Vineyard Columbus anchors itself on Cooper Road in Westerville, with four sister campuses reaching into the northwest, southeast, and downtown neighborhoods of Columbus. What began as three small prayer groups in the Jesus Movement has grown into a church family that, by its own telling, has included people from over 130 countries and 50 languages. The church belongs to the Association of Vineyard Churches, an evangelical network of congregations, and describes itself as a place that exists to "develop multi-ethnic communities of disciples who experience God, love one another and partner with Christ to heal the world."
Five Campuses, One Church Family
Vineyard Columbus is one church that meets in five locations across the Columbus metro area.
- Westerville Campus sits at 6000 Cooper Road, Westerville, OH 43081. Services are held Sundays at 9 and 11 am. The Interim Senior Pastor's office, the Ministry Center, and the flagship Vineyard Community Center all share this address. It is the largest and oldest campus and serves families from Westerville, New Albany, Gahanna, Worthington, and Lewis Center.
- Sawmill Campus meets at 4140 Tuller Road, Dublin, OH 43017, Sundays at 9 and 11 am. Launched in 2009, it reaches Dublin, Powell, Hilliard, Worthington, Marysville, and Plain City.
- Pickerington Campus (formerly called East Campus) gathers at 333 Jericho Road, Pickerington, OH 43147, Sundays at 10 am, serving Pickerington, Reynoldsburg, Canal Winchester, Blacklick, and Pataskala.
- Grandview Campus meets at 777 Goodale Boulevard, Grandview Heights, OH 43212, Sundays at 10 am, drawing worshipers from Grandview, Upper Arlington, Clintonville, Victorian Village, and the Short North.
- Viña Columbus is the church's Spanish-speaking ministry. Viña Westerville meets at 6000 Cooper Road Sundays at 11 am, and Viña Grandview gathers Saturdays at 6 pm for its own Spanish-language service.
Each campus shares the same vision and core ministries but adapts to the personality of its neighborhood. Visitors can expect roughly 75-minute services built around contemporary music, Scripture teaching, and a time for personal prayer at the end.
What a Sunday Morning Looks Like
Walk in and someone from a host team will hand you a bulletin and point you to the café. Sit anywhere you like. The services follow a Vineyard tradition that runs contemporary from start to finish: a worship team leads the room in song, someone preaches through a passage of Scripture, and the service closes with a "Ministry Time" when anyone who wants prayer can step forward and have team members lay hands and pray.
There is no dress code. People wear suits, jeans, or shorts. The message is described as "down to earth" and the music is loud. After the service, guests are invited to stop by Guest Central to meet a pastor or leader.
Services can be watched live online through the church's YouTube channel. Recordings are posted afterward as part of a sermon archive that goes back through recent series.
A 45-Year Story, Written in Three Buildings and Many Campuses
The Vineyard Columbus story begins in 1974, when three small congregations meeting in northwest Columbus, in Worthington, and near the Ohio State University campus came together as part of a non-denominational network of churches in Ohio and Michigan. In 1982 they merged as Christ Community Church. Five years later they joined the Vineyard movement and took the name Vineyard Columbus. Rich Nathan was the founding senior pastor.
From just over 200 people in 1987, the church grew to more than 1,000 by 1993. In 1991 it sent its first international worker to the Amazon Basin in northeast Brazil, launching what would become a long global ministry. By the late 1990s attendance had reached 3,600, and a second capital campaign - "Responding to God's Extravagant Grace" - raised $5.8 million over three years to expand the Cooper Road facility and build the current sanctuary. A third campaign - "Blessed to be a Blessing" - produced $7.5 million for the Vineyard Community Center and additional mission outreach.
By 2009 attendance had passed 7,200. That year the church planted Sawmill Campus in Dublin, led by Pastor Correy Garris. Lane Avenue Campus followed in 2011, East Campus in Berwick in 2012, and La Viña in the Cooper Road chapel in 2013. The church marked its 30th church plant in 2018 - Pacific City Church in Los Angeles - and has sent 35 international workers to the field across its history.
Eric and Julia Pickerill were announced as the next co-senior pastors in 2019; Grandview Campus launched in 2022; Viña Grandview launched in 2023. Today, with five campuses meeting in four corners of central Ohio, the church is in the middle of a leadership transition. Rick Callahan is serving as Interim Senior Pastor during the search for the next senior pastor, working in partnership with Vineyard USA and the Elemental Group. The Church Council and Senior Leadership Team oversee the process.
What Vineyard Columbus Believes
Vineyard Columbus describes itself as standing "firmly in the center of orthodox Christian teaching." Its faith rests on five priorities:
- Jesus centered. Salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
- Scripture based. The Bible is the written Word of God and the basis for everything the church believes and does.
- Spirit empowered. Worship and ministry expect the presence and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
- Culturally diverse. The church is committed to racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity, pointing to Revelation 7:9 as its picture of what the church should look like.
- Socially engaged. Faith is expressed in good works: providing for those in need, defending the weak, and working for justice.
The church affirms the historic Christian creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Chalcedonian Creed) and describes its doctrinal boundaries as "broad and inclusive" of orthodoxy, while still holding to the convictions above as essentials.
VC Kids: Birth Through Fifth Grade
VC Kids serves children from birth through fifth grade at every campus and at every service. The ministry's goal is to raise "young, resilient disciples who discover God, be a good friend to one another, and become more like Jesus to bring light to the world."
Babies through kindergarten gather in age-appropriate classrooms for worship, a Bible lesson, and a craft or activity. First through fifth graders at Westerville Campus meet in a large group for worship and teaching, then break into small groups of about thirty by grade. At the other campuses, elementary children meet in their own grade-level rooms.
Safety is taken seriously. Every leader applies, interviews, and passes a criminal background check before serving. Children fifth grade and under must be checked in by a parent or caregiver. Outside food is not allowed in classrooms because of allergy risks. A Sensory Break Room is staffed at Westerville, Sawmill, and East campuses for children who need a quieter space, and a Buddy Ministry provides one-on-one support for kids who need it to flourish in a typical classroom.
Baby Dedication ceremonies take place several times a year across the campuses. Parents attend a required Baby Dedication class beforehand to walk through the meaning of the commitment and how to fill out the application.
VC Students: Middle and High School
VC Students is for sixth through twelfth graders, with the goal of raising "lifelong disciples of Jesus who belong to the multi-ethnic community of VC Students." Two gatherings are the main entry points:
- Middle School Sunday Morning takes place during the first service at every campus. Middle schoolers start in the main service with their families, then step out for an age-appropriate lesson, game, and small-group discussion.
- Student Night runs Sunday nights from 6 to 8 pm at all campuses. Worship, teaching, snacks, and games lead into "Crews" - grade-based small groups that drive the discussion.
Buddy support and specialized crews are available for students with disabilities at the Westerville campus, with buddy support crossing all campuses.
Young Adults
Young Adult Night gathers 18- to 30-year-olds on the first and third Thursday of every month at 8:30 pm in the Chapel at the Westerville Campus. The evening blends worship, prayer, and teaching with a low-key after party so newcomers can connect socially as well. Small groups are also designed for this age range for those who want a weekly Bible study or a space to explore faith.
Small Groups: The Heart of Community
Small Groups are how Vineyard Columbus does discipleship during the week. Members meet in homes throughout central Ohio to study Scripture, worship, pray for one another, serve together, and live out the Christian life shoulder to shoulder. There are hundreds of small groups meeting on different days and in different locations.
At the Westerville Campus, BIG Small Group runs year round on Thursday nights from 7 to 9 pm. It is the first step to getting connected on that campus: a gathering of the larger community for teaching, followed by smaller breakout groups for discussion and prayer. A parallel 55+ BSG meets Wednesday mornings for adults in their second half of life.
The church is always looking for new leaders. Anyone who feels called to lead a group can apply through the Small Groups Leader Application.
Marriage, Family, and Premarital Care
Marriage and Family is a dedicated ministry that serves dating, engaged, and married couples, along with parents. The team offers seminars, classes, conferences, and relationship coaching. A trained cohort of relationship coaches walks alongside couples and parents who want help building stronger marriages and healthier families. Engaged couples preparing for a wedding can go through Vineyard Columbus' premarital process, designed to help build Christ-centered marriages.
Support for Life: Groups for Hard Seasons
Trained volunteers lead Support Groups, Recovery Groups, and topical classes for people in the congregation and the wider community. The current lineup includes:
- DivorceCare for Women - a 13-week, online, video-based program.
- Understanding & Managing Anxiety - a twice-monthly, in-person drop-in group at the Westerville campus.
- Hearts Restored Class - a four-week class for those healing from sexual betrayal, meeting at the Westerville campus with a Zoom option.
- Pregnancy Loss Support Group - a therapist-led, online, faith-based group meeting twice a month.
- The Barbershop Talk - a quarterly gathering at Swan's Barbershop on N. High Street for men to talk openly about personal growth, leadership, family, mental health, and community.
Open Prayer for Healing and Intercession takes place most Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 am in Rooms EL.01-03 on the Westerville campus, with online sessions on the third Saturday of every month through Microsoft Teams.
Value Life and the Wider Outreach
Value Life is a pregnancy resource ministry that supports women facing unplanned or difficult pregnancies. The team of MotherHeart Mentors walks alongside clients and provides maternity clothing, diapers, formula, baby clothing up to size 2T, blankets, bottles, pack-and-plays, car seats, and other material resources. A dedicated help form is available for anyone needing services.
A Food Pantry supplements families' groceries in a dignified setting. Creation Care leases community garden plots through the City of Columbus' land redevelopment program, growing produce that is given away through the food pantry and to neighbors. Evangelism ministry supports the Alpha course as the church's primary on-ramp for honest conversations about Christianity.
Vineyard Community Center, the church's 501(c)(3) partner organization, hosts classes, leagues, events, and services for residents throughout central Ohio. Among its offerings: free health clinics for adults who qualify, immigration counseling and asylum clinics, English-as-a-Second-Language classes, refugee and immigrant support, and integrated programs for people with disabilities.
International Ministries: 14 Families Around the World
Vineyard Columbus supports 14 missionary families serving across Asia, Brazil, Europe and the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Three and a half percent of every tithe supports global missions. The International Ministries team runs medical and vision trips to El Salvador, offers regular "Wednesday Global" gatherings (third Wednesday of each month at 8:15 pm on the Westerville campus) to pray for and hear from the field workers, and partners with organizations like Convoy of Hope and Frontiers for short-term trips.
The Priority 100 Prayer app, available for iOS and Android, points prayers toward 100 people groups and places around the world selected for need, responsiveness, and access.
Accessibility and Inclusion: "Everybody Gets to Play"
Accessibility and Inclusion is one of the church's stated core values. Beyond the Sensory Break Rooms, Buddy Ministry, and Body Builders Sunday school class mentioned under VC Kids, the church runs:
- Parallel Journeys - a monthly support group for parents and caregivers of individuals affected by disability, meeting the first Friday of each month at the Westerville campus.
- Joyful Noise - a monthly worship service for people of all ages and abilities, where "the only rule is that there is no shushing allowed," held the fourth Thursday of each month in the Youth Room at the Community Center.
- Deaf Ministry - an outreach through the Westerville campus with its own social channels.
- VC Special Needs Ministry - a network that supports families and individuals affected by disability across all campuses.
The Senior Leadership Team and Campus Pastors
The Senior Leadership Team carries the church through the senior pastor transition:
- Rick Callahan - Interim Senior Pastor
- Mailin Young - Executive Director of Ministry Initiatives
- Shawn Steward - Executive Director of Operations
- Joshua Miller - Associate Pastor of Westerville Campus
- Daniel Hernández - Associate Pastor of Viña Columbus
- Nikki Mills - Executive Director of Vineyard Community Center
Campus pastors include Irene Casale-Petrarca (Viña Columbus), Novica Olinger (Interim, Pickerington), Amanda Pershing (Interim, Sawmill), and Stephen Van Dop (Interim, Grandview).
How to Connect, Give, and Stay in Touch
First-time guests are invited to stop by Guest Central after the service. The Help Form centralizes requests for everything from counseling referrals to benevolence assistance, and prayer requests are taken through a confidential prayer form.
Giving is available online through Pushpay, with separate giving pages for each campus (Westerville, Sawmill, Pickerington, Grandview, Viña, and an Online Campus option). The church also accepts crypto through Engiven. A giving brochure is available on request.
Sermons are posted weekly online through the Vineyard Online sermon hub and distributed as podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify - one feed for the Westerville campus, one for Sawmill, one for Pickerington, and one for Grandview. Articles on marriage, parenting, recovery, prayer, and Christian living go back years in the article archive.
The VC App puts everything in one place: upcoming events, sermon archive, small group finder, daily devotionals, and an online giving portal.
Vineyard Columbus describes its mission in three movements: to develop multi-ethnic communities of disciples who experience God, who love one another, and who partner with Christ to heal the world. Across five campuses, hundreds of small groups, dozens of weekly support ministries, and a community center that serves the whole city, that mission is lived out one Sunday morning, one prayer meeting, one neighborhood at a time.