Our History
Vineyard Columbus has a 45-year track record of attempting great things for God and receiving great things from God, becoming a model for many churches around the world. For many years, Vineyard Columbus has been the largest Vineyard church in the world and the largest church of any denomination in Central Ohio.
This is how our story has been written…
1974
Christ Community Church
Arising out of the Jesus Movement of the late 1960’s, three small churches began meeting in northwest Columbus, Worthington, and near the OSU campus as part of a non-denominational network of churches in Ohio and Michigan, ultimately merging as Christ Community Church in 1982.
1987
The Vineyard Movement
The church joined the Vineyard movement becoming Vineyard Columbus, with Rich Nathan as our first Senior Pastor. Vineyard Columbus grew from just over 200 people to over 1,000 by 1993.
1991
First International Worker
Vineyard Columbus sent its first international worker to the Amazon Basin in NE Brazil. That was followed by the church sending missionaries to a dozen other countries in the next two decades.
1991–1994
First Capital Campaign
After outgrowing our tiny church building, in our first capital campaign, "The Deeper Flow", we raised $645,750 over three years to build our initial facility at Cooper Road.
1994
Grove City Church Plant
Vineyard Columbus planted its first church in Grove City, now attended by close to 900 people.
1998–2001
Second Capital Campaign
As attendance grew to 3,600, our church gave $5,835,000 over three years in our second capital campaign, "Responding to God's Extravagant Grace", to expand our Cooper Road facility and build our current sanctuary. Families gave an average of $6,000 each!
2005–2008
Third Capital Campaign
As our church reached 6,500 people, we gave $7,523,800 over three years in our “Blessed to be a Blessing” campaign to build the Vineyard Community Center in order to reach our community and be the best friend this city has ever known. We also expanded our missions, sending out three teams across the globe.
2009
Sawmill Campus
As attendance grew to more than 7,200, our church launched the Sawmill Campus, led by Pastor Correy Garris, to reach the rapidly growing northwest side of Columbus.
2011
Lane Avenue Campus
Vineyard Columbus launched the Lane Avenue Campus, led by Andrew and Ginny Oswalt.
2012
East Campus
In the fall, Vineyard Columbus launched the East Campus in Berwick, led by Pastor Charles Montgomery, to serve the communities.
2013
La Viña Campus
As God blessed us in being a multiracial, multiethnic church, Vineyard Columbus responded by launching La Viña in the Cooper Road chapel, led by Pastor Irene Casale. La Viña was our fifth campus launch in five years.
2015
East Campus Pickerington
Vineyard Columbus East Campus began to meet at its new location in Pickerington. Vineyard Columbus was excited to adopt the Eastside Vineyard as part of the launch of Vineyard Columbus East Campus.
2018
30TH CHURCH PLANT
Pacific City (Vineyard) Church in Los Angeles launched, making it the 30th Vineyard Columbus church plant in the last 25 years.
2018
35TH INTERNATIONAL WORKER
Vineyard Columbus sent its 35th international worker into the field. We currently have 15 active workers serving God in eight locations from South America to Africa to Asia and the Asian-Pacific regions of the world.
2019
FUTURE SENIOR PASTORS
Eric and Julia Pickerill were announced as the next co-senior pastors of Vineyard Columbus.
2022
LAUNCH OF GRANDVIEW CAMPUS
Vineyard Columbus Grandview Campus, led by Pastor Insoo Kim, began to gather in the middle of Grandview Heights. After many hurdles, Grandview Campus opened its doors and launched on January 23, 2022.
2023
Viña Grandview Campus
Viña Grandview, our second Spanish-speaking campus, was launched on January 21, 2023, led by Daniel and Nicole Hernandez.
We celebrate our history with deep humility and gratitude, recognizing that all the good that has happened in and through Vineyard Columbus is more about God and less about us. Now, as we look to the future, God is on the move again. He is calling us to do more to reach central Ohio with new campuses, training new pastors, and investing in new buildings that will be hopeful places of worship and outposts for service. We want to continue to send new workers around the world to take the good news of God’s amazing welcome and love to those who’ve not yet experienced it. We’ve always believed that God provides for what he orders, so each step we take is in obedient response to what he initiates. The story continues in gratitude for what God has done in saving us and inviting us to join him in his plan for the world. Just as God has enabled us in the past, he will do so again, so let’s run together into the future with the hope of his presence!