Greetings!

I want to thank those of you who gave financially, donated and/or served towards making this year’s Back to School Giveaway possible. We were able to provide 356 backpacks, filled with school supplies, to children in need!

You can watch the event recap video that I showed last weekend by clicking below:

3. Give – Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who have continued to give financially back to God, through the Vineyard, during COVID-19. There is a lot of ministry that is still happening out of our church, in our community and around the world. We’re only able to do those things because of your and my financial giving to God, through our church.

With the prolonged restrictions on meeting in person due to the pandemic, the pastoral team has been thinking of ways that we can combat the distance and isolation that so many are feeling. We also want to create some additional discipleship opportunities.

Starting on Tuesday, July 28th at 7:00pm, we will run six weeks of our 2016 campaign called, “50 Days of Transformation” online at vcnp.online.church.

In this campaign, we asked God to transform our spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, relational and financial health.

Every session will include one of my messages from the “Transformed” campaign and there is a daily devotional reading plan that’s available free on the YouVersion Bible app!

This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone in our church who wants to transform their spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, relational and financial health.

Lastly, as I’ve mentioned before, we are looking at some time in August to reopen for in person services. However, I wanted to let you know that we will NOT be opening on the weekend of August 1st – 2nd. I will keep you updated about future potential opening dates.

Blessings,

Brian

P.S. While we can’t meet in person right now, I want to remind you that YOU are the church! The building isn’t the church – – we are!

So, as the church I want to ask you to do something. This week, will you call a few of the people you know from church, tell them you are thinking about them, that you miss them and that you look forward to seeing them when we get back together? Maybe even ask if there is something you can pray for them about!

I know those phone calls will encourage them and remind them that the church is still functioning well – – even if our church buildings aren’t open.

Greetings!

Despite the many challenges that COVID-19 has brought, God has still been working through Vineyard Church of North Phoenix!

During COVID-19:

● Our food bank has served over 1,700 households.
● We estimate that we have given between 25,000 – 35,000 pounds of food away.
● We have had 249 first-time guests join us for church online.
● There have been 30 first-time commitments and 91 recommitments to Jesus. Yeah, God!
● Our ministry team has completed 533 live prayers during our online services.
● Our Single Moms’ Spa Day drive-thru event gave gift bags loaded with great things to 250 single moms.
● Our Back to School Giveaway supplied 356 backpacks to children in need.
● We provided food and cleaning supplies to 600 families through our partnership with Convoy of Hope.

Now, you might be thinking, “That is all great! But, how can I get involved?” I’m so glad you asked! Here are a few ways that you can get involved at the Vineyard during COVID-19:

1. Pray – Many of the questions that we are facing during COVID-19 can only be answered by prayer! Please, pray for our church and staff as they continue to work to serve Jesus and further the Kingdom of God. If you would like to receive our “Weekly Church-Wide Prayer List,” you can sign up for it.

2. Connect – Stay connected by joining our Facebook live events and attending a Small Group. There is a lot of ministry that happens every week in our Small Groups! If you aren’t in a Small Group yet, we have many that are currently meeting online, in person, and both! You can find more information about joining a Small Group on our website.

3. Give – Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who have continued to give financially back to God, through the Vineyard, during COVID-19. There is a lot of ministry that is still happening out of our church, in our community and around the world. We’re only able to do those things because of your and my financial giving to God, through our church.

4. Attend – God is continually trying to disciple each one of us and make us into the image of His Son, Jesus. One of the main ways God does that is through the Bible teaching you are receiving each week during our weekend services! So, please prioritize our online weekend services!

I hope to see you online this weekend as I teach about, “How to Escape From Temptation.” Blessings,
Brian

P.S. As I said in my email last week, we are looking at some time in August to reopen for in person services. There is not much more to update you on regarding our reopen as the large gathering ban implemented by Governor Ducey does not expire until July 27th.

Greetings!

One of Thora’s sayings over the years has been, “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken!” And that’s never been needed more than during COVID-19!

Last week, the Governor put out new guidelines, in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona. So, while we deeply desire to reopen our in person services, we feel it would be irresponsible to do so at this time.

We are currently looking at August as a time to reopen for in person services.

I’ll make sure to update you and communicate with you clearly as that date gets closer!

Until we regather on our campus, please continue meeting in your Small Groups during the week.

But, here’s my real challenge to you: Continue to invite people to join us online at Vineyard Church of North Phoenix!

Think about it this way, who is the last person you’ve invited to join you at a service online?

If it’s been a while, I challenge you to get out your phone right now and send that text, post something to social, send an evite, etc.

Let’s continue to be outward-focused! We must not lose sight of loving and caring for those around us who don’t know Jesus!

If you weren’t able to watch the service last weekend, I taught about, “How to Break an Addiction or a Bad Habit.” You can watch that service here.

I hope to see you online this weekend. I am praying for you!

Blessings,

Brian

P.S. Our Back to School Giveaway is coming up THIS Saturday, July 11th.

Each year, we provide new backpacks and grade-appropriate school supplies to local children (Kindergarten through 12th grade) in need of assistance.

This year, the giveaway will be a drive-thru event that follows social distancing guidelines.

For more information, or to RSVP to receive a backpack, please click below:

Greetings,

Do you have any bad habits, or addictions, that you would like to break?

Or, maybe YOU don’t have any bad habits, but you know someone who does, and you would like THEIR bad habits broken!

Either way, this weekend I am going to teach you what the Bible says about breaking a bad habit or an addiction.

This will be a life-changing weekend for many of us!

Don’t forget, it has never been easier to invite someone to Vineyard Church of North Phoenix! Just send a text or a Facebook message to a friend, or family member, and ask them to join us online this weekend.

Another great way to invite someone to the Vineyard is by sending an evite from our website. All you have to do is invite them and then let God do the rest!

As you’ve probably seen, the number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Arizona continues to rise which has caused the Governor to put out new guidelines in an attempt to slow the spread. So, while we deeply desire to reopen our in person services, we feel it would be irresponsible to do so at this time. We will continue to monitor the situation and will reopen our in person services as soon as we feel it is prudent to do so. But, all along the way, we will keep you updated with our plans!

With that in mind, I can’t encourage you enough to make sure you stay connected to your church family through our weekend online services! God is continually trying to disciple each one of us, and make us into the image of His Son, Jesus. And, one of the main ways God does that is through the Bible teaching you receive each week during our weekend services! So, please prioritize our online weekend services!

We also have other digital services that will help disciple you – – things such as our weekly Online Schedule, Small Groups, Right Now Media and Discipleship Resources.

I hope to see you online this weekend. I am praying for you!

Blessings,

Brian

P.S. Our Back to School Giveaway is coming up on Saturday, July 11th.

Each year we provide new backpacks & grade-appropriate school supplies to local children (Kindergarten through 12th grade) in need of assistance.

This year, the giveaway will be a drive-thru event that follows social distancing guidelines.

For more information, and to RSVP to receive a backpack, click below:

Greetings,

I want to thank you again for being so understanding as we try to navigate these constantly changing times we are living in!

The decision to not reopen last weekend was extremely difficult to make, but I do believe that we made the best decision for Vineyard Church of North Phoenix at the time.

Last weekend, I started a new series called, “Breaking Free From Besetting Sins.” If you were not able to attend church online with us, please find some time this week to watch the first message in this series because it really sets the foundation for the rest of the series and I want you to get everything out of this series that God has for you!

As I said in my update last weekend, we are looking at reopening for in person services on a week to week basis. With COVID cases continuing to rise at the moment, we have decided to NOT REOPEN this weekend (June 20-21) or next weekend (June 27-28).

So, the soonest we would reopen would be July 4-5. But, as I said earlier, we are looking at this week to week. I will continue to update you about reopening as we go along.

Please pray that the Lord would continue to lead us in this!

I look forward to seeing you online this weekend as I talk more about “Breaking Free From Besetting Sins”!

Blessings,

Brian

Greetings!

I know most of you have been seeing that the COVID-19 infection rates in Arizona are really rising fast over the past couple of weeks. With this in mind, we have made the decision that we need to NOT reopen for in-person services this weekend. We want to err on the side of caution concerning this. 

One of the ways that God sometimes speaks to us about a decision is if we have peace or not. As your pastor, I need to be honest with you and tell you that, at this time I do not have peace about reopening our church for in person services this coming weekend.

It is important that you know that this decision is not being made out of fear, but out of the love and responsibility that we have for you.

You might wonder, “When will we reopen for in person services then if we aren’t going to do it this weekend?” The answer is we just don’t know. We are not in a place to set a date at the moment. 

We will continue to pray about this, and look at the infection rates, along with what our health and governmental authorities are saying concerning this. We are going to look at this week to week, but we will always keep you updated with our thinking about this. And we will let you know as soon as we feel like we should reopen our in person services.

Even though we are not reopening this weekend for in person services, we will still be streaming our service as we have been doing in the past!

Like I wrote to you on Tuesday, I am beginning a brand-new series this weekend called, “Breaking Free From Besetting Sins.” I think it is going to be a liberating series for a lot of us! I don’t want you to miss the first talk in this series because it sets the foundation for the entire series! So, please make sure you prioritize being online this weekend for one of our services!

Thank you for your understanding as we try to navigate these constantly changing times we are living in!

I love you and I am praying for you and your family!

Love,

Brian