About us

Introduction

What do we believe? How is it shaping the way we live? Where are we going? How are we organised? Who gets to play? Are we accountable? These areas below will give you a few clues.

Oversight

We are part of Vineyard Churches (UK and Ireland). We carry the Vineyard name as a legal trademark as so, should we decide to head off in a radically different direction, the movement has the power to remove that name.

We are directly overseen by Ed and Clare Evans who lead the Salisbury Vineyard and are the Area Leaders..

We are part of the South Coast Region of Vineyard Churches, which is lead by Nigel and Jo Hemming from Winchester Vineyard

Vineyard Churches (UK and Ireland) is overseen by John & Debby Wright who founded and are on staff at the Trent Vineyard

Statement of Faith

We do not have a statement of faith, as such.  It is our understanding that the Nicene Creed (c.325AD) was meant to be a unifying statement of common belief of the church of Jesus Christ. It seems to us that to try to re-define that can only have the purpose of dividing, as it can only be a statement of what distinguishes us from other parts of the body.

Here is the Nicene Creed:

WE BELIEVE in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one, holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.

 

Note: Vineyard Churches does have a statement which we (as members of Vineyard Churches) are not required to sign up to.  There are few key elements about it with which we are not in agreement.

Oversight team

The Oversight team is made up of those who are leaders within the church. It is not a democracy but functions as a group of people bringing their thoughts, wisdom, and counsel to the mix. Con, Jo , Nick, Crystal and Jo Spicer Sweeney form the main core “decision-making” group although Con and Jo maintain final authority. It would be a foolish person, however, to ignore the sage advice of this group! For profiles of the leaders Click here or on the individual links below.

Con & Jo Williams (Pastors)

Nick Thomas

Crystal Mintram

Jo Spicer Sweeney

Trustees

The church is a limited company (no. 3039060) and a registered charity (no. 1045724). As required by law, the church has a board of directors / trustees. These people are responsible for the financial and legal decisions in the church. Should things go badly wrong, it would be these people in prison!

Within the Vineyard as a movement, the trustees’ do not so much set the agenda as seek to act as a check and balance to ensure that the agenda is affordable and legal! As John Wimber famously said, “your job is to keep the senior pastor out of jail and out of the red”.

The trustees meet every three months (unless there is something specific to discuss).

Currently, the trustees are:

Dave Panaech (Chair of Trustees)

Matt Cope

Steve Craddock

Ann Galbraith

Andy Deakin