The Vine constitutes as an official United Methodist Church
8/4/2011
On June 12, The Vine Church chartered as an official United Methodist Church in the North Georgia Conference. The Rev. David Walters was appointed in 2006 to start a new United Methodist Church near Chateau Elan in Braselton. On Easter Sunday of 2007, The Vine Church held its first weekly worship in Heather Wayne's Dance Academy. In August 2009, services moved to a 10,000-square-foot retail facility where the congregation has grown to an average 500 people in weekly worship attendance.
The Vine has not only celebrated a record high attendance this Easter with 727 worshippers, but has seen 59 people make first-time commitments to Jesus Christ! Constituting as an official church only added to the excitement. As a continuation of The Vine's message series "Modern Family," Walters stated that family is one of the greatest metaphors for the Church, but confessed that no church is perfect just as no family is perfect. Specifically, the church experiences dysfunction when the church forgets to serve one another in love, forgets to communicate effectively, and forgets to grow.
The Rev. Dr. Gerald Thurman and Rev. Tommy Willingham were present to preside over the official business. Willingham addressed the church first and celebrated four years of excellence, imploring the congregation to continue striving for excellence through celebrating success. Dr.Thurman then addressed the congregation by asking for the name of the church, accepting The Vine's 154 charter members, and electing the first leadership team. He then closed the services with a reading from Ephesians and prayer.