In the Spirit

Address: 102 E. Baker St., Costa Mesa

Telephone: (714) 556-VINE

Denomination: Association of Vineyard Churches

Year established: 1983. The church has been at its present location for

eight years.

Service times: 8:45, 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday; Spanish-speaking

congregation, La Vina meets Sundays at 1:30 p.m.

Senior pastor: John C. McClure

Pastoral staff: Keith Matten, worship pastor; Chuck Regehr, senior

associate pastor; David Halliburton, senior assistant pastor, Children’s

Ministry; Margie McClure, executive pastor;Debbie Peak, assistant to the

pastor; Mike Barnett, assistant pastor and Vineyard Christian School

principal; Bill Faris, assistant pastor, Singles Fellowship and

Benevolence Ministries; Anita Regehr, Women’s Ministry pastor; Peter and

Patti Shambrook, College Ministry; Kirk Kirlin, assistant pastor,

Kinships/Small Groups; Adam Stadtmiller, Student Ministries director;

Albie Stadtmiller, Singles Ministry and Junior High Ministry; Jose

Coronado, La Vina, Spanish-speaking congregation.

Size of congregation: 1,000

Makeup of congregation: Largely young, white, middle-class singles,

college youth and families. There are members from other ethnic groups

and economic circumstances and all peopleare enthusiastically welcome at

the church.

Children’s ministry: Programs include “Kids Rock” at 8:45 a.m. and

“Sonlight Club” at 6 p.m. Families with children return to the church on

Sunday evening to grow together in their Christian faith. Singing, Bible

stories and games are used in abundance for every age group, even

nursery-ages and toddlers.

Youth ministry: Weekly programs for both junior high and high school-aged

youth are coupled with summer camps and ministry opportunities to assist

families to provide a well-rounded spiritual experience. “Camping” on the

140-foot yacht, The Rapture, at Catalina Island is just one of the trips

planned for this summer. A team of 12 high school students and fouradult

leaders recently returned from a two-week ministry outreach in Australia.

Type of worship: Contemporary and uplifting. Many who attend say the

service is moving and touching and allows them to feel the presence of

God. A worship team leads the congregationin singing, “a flow of worship

that establishes God’s presence.” The morning services tend to be shorter

than the evening service, and the message is briefer. These services are

intended to be particularly accessible to the unchurched and to the new

believer. Members of the prayer ministry are present at all services.

Anyone with a particular need or concern can have someone pray with them

after any worship service.

Type of sermon: Pastor McClure’s style is accessible and, especially at

the morning services, visitor friendly. At the morning services, his

messages are expositional as he preaches through the books of the Bible.

At the evening service, his messages are topical, targeted more toward

veteran believers than nonbelievers or new believers. McClure emphasizes

the life application of his messages. The messages are taped and

available through the church office or through McClure’s radio program,

(800) 853-3324. Pastor John McClure hosts the radio program, “The Word

and the Spirit,” daily at 6:30 a.m. and at noon, on KBRT, AM 740. He is

currently teaching from the book of Romans.

Recent sermon: A series of recent sermons has focused on the book of

Romans with themes such as “A Heart Set Aflame.” The series is designed

to be a practical examination of God’s eternal plan and of his compassion

for people. The evening services currently focus on Jesus’ message of the

Kingdom of God and what it means, in practical terms, for those living in

this postmodern era.

Welcome wagon: Visitors are invited to meet and speak with McClure after

the worship services. Those who do this are given one of McClure’s books.

Visitors are also invited to “Cafe Newport” after worship for coffee, a

sweet roll and a chance to meet others.

Small groups: Both worship and relationship are the things most highly

valued at Vineyard, so the importance of small groups, called “kinships,”

which meet in homes across Orange Countyeach week, are emphasized. In

this comfortable, informal atmosphere, those who attend learn how to

worship, how to apply the Bible to their daily lives, and how to minister

meaningfully to one another while developing strong and stable

friendships. Other individual needs are addressed insupport and recovery

groups, such as Divorce Recovery, Managing Your Money, Effective

Fathering, and Job Hunting, that meet periodically. Focused studies and

discipleship groups arealso available for women and men of all ages and

stages of life. Pastor Bill Faris stresses that Vineyard believes that

the people of the congregation are the ministers and that the work of the

church is to equip them to do their ministry. He emphasizes that the

church’s primary value is worship, as worship is the foundation of

ministry.

Outreach programs: The church’s storehouse is a ministry of food,

clothing and prayer. It offers members and nonmembers needed food,

clothing and prayer by appointment. It accommodates close to 250

appointments each month. Members can shop weekly for needed items. Those

outside the church’s community can receive a pre-packed box of food

staples andselect clothing each month, and can receive prayer for their

circumstances. Twice a week, teams of volunteers go out to the

neighborhoods with the new “Jesus Ministry” van to deliver food, clothing

and other services to people who are in serious need, yet unable to visit

the Storehouse. On Halloween, the church’s Fall Fun Night attracts as

many 3,000 parents and children seeking an alternative to the usual

Halloween “trick or treating.” The evening event provides safe and

wholesome games, entertainment and food for the entire family. Vineyard

also operates a preschool and a K-8 school. Most of the students come

from outside the church membership.

Dress: Casual.

Church design: “Function over form” is how Faris describes it. The campus

is in an industrial park, easily accessible from the 405 and 55 freeways.

The sanctuary seats 500.

Mission statement: “The Vineyard Newport exists to develop responsible,

reproducing, kingdom-oriented, spirit-filled disciples of Jesus Christ!”

-- Compiled by Michele M. Marr