and for self-examination. It begins quietly with ashes and builds in intensity as the observance of Christ’s death and resurrection grow closer. Ultimately, the purpose of Lent is a pilgrimage to put the Gospel in motion in a convicting, empowering, and personal way.
In the Old Testament, God used feasts and festivals to bring a rhythm and balance to Israelite worship. This was accomplished by providing structure to the recounting of God’s great works, providing seasons of confession and celebration, and looking forward to God’s promises. The Christian Church year gives us some of the same balance and rhythm in walking through the life of Christ in a way that essentially walks us through the Gospel.

So as we enter the season of Lent you might notice the worship taking on a more subdued and reflective character of the season. This will then contrast with the excitement and praise of Easter and the season of Pentecost.
May we all experience the joy that comes with living in Christ, as we individually and corporately seek throughout the season of Lent.
Grace and Peace,
Brian Miller, Creative Director
Posted in Blog
Thank You Church Family
Dear Vine Community,
I wanted to take a moment to report on our church finances and celebrate with you our year end giving.
As many of you may know, December is the most critical calendar month for the church’s budget. For this past December, we projected giving to be approximately $126,000 and I’m excited to report that it actually came in at about $156,000 which is our largest giving month ever. This puts us back on target for reaching our expected giving budget this fiscal year and is a 7.5% lift over last year’s annual budget.
Additionally, the staff has done a great job managing expenses and so we are about $20,000 above our projected cash level.
In the coming days, please take a moment to thank God for his constant faithfulness and blessings that he provides our church.
Thank you again for your generosity. It is because of your generosity that we are able to work as a church family to advance the Kingdom and minister to people not only in Forsyth county, but all over the world.
Mark Pugh,
Director, Loving Our Community and Operations
p.s. You should have received your Year End Contribution Statement by now. If you have not, please contact the church office.
Posted in Blog
Mission Possible
If you’ve been to The Vine more than once, you know about our mission statement – the 3 Loves. They are:
Loving God through continuous Worship
Loving Each other through Small Groups
Loving Our Community through Service
Last year we introduced part of our philosophy for Loving Our Community under the theme of “STEMS,” (aka Short Term Mission Trips). STEMS seemed an appropriate acronym considering its relationship to our church name, The Vine. In reality, stems serve to keep a vine’s leaves, flowers and fruits in the light! And so too, do our short term missions trips help to keep the members and attenders of The Vine walking in the light as an example of Jesus as we serve the poor, oppressed and marginalized in our regional, national and international communities. A simple 4-7 day trip for one of us, offered as a sacrifice of time and effort, not only refocuses our own spirits on the mind of Christ but also reminds us of the importance of bringing the light and hope of Jesus to others around the globe.
The STEMS team took three trips in 2011. In June we had teams in Haiti and Kenya, Africa. In July, another team traveled to West Virginia. A number of testimonials were shared as a result of the phenomenal work done in and through each team member by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This year, The Vine missions team is seeking God’s blessing to send out 5 teams:
- Haiti – In mid to late June, our high school kids will be working with Young Life at a school, delivering the Gospel message, and providing food to those in need.
- New Orleans (inner city) – In mid to late June, our middle school kids are planning a trip to an urban environment to share the love of Christ.
- Fairmount, West Virginia – From July 21 - 28, we will be attending the Day Spring Camp sponsored by Missions to the World (MTW). While there, the team will be repairing a home and providing one-on-one evangelism to those in need.
- Haiti – From July 14 – 21, we will again be working with MTW (more details to come).
- Peru – From December 9 – 15, we will be working with Face to Face Missions to bring Christmas to 3 orphanages. We also have room for a medical team and a construction team to work on different projects at the orphanages (more details to come).
STEMS is not a program of The Vine, it is part of who we are. Maybe you’ve thought about going on a trip but have been afraid that you wouldn’t have anything to contribute. Perhaps you have been a faithful prayer warrior for those that go on missions trips, but haven’t prayed about going on a trip yourself. Perhaps you have traveled somewhere before and offered others the same hope that Christ has offered you, but didn’t consider that mission’s work. The question today is not, “Should I go this time?” The question today is, “How can I not go this time?”
May the Lord guard and guide you in your own life of ministry this year. As you seek His plan and purpose regarding missions, please contact missions@
Be blessed, encouraged and hopeful in Him,
Alex and Holly Compton
Alex and Holly Compton are members of The Vine. Alex serves as the Director of STEMS, and Holly recently served as the Director of The Vine Fall Festival. In addition, Alex and Holly lived as missionaries in Peru for more than a year before returning to Atlanta and joining The Vine.
Posted in Blog
Igniting a Life of Generosity
Jeff & Andrea Hancock – listening to God
Mark & Rhonda Pugh – Trusting God in the big and the little
Andy Goddard – at the Edge
God had to take Andy to the brink of losing everything before Andy was truly willing to give his entire life to God and trust Him with everything, including his career and companies, which is where many men try to find their identity.
Chuck Beckman – All In
When the economy took a back slide a few years ago, Chuck Beckman lost most of his “earthly” wealth. But it was through that loss that he came to realize God was calling him to a higher wealth that could only come from letting go of everything here on Earth and fully living for and trusting in God.
Feel free to jump into to one of the new groups reading through the Generosity study guide by Gordon MacDonald.
The new Small Groups are:
Sunday Mornings, 9-10:30 am, Auditorium A at The Vine
(childcare will be available)
Led by Martin & Nancy Click, click.martin@gmail.com
Sunday Evenings, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, at The Vine
led by Mike & Debbie Smith, michael.smith@gridgistics.net
Posted in Blog
Epiphany Prayer Meditation: Awakening
The picture I (Jon Adams) see is really not just about The Vine, it’s about the Kingdom of God where He is restoring lives, families, churches, our community and the world by the power of the gospel. I see The Vine as one fire that God is lighting in North Georgia. We should continue to stoke the fire at The Vine and connect with and stoke the other fires that He is igniting in North Georgia.
We are believing God and throughout this week of prayer closing with Epiphany that through the gospel of Jesus that He will cause our . . .
Hearts, Minds and Hands to be ignited.
Ephesians 5:8-14 New International Version (NIV)
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Ezekiel 37:1-14 New International Version (NIV)
1 The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’”
Reflect on the following:
When I pray for revival I pray first for the most radical thing: The utter devotion and allegiance of your hearts to Christ. That you would love Him so deeply and long for Him so passionately that His coming would be your great hope, and death would be gain, and life would be for Christ and His kingdom.
John Piper Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, What Happens When You Die? July 25, 1993
Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late – and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work.
A.W. Tozer
There is need of a great revival of spiritual life, of truly fervent devotion to our Lord Jesus, of entire consecration to His service. It is only in a church in which this spirit of revival has at least begun, that there is any hope of radical change in the relation of the majority of our Christian people to mission work.
Andrew Murray
Ask the Lord to reveal to you through His Holy Spirit:
How you can turn from the darkness around you and in you and experience His light and love?
Ask God to ignite our hearts as we come out of our 1st initiative, “Igniting a Life of Ministry” and enter into our 2nd initiative , “Igniting a Life of Generosity”, starting on Sunday, January 8.
Pray that all Christians, churches and leaders in and around Forsyth County will have their hearts, minds and hands lit on fire with a desire for God and His glory.
Fasting Recommendations and Guidelines
Tags: Epiphany | Posted in Blog
