Vineyard is a group of Churches worldwide www.vineyard.org , all in relationship with oneanother and dedicated to displaying the Kingdom of God here on earth.  Vineyard churches, of which there are over 1200 in the US www.vineyardusa.org and abroad, have their roots in the Jesus People Movement of the 1970’s which was known for the large numbers of high school and college age young adults who wanted to sincerely follow Jesus.  The forming of Vineyard as a group of churches dedicated to the Word, Worship and Works of God came into being in the early 1980’s.  One of the distinctive features of Vineyard Churches is the priority of singing worship songs to the Lord which are intimate and personal. To encourage this, the Vineyard owns and operates its own music recording studio which produces works of various types of Christian music under the "Vineyard/Mercy" label. These songs are sung in many churches today.  The song writers on these works are worship leaders from Vineyard Churches who simply want to show their love of the Lord in song. Vineyard’s also practice and endeavor to teach the operations of the Holy Spirit as indentified in the Bible for the purpose of showing God's love and letting everyone know what Jesus has done for humankind.  Since it’s inception Vineyard has endeavored to show God’s true intent for all His creation through displays of His coming Kingdom now; so caring of the sick, poor and the least among us is a distinctive of all Vineyards as is the desire for works of justice, earth care and the like.  All of these display God’s true nature.  And because we recognize that God’s family is made up of every ethnicity, race and color our heart is that our churches reflect the diversity that is His creation.

The Vineyard Church in Hopewell Jct NY was started as a Bible Study/Home Group in 1995 by Lou and Patti Federico.  As it grew it became clear that the Lord was establishing a vibrant community to proclaim His Kingdom here in the Hudson Valley. In August of 1996 a facility was given to us, and because of the Lord’s faithfulness, we have continued to grow and see the Lord do some marvelous and wondrous things. Many of those who come to this Vineyard were not “church-goers” before, and that was our aim.  They found faith and renewed hope as they connected in some way with us, not because we are so great but because we are connected to Jesus.  We began  to have many ways people could connect with what God was doing through us, wheather it be some small group studying the bible, a women or men’s group, a group which cares for the hungry or reaches out to the least, or even an interest group such as bikers, parent or marriage groups. All were initiated to enhance people’s lives and experiences with God.  We developed a statement about ourselves which simply says our goal is “To grow in our relationship with God both as individuals and together, and to reflect Him to those around us and as well as eachother.”

We see our mission coming directly from Jesus’ comments concerning the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:34-40. We hold as our highest purpose to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. As followers of Jesus, we consider relationship with Him, and our reflecting His likeness, to be our ultimate aim (Psalm 17:15, 27:8, Ephesians 5:1). As branches attached to the vine, we recognize we can do nothing without Him, especially of any "eternal" value. (John 15:5) As an understudy of Jesus, we are about fulfilling His purposes on earth, which He said was to "seek and save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10), and to "preach good news to the poor...proclaim freedom for the prisoners...recovery of sight for the blind...to release the oppressed" (Luke 4:18-19). Therefore we see ourselves not as establishing a name for ourselves, or the Vineyard, but to continue that which Jesus is still doing today! Our mission is His mission, and we endeavor to make His model our model, in word, deed, attitude and relationships.

If you have any questions about any of this please feel free to contact us or simply come by and visit.  We’d love to meet you!