Reflections from Vineyard NLC 2020

Last week 1,500 leaders from across the Vineyard movement gathered in Nottingham for three days of meeting with God, inspiring one another and inviting the Kingdom to come here on earth!

The main talks from NLC are available now, have a listen to the likes of John Mark Comer, John & Debby Wright and Taryn Freeland:


 
The gift of leadership is it will expose the inner architecture of our hearts – our trust structures, our motivations, and our source of emotional energy.
— John Mark Comer

30 leaders from Birmingham Vineyard were able to attend and here are some of their reflections:

80871492_10220134179325666_4985113852648620032_n.jpg

My last visit to a Vineyard NLC was well over 15yrs ago, somewhere on the south coast where the attendance was a few hundred.

What the Lord has done with this movement over the last 20yrs is nothing short of miraculous, with over fifteen hundred gathering for this years conference.  Had John Wimber lived to see this event, his credulity would have been stretched.  Here is living testimony to the power of that move of the Spirit many of us began to experience in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

It was an awesome privilege to catch up with so many of the young women and men who were sent out from the Birmingham Vineyard full of faith to plant churches and extend the Kingdom.

The priority of worship as our highest calling was beautifully affirmed, as was the expectation that God would presence Himself among us in word and deed.

There is expectation and excitement in the movement as the ‘Roaring of the Twenties’ this time around is seen as a new move of God in our nation and around the globe.

-Bill


I’d pulled my back on the Tuesday morning and it was causing me discomfort at the conference, particularly standing to worship. I was taking pain killers to help.

I responded to a prophetic word about eyes as I also had a returning eye infection. After I was prayed for, I realised that my back had been completely healed. (I realised this when it dawned on me that the pain killers I took in the morning should have run out but I had no pain) My eye infection didn’t get any worse and cleared up without antibiotics by the end of the week.

Sometimes God does the unexpected! 

-Jo


God was obviously at work across the movement and from the very first session you could sense there was a hunger for God and more of the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit.

I saw Jo’s back healed - once again God is cool!

Sessions on Unlocking Entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and How to Raise up a Culturally Diverse Leadership Team were two of my most challenging seminars - I’m trying to listen to how God wants me to respond to both talks, which has really challenged me to pray differently and to be more expectant for change

Obviously the key speakers and main sessions were powerful times where God moved significantly, my favourite main sessions were the legacy video and Andrew’s intercession for the nations!

I came away excited about what God has for us, as a movement and also challenged to pray into what my part will be.

-Cap


 
Cap & Jo small1.png

PHOTO-2019-10-24-15-44-33.jpg
 

During NLC the things that had the biggest impact for me were the interview with Carol Wimber, which gave me a new love for the Vineyard movement and an excitement for the future, and the marriage seminar done by Andrew and Rosie, which provided very helpful tools for growing closer together in the midst of everyday life.

There are also some things which I heard and need to spend some more time thinking about what they mean for me, particularly John Wright's message about just giving what gifts I have over to God and leaving responsibility for what happens next with Him, but trusting that He is in the business of multiplication.  Also the John Mark Comer talk about not operating out of our shadow side but in full surrender to God was very significant - I think I will need to listen to that again though to seek to apply it in my life.

-Tony

Foodbank & Growbaby Generosity

An update on Foodbank & Growbaby

December and January have brought many donations through our doors, from generous people across Birmingham!


Foodbank

Over 450 bags of food and toiletries were donated through the Reverse Advent Calendar scheme in 2019!

Schools, businesses, individuals and families got involved; thank you to everyone who donated items and did acts of kindness over Advent. A special thanks to Lordswood School, Bartley Green School, DWP, The Developer Group, Mott McDonald and HSBC for their donations. 

With so many donations coming in, we had a cracking team of small groups come to sort the food into bags for distribution. In just over an hour, 36 volunteers sorted 187 bags of food and toiletries!

The bags are now being distributed to our partner agencies including Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid, South and City College, Ravenhurst Cottages, Adavu, West Midlands Anti-Slavery Network, Aspire, Homeless Patient Pathway at City and Sandwell Hospitals. 

Some donations reached families in time for Christmas. One mum, who had nothing for her kids for Christmas, was overjoyed at receiving Foodbank bags and some selection boxes. The women helped by W.A.I.T.S. (Women Acting In Today’s Society) were in tears as they received food and toiletries because they had nothing and were so grateful. 

Thank you for your donations which bless so many!

Growbaby

The Growbaby programme is in its 4th year and have helped over 1100 families with thousands of donations from people across Birmingham.

Believing that no child under 5 should go without, Growbaby supplies free equipment, toys and nearly new clothing to families in need, and also offers a Stay and Play group which provides community amongst families each week.

In December and January we saw a huge amount of donations coming in from people around Birmingham, and also a large number of agency workers calling in need of baby supplies for their clients as the holiday season can be so difficult.

Growbaby volunteers serve a wide variety of people from different backgrounds, some who have come from extremely difficult circumstances.

A Growbaby story…

An Iranian couple were two of the first visitors to Growbaby. The mum was 8 months pregnant and had just travelled through 9 countries - including a long stay in the Calais ‘jungle’ - to get to safety. They had very little English and were staying in emergency accommodation with nothing for their new baby. At Growbaby we were able to equip them with everything they needed to welcome this little one to the world. We continued to see them, and 2 years later they had another little girl. Over time they collected items from Growbaby that they needed. On one occasion they were gifted a brand-new double buggy still in its box from a friend. Instead of keeping the new buggy, they gave it to Growbaby and kept their old buggy! They dearly wanted someone in their position to have something new. Their journey has been a rocky one, but throughout they have never once complained and have always taken opportunities to give thanks with overflowing and generous hearts.


If you would like to get involved in the Foodbank or Growbaby programmes, or would like more information on how to engage your work or school groups with giving donations, please contact us at info@birminghamvineyard.com

Thank you for your generosity in 2019!

21 Days of Prayer & Fasting

Prayer poster 2021_Page_1.jpg

You’re invited to join with other Vineyard churches across the UK and Ireland in intentionally praying and fasting during January.

For 21 days, beginning 6th Jan, we’ll be praying together for God’s will to be done here on earth as in heaven.

Here are some prayer points for you to use, as a suggested guide for our times of prayer as a movement:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:6-7

Disciple Course

New teaching series launching in January -
The Disciple Course!

At Birmingham Vineyard we want to equip people to live life to the full, with purpose, freedom and friends. Our new teaching series is all about this.


‘Disciple’ is a 10-week course designed to aid people in taking hold of their freedom found in Jesus, understand their identity, resolve spiritual issues and see personal transformation. Disciple’s content applies to everyone - whether you have had faith for a long time, or have recently started on the journey.

 
IMG_4928.jpg
 

Disciple & Small Groups

We will be preaching through the course on Sundays, but the very best place to dig deeper and get the most out of the series will be within your small group where conversations will be continued with plenty of space for discussion and prayer.

If you’re not in a small group yet and are interested in getting involved, simply go to the Welcome Area during a Sunday services and our team will help you find one that is a good fit for you.


Further Disciple Resources

 
disciple-app.png
 

There is also a participant’s guide for the course, which is designed as a journal, with plenty of space for notes, key teaching points for each session, and Chat and Reflect questions. Our small groups will be using this guide during discussions. If you’d like a copy of the guide, simply go to your favourite book distributor and search “Disciple Participants Guide”.

If regular reminders and short devotionals would be helpful to you, then check out the Disciple app! It contains daily devotionals for free, plus access to each week’s starter film and daily content related to the course. More information on the app can be found at http://www.ficm.org.uk/disciple-app


 
Participants Guide.jpg

Foodbank Reverse Advent

YOUR GENEROSITY WITH FOODBANK DONATIONS MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN OUR CITY!

Reverse Advent is happening throughout December, a time for you and your family to spread joy to some of the most vulnerable in Birmingham. We’re collecting Foodbank donations through the Reverse Advent calendar which you can pick up at any of our Sunday services and you’re welcome to participate.

Foodbank Advent calendar.jpg
In October we had a woman arrive to our Safe House. It was her first time in Birmingham and she arrived with no money and very little belongings. She had been a victim of domestic abuse and forced marriage, experiencing abuse on a daily basis. She was referred to settle into temporary accommodation, and we were able to provide her with a food and toiletry bag from your Foodbank. She shared with us: “When the support worker handed the food parcels and toiletries donations, I could not stop crying. I gave a big hug to the worker. Thank you so much.
— WAITS (Women Acting In Today’s Society)
We would like to thank the congregation at Birmingham Vineyard for your incredibly generous donations of toiletry and Foodbank bags to our project. Your bags are contributing to our SafePlace project. They are given to male survivors of human trafficking, modern slavery and exploitation when they are first identified and taken to a safe place to recover. For many of our service users they will arrive with very few personal items and often only the clothes on their back, so being able to give them these items is an invaluable gesture of kindness.
— West Midlands Anti Slavery Network
 
IMG_3264.JPG

For more information or to arrange workplace/large group donations, contact us at info@birminghamvineyard.com

Big Church November 2019

What a fun Big Church celebration we had on Sunday!

THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME, AND ESPECIALLY TO ALL THE AMAZING VOLUNTEERS THAT HELPED MAKE IT HAPPEN.

We heard some incredible God stories about people being emotionally or physically healed over the last few months, and got to celebrate four people being baptised!. There was a great talk by Andrew McNeil, powerful ministry time and worship, and great community time over pizza after the service.

See you at the next Big Church on Sunday, 29th March!

Christmas Services @ BV

We have loads of different events happening this Christmas period for you to get involved in.

We'd love to celebrate the festive season with you! 


All services happen at the following locations and times (unless otherwise specified):

SOUTH SITE

University of Birmingham School
12 Weoley Park Road
Selly Oak
B29 6QU

11:00 Service

CITY CENTRE SITE

Network House
174 Barford Street
Digbeth
B5 7EP

10:30 & 17:30 Services


2019 12 Advent.jpg

5th Annual Big Quiz

What a great time was had by all at the Big Quiz 2019!

For the first time ever, the Quiz was at two locations and everyone enjoyed fish & chips, playing games and taking a shot at tough questions.

Thanks to all who came out, and for the awesome team that put it all together. See you again next year!

No City Centre AM Service 13th October - Birmingham Half Marathon

This Sunday, 13th October is the Birmingham Half Marathon and due to all roads surrounding the City Centre site being blocked off, we are unable to hold the 10:30am service.

You are welcome to join us for an informal time of cheering on the runners from 10:15am, or feel free to join one of our other Sunday services:

11:00 South Site (B29 6QU)

17:30 City Centre (B5 7EP)

For more information about road closures, go to https://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-run/event-info or see map below.

2019 - Half Marathon route.jpg

Kingdom Impact 2019 Recap

God’s presence was powerfully touching lives at the Kingdom Impact conference!

It was so great to have guests from across the country join us at Kingdom Impact this weekend for Spirit-filled worship, prayer and teaching.

I had 2 health conditions coming into the conference; eye cataracts and prostate enlargement. I received prayer at the conference and the people praying for me stopped three times to check in to see if there was any improvement. Each time there was gradual change in my eyesight. I don’t know about my prostate yet, but what I can say is that my eye cataract is healed! I wanted to testify to what has happened and what God has done.
Thank you God!
— Kingdom Impact attendee
I’ve been going to church since I can remember. Recently I’ve really struggled with my faith and particularly the Holy Spirit, particularly during ministry. Since becoming a Christian I’ve only ever gone up for ministry 2 times - despite the lord prompting me at other times. I tended to have run away or disengaged, mainly out of fear - this became super clear to me at the last KI conference but Ieft it at that and still avoided ministry. Throughout the weekend hearing so many amazing stories and seeing God move in such an incredible way, I felt my heart pounding so frequently. During the last session Blaine mentioned different groups of people he felt God wanted to bless. I really resonated to all of these and yet stayed in my seat. Then I took a gamble and went up. I have never ever felt the Holy Spirit like I did that evening when being prayed for. God spoke so clearly and I am still shaken up. Even this morning my heart is still pounding. I know there’s a lot more to come and I can’t wait!!
Thank you for all the work that went into this conference. The space provided has really helped me to grow deeper in my faith and hear from God so powerfully.
— Kingdom Impact attendee

If you’d like to share how God touched your life through the weekend, head to bvc.so/kistories and tell us all about it!

Foodbank Bags Bring Hope

Your generosity with Foodbank donations makes a difference in our city!

It’s Harvest Sunday this weekend, a time to thank God for what He’s given us and to extend generosity to others. We’re collecting Foodbank donations at all our Sunday services and you’re welcome to participate.

IMG_3264.JPG

Here’s recent story of hope from a Foodbank bag recipient:

“Mary” was referred to a charity which supports victims of trafficking and abuse. She has two young children and no recourse to public funds. Mary had met her ex-boyfriend in the UK eight years ago and when Mary was with him, he forced her into prostitution to give him money. She suffered from physical, emotional and financial abuse inflicted by him. She was hospitalised for one month once as a result. She didn’t report him because she was scared she would be sent back to her home country. When she found herself pregnant, he said he didn’t want the baby and left her when the child was one month old. 

Mary speaks only very basic English and has no family support in this country. Mary and her two children are currently staying in a small place with no kitchen. The family only gets £50 per week and they are struggling and relying on food banks for mere survival. 

The regular food parcel & the toiletries donations from Vineyard Church have made a big difference to her family. These are things she cannot afford to buy. They are thankful and feel someone cares. Sometimes Mary feels embarrassed to access the local food banks due to the language barrier. Her support worker from an agency that Vineyard partners with, can collect the food parcels from Vineyard Church and Mary can receive them directly from her support worker when she attends programmes at the agency.

Mary is not a Christian but she has started going to a local church because she believes it must be God who arranged the Vineyard Church to help her family.

Harvest.jpg

Every Foodbank bag you donate is given to agency workers who tirelessly work to support and encourage individuals and families like Mary.

Join us this Sunday for Harvest and bring your Foodbank donations to a service.

For a list of Foodbank items that we are collecting, click here:

Vision: A Fresh Call

Birmingham Vineyard exists to help people follow Jesus, live life to the full and make a difference. Our vision is to start groups, communities and congregations, where people can encounter God.


A few words from Andrew and Rosie, our Senior Pastors:

Dear friends,

Welcome back to a new term, we hope you’ve had a refreshing summer! This Autumn we’re upgrading the way we talk about our vision as a church. Clear vision helps people know why we do what we do. It puts both the significant and the small acts of sacrifice in context. It helps to unite, mobilise and engage every person.

This is not about us coming up with a new vision. This is the same vision but with new clarity. It’s who we’re called to be and what we’re called to do as Birmingham Vineyard.

This term we want every person in Birmingham Vineyard to understand the vision: to get it, know it and live it.

Get it

Do you know why we do what we do?

Know it

Do you know it well enough to be able to communicate it to a friend?

Live it

Are you living out the vision in our city?

Many blessings,

Andrew and Rosie

There are a set of icons designed specifically for this process. They are clear, visual and memorable, to help the vision stick. You can find our clarified vision and these icons by clicking here.

Job Vacancy - Senior Pastors Executive Assistant

Please Note: Applications for this post have now closed

We believe that administration is a crucial part of building God's Kingdom through the church and enabling the wider community to do the things God is calling us into.

If you have a head for admin and a heart for serving, you may be interested in this paid Senior Pastors Executive Assistant role!

As Executive Assistant you will provide the essential administration to support the Senior Pastors. This is a diverse role involving the coordination and management of the diary, representing the Senior Pastors in all forms of communication with people in Birmingham Vineyard, Vineyard Churches UK and I and the global Vineyard family of Churches. This role carries a genuine occupational requirement for a post holder who fully supports our Christian faith, values and ethos statement because of the centrality of the role in the organisation and the need to represent well the Senior Pastors and the church.

Download the full job description here

Email your complete applications (more detail on job description above) or any questions to: rosie@birminghamvineyard.com

Salary: Dependent on experience £20,000 - £26,000 (full time equivalent)
Length: 9-12 months fixed term contract.
Closing date: Tuesday, 13th August 2019

Summer Sundays 2019

Summer is here!

Over the summer we love to create a relaxed space for people to connect after our services. So if you're new and want to meet people, fancy a tasty treat or would love the chance to slow down and enjoy people's company after one of our services, come along!

Summer Services dates.png

Click here for more information about our great Community Fun Day event!

Big Church June 2019

What a fun Big Church celebration we had on Sunday!

Thanks to all who came, and especially to all the amazing volunteers that helped make it happen.

We heard some incredible God stories about Vineyard churches in Malawi, as well as the youth conference DTI and the young lives being impacted. There was a great talk by Adam Pipe, powerful ministry time and worship, and great community time over hot dogs after the service.

See you at the next Big Church on Sunday, 17th November!

Stories Behind The Songs

Following on from our New Music Tuesday blog post, over the next few months we are releasing song story videos for our new home-written music.


Here at Birmingham Vineyard, we’re really passionate about writing new songs so that we can give Jesus our love, and the praise He deserves, in fresh ways. Our heart is that these songs are ones that we can all own as a church and sing as one. With that in mind, we as songwriters would like to share the story behind each song to invite everyone on this journey.
— Jon Solway, Worship Pastor

We’re introducing 6 new songs over the next few months at church, and with each song we will be releasing a video telling the story behind the song. Check back each month to watch the next one!


September 2020

Here’s Jon & Ben talking about the new song, Lead Me In Your Love.


January 2020

Here’s Luke talking about the story behind the new song for this month:


November 2019- YOUR Love

Here’s Emily talking about the story behind the new song for this month:


OCTOBER 2019- PRAISE YOUR NAME

Here’s Milly talking about the story behind the new song for this month:


AUGUST 2019- REST IN YOUR PRESENCE

Here’s Ben & Emily talking about the story behind the new song for this month:


JULY 2019- CAPTURE MY ATTENTION

Here’s Ben & Jon talking about the story behind the new song for this month:


JUNE 2019- We Have Come (Still What You Do)

Here’s Marc talking about the story behind the new song for this month:


JANUARY 2018 - WAITING FOR ME

Here’s Luke talking about the story behind the new song for this month:

New Music Tuesday

Worship is one of our highest priorities as part of the Vineyard movement. We love how it builds up our faith, gives God the praise He deserves, reminds us who God is, and brings us to a place of intimacy with Jesus.


Psalm 96

1 Sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvellous deeds among all peoples.

4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.

IMG_0099.jpg

The Father is constantly on the move - just as Jesus says in John 5:17. He’s constantly working in our lives, constantly giving us new glimpses of His character. And so part of our response is naturally to be giving him a new song of praise - to thank Him for His new (and past) work, to tell others of His goodness in our lives, and to praise Him with new gratitude, insight and love for Him.

We want to be a people pursuing the Lord. As He continues to move in new ways, and in new areas, we want to be pursuing Him with a new offering of praise.

Therefore, over the next few months, we’ll be introducing quite a few new songs as part of our Sunday song lists. A number of these songs have been written by people in our community, people who call Birmingham Vineyard home.

We recognise that God is doing something unique in each of us, but also He’s doing something unique in our church. We are committed to songwriting to tell the story of God at work in us, and to pray for the more that is to come. We want to write songs that we can all own, and sing with a sense of family.

Our home written songs haven’t yet been recorded and released fully, but you can listen to the demos of the songs right here (see right). They are:

If you’d like to get a head-start on other songs that we are introducing at church, they are:

 

Team Appreciation Party

Last Friday, Birmingham Vineyard hosted a truly memorable Team Appreciation Party!

We would love to express our thanks to all of the amazing leaders and volunteers who serve on teams at Birmingham Vineyard! Check out this note from Andrew and Rosie, our Senior Pastors, expressing their gratitude to everyone who serves:

Dear team,

Birmingham Vineyard exists to help people follow Jesus, live life to the full and make a difference. You help that become a reality in all the different ways you serve. 

People often come out of a Sunday and say ‘What a great Sunday that was!" They often thank us but we know it’s because of you. People experience the presence of God, come to faith or their faith comes alive and your service makes that happen.  

You consistently go the extra mile. In fact we see many of you park round the corner to leave car park spaces for guests each Sunday. You come early and stay late and it's much appreciated. You open up your homes and lives to make space for those who are not part of community. You reach out to the wider city of Birmingham and beyond, to bring hope and practical help to many people in need.

What you do is seen, it’s appreciated and celebrated. Who you are is an inspiration and example to those you serve.

On Friday, we celebrated you with a great party! We want to say a special thank you to two incredible people who made the night memorable. Thank you to Reece Dougall, who made all the delicious food for the event. Thank you also to Andy Keast, who built all of the street food stalls which transformed the space and made a perfect setting for the party. 

Rosie and I, on behalf of the staff team and all the trustees want to thank you for all that you do in the life of our church.

Many blessings,

Andrew & Rosie McNeil

Photo credits to Daniel McNeil Photography

Thank you again for all those who came on Friday night!

If you aren’t currently serving on a team, we would love to help you find your fit. To express your interest in serving click the button below:

Velo Cycle Event - 12th May - Routes affecting services

Velo Cycle Event - Sunday, 12th May
Route information and road closures

This Sunday is the Velo Cycle event, which will impact routes to both our City Centre site and South Site.

Both sites are accessible and Sunday services will run as normal, but please plan your route ahead of time to assure plenty of time to get to church with the route changes.


If you travel by public transportation, you can find more information on how the event impacts bus and trains here: Velo Public Transport Routes

See map below to view access routes and road closures, and for more details go to https://www.velobirmingham.com/the-route/road-closures/

Velo Road Closures 12 May 2019_Page_1.jpg