The Vine team believes that by doing church differently — in an untraditional format, i.e. a gym that doesn’t look like a church — they are more likely to pique people’s interest. But they are careful about using the word “attract” when talking about bringing people into The Vine.
“Attract is the word we used to use and depended on. The world is so post-Christian that attracting people no longer works,” Kotan said. “This isn’t a ‘put up a sign and they’re going to come’ idea. This is ‘how are you going out and building relationships, selling the vision, and offering community?’”
The Rev. Stephen Coburn, Northwest District Superintendent, likes to think of church plants, and specifically the strategy of The Vine church plant, using a clever analogy.
“I like to think of it using a box. There are people who function within the confines of the box. There are people who function outside of the box. That typically has been the two descriptions of church that we are used to.
“I think what we’re experimenting with is a third option that says there is no box,” Coburn said. “And that frees us up to try a variety of approaches.”
Particularly, for millennials and Generation Z, the team at The Vine understands that these generations aren’t just going to go to the closest church to their home or the church that their parents have always gone to; they are seeking authenticity, transparency, and community involvement.
“We might have a small group meeting at a bar, or do dinner church a couple of nights or week, or even have a community outreach event at an animal shelter helping to get dogs and cats adopted. We’re looking at this from all angles,” Jackson said.
“It’s all about how do we get into their lives instead of expecting them to get into our lives and come to us,” Coburn added.
While The Vine is still in its infancy, there’s no doubt that the team leading this church plant are well-prepared for the task.
Jackson is continuing to reach out to the community, make connections and expand the “branches” of the vine.
Kotan, as well as Coburn and others in the Conference office, are working on reaching out to people who might be interested in buying pieces of the soccer complex. Eventually, in a few years, they hope to see The Vine transform into “The Vine at The Village,” or a similar mixed-use concept that will benefit the entire Centerton community.
For Jackson, he knows there is a lot of uncertainty with The Vine, as there always is whenever you’re doing something that hasn’t been done before.
But he, and everyone else involved in the project, have no doubt that they’ve been blessed to be able to pursue this church plant for the Kingdom.
“The Conference made one of the biggest steps it has ever made by purchasing this land that we could own and share with the community. And if God wasn’t in that, I don’t know who was,” Jackson said.
To follow along with The Vine’s progress, like them on Facebook at facebook.com/thevinenwa/.