In an environment where the main-stream thought is demanding that God be written out of our society...look at what our founding fathers wrote in our two states' constitutions...

With over 2,000,000 people living within 250 miles of our existing Vineyard churches here in Northwestern Illinois & the Mississippi River Cities of Iowa, how can we ignore Jesus' call to go make disciples of the estimated 60% or more of the population who are not regular church attenders?

It's in that spirit, that we call ourselves to a church planting effort here in NW Illinois & The Mississippi River Cities of Iowa that will extend the Kingdom of God in the Heartland of America.

With any new church planting effort, it's important to take a snapshot view of our current condition so we can better measure our future success. While not limited exclusively to numbers, it's important for us to look at these figures in order to arrive at a solid starting point.

Now, let's see what potential we have here in Iowa/Illinois in the years ahead. According to national church planting statistics, VineyardUSA suggests that one Vineyard church can adequately service a market base of up to 50,000 people. Adjusting those figures somewhat for our specific market, we've assembled a market survey that lists the top 27 markets in NW Illinois & The Mississippi River Cities of Iowa with a population of at least 40,000.

With markets that exceed 50,000, we suggest a second Vineyard church be planted for every group of 50,000. For example, in Winnebago County (Rockford), we foresee 5 Vineyards being planted to reach the nearly 285,000 people in the county.

35 Vineyard churches located strategically in the top 27 market bases (22 counties).

To achieve our dream, we immediately call our existing northwestern Illinois Vineyard churches to a renewed effort of recruiting, training & deploying church planters. This process begins through prayer and discernment. Who in our current churches are potential church planters? Who in our midst are potential pastors, worship leaders and ministry team leaders who can be sent out to start one of our 35 Vineyards here in NW Illinois & The River Cities of Iowa?

In fall, 2002 & 2004 our Midwest Vineyard region held church planting conferences in Chicago ..."A Cause to Live For, A Cause to Die For". Out of these conferences alone, Michael Gatlin (Church Planting Coordinator for our region) has pulled together a fresh full group of young people who are being stirred to church planting efforts. 

Feeling under-prepared? Don't worry. VineyardUSA offers a top-notch training program that includes both quality education and "hands-on" ministry training. Remember as well, that a successful church plant takes more than just one individual to oversee the effort. Just because you might not feel called or ready to head up a church plant, doesn't mean that God isn't calling YOU to be involved with our church planting efforts here in northwestern Illinois!

If you want more information, contact us! We want to hear your heart! Let's dialogue and see what the Father is doing in YOUR life. It could be that you are called to be a part of our dream to see 35 healthy Vineyards in Northwest Illinois & The Mississippi River Cities of Iowa by 2015.

So what's next????  It's as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Pray and talk to your senior pastor. Start talking about your dreams. Be courageous and follow through on those promptings you sense from God.

2. Visit the Vineyard National Church-Planting Web Site. Here you'll find a wealth of info on beginning the Seven-Step Church Planting process with the Vineyard Association of Churches.

3. Contact us. We want to hear from YOU. Email: Michael Gatlin, Church Planting Coordinator / Vineyard Midwest Region.