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John Wimber
(1934-1997) was the founding pastor of the Anaheim Vineyard and
leader of the Vineyard movement, which now numbers nearly 1,200
churches worldwide. He authored several books, including Power
Evangelism and Power Healing. An average Christian man pursuing
his faith - "just a fat man going to heaven," - he would say,
when God called him to a much larger task: to lead the Church
into dynamic renewal. He learned - and taught us - to touch God
in worship, to move in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to see
God's Kingdom break out everywhere. Before his death in November
of 1997, this ordinary man of faith had been raised up as an
international speaker, a best-selling author, pastor of the
Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Anaheim,
California, and founder of the Vineyard Movement worldwide.
. . .
Here at Vineyard Church of Cedar Rapids, we strive to keep the vision of John Wimber alive and well. John's biblical message of the Kingdom Ministry of Jesus, his practical examplesof 'Doin'
Jesus' Stuff', and his encouragement that "everybody can play" are key components to the life and vibrancy of the ministry we oversee here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The more things change, the more things stay the same. The Apostle Paul implied in one of his letters to God's people that we have many blessed "brothers and sisters" walking alongside us in our Christian journey, but we have very few "fathers" in the faith. In this "fatherless" generation in which we live, I'm so thankful that God brought John Wimber into my life.
Amazingly, our actual contact with one another was very limited. I suppose I spent time with John only three or four times between 1982 and 1997. One of the most memorable was sharing a round of golf with John in Chicago in 1986. At one point after viewing one of my typically miserable shots, he turned to me and wryly commented, "In all my years of golfing, I've never seen anyone play three fare-ways while attempting to play only ONE hole!."
Yet despite the limited contact, John became my spiritual father & mentor and my life (all except my golf game!) has been transformed through his. I know that only Jesus Christ can make real-life transformation in a person's life, but for me, I stand amazed at how a simple "fat man who was just trying to get to heaven" was used by our Father to give me so much.
I will be eternally thankful to our God for John Wimber and the life and ministry of Jesus that flowed through his life. I'm equally thankful that John & Carol Wimber faithfully followed the voice of the Lord which came to John that night in a Detroit hotel room in 1976, saying, "John, I've seen YOUR ministry (...and I'm not that impressed) but now I would like to show you MINE!"
Thanks, John...we'll see you on the "other side"...when practice is over and the "real game" begins!
- Senior Pastor Marty Boller
At a Vineyard Pastor’s conference in July, 1991, John Wimber, founding pastor of the Vineyard Churches, taught on ten areas of ministry that are essentials to any Vineyard Church. John called these areas the Vineyard Genetic Code because they make up the common denominators that build us as a family. In Vineyard Churches, we typically experience…
- Clear, accurate biblical teaching.
- Contemporary worship in the freedom of the Spirit.
- The gifts of the Spirit in operation.
- An active small group ministry.
- Ministry to the poor, widows, orphans, and those who are broken.
- Physical healing with special emphasis on signs and wonders as seen in the Book of Acts.
- A commitment to missions: church planting at home and world missions abroad.
- Unity within the whole Body of Christ, a relationship with other local churches.
- Evangelistic outreach.
- Equipping the saints in areas such as discipleship, ministry, serving, giving, finances, family, etc.
Over
the last ten years, we have had literally hundreds of people from
around the world, come to this webpage to view some of the John Wimber
articles that have meant so much to us. Effective July 1, 2008,
Christy Wimber and the Wimber family have now brought together ALL of
John Wimber's articles and papers and are making them available through
the following resources (see below). PLEASE LINK to these sources for
ALL the material we have published on this page in the past! THANKS for
your understanding.
The
John Wimber Collection
at Regent University Library
Carol Wimber has kindly and generously donated John
Wimber’s papers to Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. This valuable collection not only puts the material in safe keeping
but also makes it available for, particularly, PhD students at Regents. For more information click on the above link.
ALL other JOHN WIMBER ARTICLES and INTERVIEWS are now available from Christy Wimber @ www.yorbalindavineyard.com
LISTEN to this VINEYARD CLASSIC by Ed Piorek. In this talk, Vineyard pastor Ed Piorek
describes John Wimber's three key ingredients of “Classic Vineyard”...1.
Intimate worship, 2. Teaching on the Kingdom, and 3. Kingdom Ministry.
Ed shared this talk at the Anaheim, CA Vineyard in May, 1998.
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CLASSIC VINEYARD by Ed Piorek (59 min)
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