Our Story,
Mission,
and People

Our Story

God has been at work in our community for a long time. The story of Vineyard Auburn is the weaving together of multiple stories God has been telling.

One of those stories is the story of Auburn itself. Auburn is rapidly growing, and on pace to reach a population of 100K in the next decade. Auburn is home to Auburn University, where almost 30K students from many nations have come to spend these highly formative years of their lives. Auburn has a rich spiritual heritage, and for generations has had countless men and women praying for the growth of God’s kingdom here. Like many growing cities, while the population is on the rise, people’s connection to Jesus, the gospel, and the church is on the decline. Auburn is an increasingly plentiful harvest that needs new and fresh expressions of the gospel and the church.

In 2018, Josh and Jennifer Yates, along with their family, moved to Auburn to work and serve at First Presbyterian Church of Opelika. First Pres had and has a longstanding desire to be a church that plants churches. With Josh’s background in campus ministry, a love for people, and a vision for church planting, this vision of planting a new church in Auburn for Auburn began to take root.

Through countless hours of prayer and discernment, Vineyard Auburn was born, with a hope and desire to bring the transforming power of the gospel to bear on all the places people live, learn, work, and play. In July of 2023, the Yates family were launched to plant Vineyard Auburn, along with a handful of families from First Pres and other churches in the area. Vineyard Auburn is a plant of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

Our Convictions

TRUTH: The Bible is Truth, and is the sole authority and foundation for the church and our lives.

GRACE: The gospel is the good news about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. Further, the grace we receive in Jesus shapes everything about who we are and how we live.

DISCIPLESHIP: The call of the gospel is to a whole-life pursuit of beholding and becoming like Jesus

MULTIPLICATION: The mission of the church is to multiply disciples of Jesus through evangelism and the planting of new churches

BLESSING: The church is called to be a conduit of God’s blessing to our city and the world

Our Values

PRAYER: We are a people who embrace weakness and dependence. The gospel frees us to admit our weakness and inability, and invites us to lean into the power and sufficiency of Jesus. We do this as we pray for ourselves, for one another, and for the city and world where God has us.

PRESENCE: We are a people who practice faithful presence in the footprint of our lives. A life of love is a life that shows up for the places and people around them.

GENEROSITY: We are a people who embody radical generosity. The gospel is the good news that God generously spent himself for our sake. In response, we view every facet of our lives as a resource for the sake of God’s kingdom, for the sake of others.

FEASTING: We are a people who share our lives and share our tables. The life of the gospel is a life of deep sharing and fellowship as we welcome one another around our table. The practice of inviting others to gather around our tables cultivates hope, joy, and anticipation of the life to come.

WITNESS: We are a people who live as winsome witnesses. As the gospel takes root in our lives, it manifests itself in bold and winsome witness to who Jesus is and what he has done, in us and for the world.