Our Story
Picture a ship moored in a harbour.
Battered by the ocean storms, the ship now rests secure tethered to the quay. As seagulls squawk overhead, workers attend to repairs and there’s a scurry of activity as fresh supplies for the crew are brought onboard. The bridge is getting a fresh lick of paint followed by the main deck being washed down. The ship is enjoying the safety of its harbour, but this is not a final resting place.
Photo Credit: Kaytie Thomas
For a ship is not made for the dock but for the deep.
Welcome to South Harbour Vineyard Church. We’re a Christian community which, like a harbour, is a place of both security and sending. The storms of life threaten us in different ways: they can deplete our emotional reserves, scare us to the core, damage our self-esteem, destroy our trust in others or wound us in a host of other ways. We’re a community where Jesus’ presence among us offers replenishment, healing, encouragement and restoration for those wearied by life’s storms. It is through life-changing relationship with Jesus that true hope is offered for the transformation of our lives and circumstances. To use a nautical analogy from the Bible, “Hope in Christ is the anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19).
But our church is not just a community within which to be refreshed from the storms of life. We are replenished for a reason – to serve the purposes of God in our city of Auckland and beyond. In this respect, our life as a community has both a gathered and scattered dimension. We gather to be replenished through encounter with Jesus in worship, prayer, Bible-learning and community; we scatter to be bearers of Jesus’ light and love across the city – in healthcare, education, business, finance, local community groups, in fact every place where we have involvement. Refreshed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we scatter to bring life to the city.
History
South Harbour Vineyard Church was planted in March 2020 under the auspices of Vineyard Aotearoa. This was just before the first Covid lockdown. Having spent much of the first two years of our church life having to meet online, we are finally re-establishing our in-person community. Our initial membership was drawn from a corridor of suburbs which all hug the northern shores of the Manukau Harbour, Auckland’s southern harbour. From our initial core planting group of 27 individuals, we have seen steady growth in membership, despite the challenges of the Covid disruptions of the last few years.