1) Why are we called ‘Vintage Church?’

Vintage has two layers of meaning, both of which hold deep significance for us. For starters, if something is termed vintage today, it is thought to be both old and new, possessing contemporary appeal as well as treasured timelessness… so too, we believe, is the necessity to present the unchanging truths of Jesus in ways that translate into our culture today. Secondly, vintage means “of the vine,” and therefore our name is a constant reminder that all growth, ministry, success, and life we experience as a church have, at their source, Jesus at the center who said of himself; “I am the vine, you are the branches. Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

2) Is Vintage affiliated with any particular Denomination?

Vintage was planted by a non-denominational Church called Heartland.k10 in Olathe, KS in 2004. When we launched out on our own and took on the name “Vintage Church” we looked extensively at aligning with several denominations and missions groups. Eventually, we opted to remain non-denomination because we felt it was the best expression of who we are as a community, and were convinced that this was the best way for us to accomplish our mission in Lawrence of “connecting the spiritually-disconnected to an authentic community of faith in Christ.”

3) So, what is the Leadership structure at Vintage?

We acknowledge from the outset that the Head of Vintage Church is Jesus Christ. From a human perspective, we are led by our Steering Team (‘Elders’ in churchy language) of which our Pastor serves as chairman of the board. Additionally, we have many gifted members who serve on our Leadership Team (‘Deacons’ in churchy language) who run the day-to-day ministries and lead all the groups and teams in our Church. In the unlikely event that Vintage encounters any issues at the Steering Team level, we have assembled a group of Overseers (‘Bishops’ in churchy language), consisting of a team of seasoned, regional pastors, who have outside authority to navigate us through any internal situations that might arise.

4) Why do we meet at 5:30pm instead of on Sunday mornings like a normal church?

As we mentioned above in #2, we began as the Lawrence branch of a multiple-site church called Heartland.k10. At our inception, we existed as one Church in two locations, and we combined our resources by doing one service in Olathe on Sunday mornings and then bringing the same service (teaching, music, and programmed elements) out to Lawrence on Sunday nights. This explains why we began our church with an evening service. What we quickly realized was that, at least for us, Sunday evenings seemed to be the most strategic time to host our weekly worship gatherings for a number of reasons; students are out late on Saturday nights and like to sleep in on Sundays, families are forced to juggle weekend commitments like athletics and often go on weekend trips, and we have found that rental facilities are more available on Sunday evenings than in the mornings. To answer the question succinctly, though we began hosting our services in the evenings by necessity, we now meet by choice on Sunday nights at 5:30 at Central, and we love it!

5) Why does Vintage meet at Central Junior High-School? (aka. “When will Vintage ‘grow up’ and get our own Church building?”)

We’re so glad you asked! For starters, we have no idea when we’ll have a permanent facility, and to be honest, we’re not sure we want one. Why? Because being at Central galvanizes for us that the Church is people, not a building, and we consider ourselves fortunate to continually be reminded to live out this reality. Additionally, being at Central gives us a front-row seat into what it looks like to serve the community of Lawrence itself. We have the unique ability to be a missional community in Lawrence by being Christ’s representatives to the students, teachers, and administration of Central, and through this, to have the potential to change people’s opinions of Jesus and the church in our city. Finally, Vintage is a young church that thrives on putting our limited resources (our time, talent, and treasure) towards real-life ministry instead pouring it into bricks and mortar. While we cannot say we will never own our own building, we can say that we are perfectly content in the wonderful home we now have at Central Junior High School. (You can, however, feel free to stop by the Vintage Offices located at 600 Lawrence Avenue Suite E1 to visit us in the rented space that we share with two other friendly tenants ?)

6) Is Vintage an Emerging or Emergent Church?

We understand that because of our music, dress, and the mix of both old and new traditions we exhibit in our Sunday Night Services, some have labeled us as an emerging or emergent church. Since these terms are next-to-impossible to define, we would like to define ourselves by the following: We are wholeheartedly committed to the belief that our church must be a missional community in Lawrence who will do everything in our power, under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit to reach, love, and transform our increasingly secular, post-modern, and post-Christian culture for Christ, while at the same time maintaining the purity of the orthodox Christian faith in belief and practice. For further clarification, we invite you to read our doctrinal ‘Essentials,’[1] to come and engage with as we express our collective faith in Jesus, and to experience with us what it looks like to live in the tension of “being in the world, but not of the world” in which we find ourselves living in today.