This week is National Vineyard Conference week, this year in the beautiful mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. Black Mountain, to be specific. At Ridgecrest Conference Center to be even more specific. Sunday evening began for pastors with an evening gathering/party sponsored by Convoy of Hope, Intl. It started with the typical chaos of Vineyard pastors and friends seeing one another after a gap of one to four years – in a word, LOUD! (boisterously, happily LOUD!) We enjoyed food and music and conversations as well as a brief presentation by the host ministry (way too much to get into here, so, if interested to get more info, just do a search of Convoy of Hope, Int’l and there’ll be tons of great news and videos to give you a better idea of all the miraculous work they do.
The main conference began Monday evening with dinner (Avilas, Caughlins, Andersons all arrived safely), then the Main Session. Worship, as you might expect with somewhere between 1000-2000 Vineyardites together, was explosive, and yes, loud! (as in, SO GOOD loud). Our US National Director, Jay Pathak and his wife, Danielle, did a beautiful talk on recognizing, and moving through, the three seasons of life, based on the life of Joseph from the book of Genesis. Gripping, heartwarming, pulling no punches, vulnerable, and intimate, they laid out the realities, and the blessings, of walking as friends of God.
This week has been organized differently from Conferences in the past. The theme is: Making All Things New. We have a new National Board, a new Vineyard National structure, a new and fresh take on our mission with God in the world. In all, a very promising approach to the current challenges of our world. It is with great enthusiasm we look to these changes and the refreshed structure of this week. We’ll keep you posted.
Blessings on your week. Enjoy Romans 5:1-11 every day this month as you are able. PD
Don graduated from Regent University in 1988 and moved to France for seven years, coming back to the US briefly to marry Sue in 1990. The work in France included working in a Christian School and helping plant a church before returning in 1995. He’s been pastor of Peninsula Vineyard since 1999. He enjoys counseling, especially married couples, traveling back to France (with Sue), reading, doing Sudoku puzzles and sleuthing out good, dark chocolate. Don serves as the senior pastor of the Vineyard Church Peninsula, in Newport News, Virginia.