What Are God Stories?

Come here and listen,
let me tell you what God did for me.
Psalm 66:16

When God does things in our lives, it makes an impact on us. When we share those things with other people, it makes an impact on them.

That's what this site is about - sharing what's been going on in the lives of people we know - stories of healing, of ministry, of transformed lives, and of the impact our church is having on our community.

We hope that what you read here will touch you in some way. Maybe it will make you think, maybe it'll bring up some questions. We'd love to hear from you - visit our site, or email us.

If you have a story of your own you'd like to share, tell us about it. What God's done for you could change someone else's life, too.

Gimme a "J"...

I love football season. I'll even admit to being called a "fanatic" on more than one occasion. There's something about sitting on a cold bleacher, shoulder-to-shoulder with perfect strangers, screaming until I'm hoarse that makes me feel good. There's an intensity that even people who aren't really "into" football can get caught up in and enjoy.

Fans show up hours early to hang out in the parking lot and get pumped up for the game. Weather doesn't matter much - rain, snow, sleet or sun, they'll stand on their seats with their hands in the air and cheer for their team. Most will stay until the final seconds tick off the clock, never dreaming of missing a single play regardless of the score.

Those who can't go to the game sit glued to their TV's from the pregame interviews through the postgame highlights. They invite people over to watch with them and share the excitement of the "Big Game." They'll cheer just as hard as the folks in the stands.

Real fanatics memorize stats, know the history of the team and the players, belong to clubs, and subscribe to insider newsletters and websites. They'll recap the game for days with friends and complete strangers. They spend money on team merchandise to decorate their cars, their homes, themselves, and even their kids.

Football fans just love their team - unashamedly, with heart and soul - and they want the world to know it.

And that's what got me thinking.

What if people showed that type of love and loyalty and intensity for Jesus? What if we became real fanatics for God?

We'd get to church early, regardless of the weather, and pay attention to everything that goes on. We'd stay until the very end of the service, wanting to squeeze out every drop of the experience. We'd cheer and raise our arms in the air to let God know we love him.

We might invite people to come with us, or maybe we'd talk to perfect strangers at the mall about how great God is. We'd want to read the Bible to learn all we could about God, his history, and the history of his "star players." Maybe we'd spend money and travel to a conference or retreat weekend to try to get closer to Jesus. We could decorate our homes with his picture or scriptures, or wear clothes with his name on them.

Maybe even those who aren't really "into" Jesus would get caught up in our excitement.

We'd just love him - unashamedly, with heart and soul - and we'd want the world to know it.

One more thing. Despite all of the love and support and loyalty I've shown my favorite team over the years, not one person in that organization even knows I exist. But God does. How intense is that?

A Single Misstep

One minute Zach was a carefree 16-year old, just walking along the street with his friend Chris. It was December 3, 2005, in the evening, and Zach and Chris were on their way to a "Christmas Wrap" for seniors. It was dark so they didn’t see the drop in front of them. Zach stepped into space and fell 25 feet, landing on his face, hand, and leg. He remembers coming to, then trying to stand. That’s when he knew his leg was broken. Chris ran for his dad, then called for an ambulance. Chris’s dad picked up the teeth lying on the ground, hoping to save them for later implanting.

Zach’s mom, Traci, was Christmas shopping and just a few minutes after she returned home, the phone call came. “Zach has a broken leg.” When Traci got to the hospital, she learned the true extent of his injuries: broken femur, jaw broken in 3 places, several broken bones in his hand. The attending doctor told Traci they might not even be able to repair his broken bones but would have to Life Flight him by helicopter to another hospital. Once they evaluated him further, they decided to keep him in the local hospital. Doctors started repairing his injuries that night, first setting the broken leg. The next day a titanium rod was put in the leg to strengthen it. The following day he had his jaw wired shut. Then they repaired his hand as best they could. He has had seven or more surgeries so far, and possibly one in the future. Yet, the doctors were amazed at his rapid recovery.

Zach doesn’t remember some things that happened immediately after the accident, but Traci says he told her he heard a voice say, “Cover your face”. He put his hand up and protected his head from worse, possibly even fatal, injuries. Traci called the Vineyard Church and asked for someone to pray for Zach right away, and she feels his survival and steady recovery resulted from that.

After having had therapy at home 3 times a week for 3 months, moving around in a wheelchair, eating only pureed food (and gaining 5 pounds! Pureed Pop-Tarts in Ensure, yummy!!), he now appears to be as agile as any other teenager. If you were looking around for the guy who had a terrible fall and injuries a short 4 months ago, you wouldn’t pick Zach as the victim.

Zach is back to doing some of the things he used to do. He enjoys singing in the choir, he’s back in school, and he hopes to be a veterinarian one day.

Small Group, Big Benefits

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Matthew 18:20

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of life? Have you ever wanted to find out more about God? Or maybe you've tried reading the Bible but have a difficult time understanding what it says. Maybe you find the traditional church service to be impersonal and boring. If you find yourself agreeing with any of these sentiments, then maybe a small group Bible study is for you.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with members of a small group that meets once a week in the home of Larry and Carol Nelson.

"Our group has been together fourteen months now. It's just like family," said Carol.

A typical evening starts in the kitchen with coffee and snacks. Everyone catches up with each other about the past week. Afterwards they head to the living room for an opening prayer and worship. They watch a DVD that features teaching based on the current sermon series at church, followed by questions and topics for discussion.

For Dave the study is very important. "You can read the Bible all you want, but without a small group to sit around and discuss it, you really don't understand it."

After the study, the group asks for prayer requests and shares stories about the good things that God has done for them.

Perhaps the most important parts of the small group experience are the service projects and community outreach. This group has become partners with the local YWCA, volunteering at the facility to repair a damaged ceiling, and to scrub carpets and baseboards at the shelter. When a local teenager was seriously injured in an ATV accident, they collected money for groceries and also a gas card to assist the family with travel to the hospital in Pittsburgh where the young man was undergoing rehabilitation. During the winter, they donated blankets to Catholic Charities to help the homeless, as well as a crib filled with baby items and supplies to assist two expectant mothers at the shelter.

After a six-week study is completed, the group meets for a potluck dinner. After the meal there is a spirited game of charades, men versus women. Lloyd jokes: "It's a charades whuppin," referring to the men's unbeaten record. Although he does concede that "the women gave the men a run for their money last week since we raised the time limit."

Friendship, fun, prayer, learning, serving others, and growing closer to God are all some of the many blessings that have come to the members of this small group.

Lloyd sums up his small group experience this way: "Friendship and family. I've had a lot of acquaintances in my life, but I've never had a lot of friends. The small groups I've been in have allowed me to build friendships. It's more like a family."

How Many Eggs??

A van packed with Easter eggs (10,000 to be exact) arrived at Wheeling Park in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 15th for a huge community egghunt. By 8:00am there were over 50 Vineyard volunteers, whose cars proceeded to fill up the White Palace parking lot. The workers drank some coffee and orange juice for a a quick energy rush and began their mission to hide the endless amount eggs throughout the fields of the park.

Around the time of registration, an overcast weather system approached, but there was no sign of retreat from the dedicated volunteers. "The show must go on," seemed to be the overall attitude of the day. Parents and young children of the community continued to come in the masses. The excitement was building up as the kids anticipated the Easter spirit.

Egghunters Jordan and Tyler Phillips explained, "We love Easter because we love picking up hidden eggs." It seems as if they weren't the only ones who felt this way. By the end of the day, a total of 500 kids had signed in to participate in the big event. Four different rounds were established for the different age groups. At 10:00, a loud horn announced the kick off and kids began their search. Besides the extreme amount of eggs, there was yet another twist. Small bells were placed inside 110 eggs. If one of these special eggs were found, the hunter would receive a special prize along with the bag of candy given to everyone as they turned in their eggs. The last crew finished up at 11:00, and the big clean up began soon after.

The leaders and members of the Wheeling Vineyard agreed that this first annual egghunt was extremely successful. "Thanks to all our volunteers and sponsers, the word spread quickly about this event, and 500 kids participated. Because their families also got involved, we were able to invite them to Easter Sunday service. We also got the chance to ask them to come and start a new series with us called Desparate Households," says egg hunt coordinator Jen Doughty.

This simple invitation was the reason for seeing some new faces on Sunday morning, and the church cannot wait to see what else God has planned to do within the next couple of weeks.

Danielle's Story

I have suffered with depression and have thrown myself into a whole lot of messes by trying to find happiness in order to have some type of release from my depression. I smoked to find some temporary fulfillment from everyday hassles of life and continued to party more and more, but the more I did the worse I felt about myself. I would lie in bed and wish that I would never wake up - I wanted to live life through my dreams.

When I thought of God and the people who I thought knew God, I imagined people screaming on the side of the street that we are all going to hell. Once I saw those people, I got a horrible feeling inside of me and I knew that I did not want to be like those people or worship a God who was going to mold me into one of them.

I have often questioned how people can know and believe in something that they cannot see, like this "Jesus Christ".

One of my greatest passions is to read and to research biographical critical studies about authors. So like one of my authors, I decided to explore the life of Jesus, just so that I could see for myself if he is something I would be interested in. After reading about Jesus in the bible, as well as in books by Rick Warren, C.S. Lewis and Stormie Omartian, I began to view Jesus much differently.

Once I'd allowed myself to read the bible, I began to feel differently about life. I began to feel better about myself. As I read more about Jesus, a process of change began in my habits of how I thought, felt, and acted.

Before I read about Jesus, I judged him by listening to what other people thought about him. Through reading the bible I have learned that God is a loving father and is not this cold distant force, and he sent Jesus in order so we could have total restoration.

Knowing Jesus has helped me fight depression, unforgiveness, low-self worth, and fear as well as many other aspects of my being. I have learned that I cannot fix my past, but I can fix my future by resetting my goals and priorities. By knowing Jesus, I finally have peace in my life about who I am and where I am going. I finally have meaning in my life by exploring and accepting God's love, grace and peace.