As a church, we love people – people of all backgrounds, experiences and ages. With the summer holidays well underway, it’s a perfect time to celebrate our children and their families. Here’s a brilliant account of what some of our smaller members and their adults have been up to…

Our first family gathering took place in August 2016. The weather was absolutely glorious and one of the families of Manchester Vineyard generously opened up their home for the afternoon, to give some of the families connected with the church plant an opportunity to spend some time together.

It was an amazing time for parents to meet parents and kids to meet kids. Our hosts had no shortage of fun activities, from a trampoline to playdough – with, might I add, an impressive collection of playdough moulding contraptions!

As mentioned in previous posts, we’ve already had a couple of evening gatherings, aimed at the adults. At this particular gathering, I got to meet some of those parents properly, spent a bit more time hearing their stories and how they came to connect with Manchester Vineyard… And have a cream tea or two, which is always a winner in my books!

The kids absolutely loved it – some of them met for the first time, but they did a great job of sharing toys and playing together. The Vineyard has always had a desire to seeing Jesus move in the hearts and lives of children. I don’t have any children, but I am passionate about seeing them meeting Jesus. As this church begins to gather momentum and take shape, these children are very much a part of the journey with us. This first family gathering was, for some, where they began to build relationships with the peers and adults who will be encouraging them in their faith over the coming years.

I may have been eating scones, playing on the trampoline and making an assortment of playdough fruits, but from their perspective, they met as a church yesterday – and I got to be part of it!