Vineyard Church Jacksonville gathers on Sunday mornings in the Solano Grove Condo Clubhouse on San Jose Boulevard, on Jacksonville's south side. The motto says it plainly: "Loving God, Loving People, Impacting the World." A second, more conversational motto shapes everything else: "To be a place where Jesus and His friends want to hang out." The church takes that seriously. The unsaved and the unchurched are the friends Jesus is known for, and the Vineyard wants to be a place they want to be.
The church is part of the broader Vineyard movement, the network shaped by the late John Wimber. The local body lives out that heritage through small groups that meet in homes, teaching that stays close to Scripture, and an openness to the work of the Holy Spirit in everyday life.
Sunday Mornings at the Clubhouse
Sunday worship takes place at 10:30 am at the Solano Grove Condo Clubhouse, 9252 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32257. The meeting room is intentionally informal, a clubhouse rather than a sanctuary, which fits the church's welcome. Visitors are greeted as family. "We are a family of believers who have been touched by the hope-filled kindness of a loving God," the church writes. "We laugh together, cry together, worship together, and together we endeavor to create an environment where everyone is welcome to experience the life-changing presence of God."
The Sunday gathering centers on worship, the preaching of the Word, prayer, and space for the Holy Spirit to move. Teaching draws from Scripture and is intended not just to inform but to draw people into a relationship with God. Giving is available online through Church Center.
HUB City Groups: Church That Meets in Homes
The church's main pathway for community is HUB City Groups, which meet in homes around the Jacksonville area. The description is plain: "We gather, study the word, and break bread together. We pray for each other and really become family." Small groups are where the church does most of its life together.
Two regular gatherings are open to newcomers:
- Tuesday night HUB. Fellowship and discussion at 7 pm at 515 Grove Park Blvd.
- Men's Pub HUB. Drinks, food, and conversation about Jesus on the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm at Bono's BBQ, 5711 Bowden Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32216.
Anyone interested can sign up for a HUB group through the church.
The Vineyard Distinctives
Six phrases capture the Vineyard DNA that shapes this church. They are taught in a video series featuring Phil Strout, the former National Director of Vineyard Churches:
- Come As You Are, But Don't Stay As You Are. You will be loved no matter what state you are in when you arrive, with the belief that Jesus can love each person to health.
- Naturally Supernatural. No hype or emotional manipulation; praying for healing and listening for God's voice in everyday life.
- The Main and the Plain. Teaching stays with what the Bible plainly says, a hallmark of John Wimber's approach.
- Come Holy Spirit. The central prayer of every gathering, an invitation to the Spirit that echoes the Wimber family's teaching.
- Everybody Gets to Play. The work of the kingdom is not reserved for elite leaders; men and women, children, and people of every background are commissioned.
- The Now and the Not Yet. Prayer for healing is real, and sometimes healing comes; sometimes it does not, and both miracles and suffering are held together.
Loving God, Loving People, Impacting the World
The mission unpacks into three rhythms.
Loving God shows up in corporate worship, the preaching of the Word, prayer, reading Scripture as a way to meet God, personal encounters with the living God, and quiet devotional times. The church's highest priority is worship that happens "in Spirit and in truth," quoting John 4.
Loving People plays out in teams, in small groups (the HUB groups in homes), in shared meals, in discipleship and mentoring, in training the next generation, and in encouraging every member to walk in their spiritual gifts. Servant leadership, the attitude of Christ in Philippians 2, shapes the way leaders here lead.
Impacting the World drives the church outward: reaching the unsaved and unchurched, doing what the Vineyard community calls "Doin the Stuff" (the works of Jesus: healing, deliverance, and freedom), communicating the gospel in culturally relevant ways, showing mercy, simplicity, and generosity. The pattern follows Acts 4, where the early church was extravagant in meeting the needs of the poor. The church also wants to be multi-cultural and multi-generational, expressing love to people from every background.
Leadership: Bob and Kathy Hoover
Bob and Kathy Hoover are both Jacksonville natives who have lived in the area their whole lives. They have three sons; two remain in Jacksonville, and one serves as a missionary in Australia. After graduating from seminary, they planted and pastored a church on Jacksonville's west side for nine years. For the next twenty years, Bob worked in the marketplace, first as a salesperson, then as the co-owner of a roofing company. During those years he and Kathy stayed active on the pastoral leadership team at the Vineyard.
In 2009 they sensed a call back to full-time ministry, and on October 10, 2010, they became the lead pastors of Vineyard Church Jacksonville.
Staying Connected
A weekly newsletter keeps friends of the church in the loop, and sermon messages are posted as videos online. The church maintains a presence on Facebook and Instagram. For general questions, the office can be reached at vcfjax@vcfjax.org or 904-737-2386.