Pastor Amanda Clark points to Branches Vineyard Church of Warsaw’s sign. The church at 765 W. Market St. will celebrate its 10th anniversary by welcoming Dr. Scot McKnight to preach at its service at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 27. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — It’s the “grace of God” that has helped Branches Vineyard Church of Warsaw reach 10 years of existence, said its pastor, Amanda Clark.

“To make it 10 years and to be doing well and to have survived the pandemic five years ago feels like just an incredible grace of God and something worth celebrating,” she said.

The church, located at 765 W. Market St., will recognize its anniversary by welcoming Houston Theological Seminary professor and theologian Dr. Scot McKnight, who will preach at the church’s 10 a.m. Sunday, July 27, service.

McKnight was one of Clark’s professors at Northern Seminary.

“He’s probably the most renowned New Testament scholar of our day in the United States, and he’s written over 90 books,” she said.

After the service, Clark said there will also be $1 tacos from Armando’s Tacos of Warsaw. After-church activities include a water slide for kids, with cornhole for adults.

Everyone is welcome, including those who’ve attended Branches in the past. Clark said she hopes Sunday is “a reunion of sorts.”

The church’s official opening date was Easter Sunday 2015. Clark said the church opted to postpone the anniversary celebration to the summer as “I wasn’t going to try to compete with Easter for a big event.”

Branches operates out of Baker Youth Club’s former building, which it rented initially, with the congregation now owning it.

It’s part of the denomination Vineyard USA, said Clark, who’s been the Branches pastor for four-and-a-half years.

“It’s a denomination that’s only been in existence for 50 years, so it’s not nearly as well-known as Methodists or Baptists,” she said.

According to the denomination’s official website, its core values and beliefs are: “We see Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God as the overarching and integrating theme of the Scriptures. The Vineyard movement expresses the historical, biblical, orthodox Christian beliefs with the Bible as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.”

Clark said each Vineyard church is loosely affiliated with each other.

“We come together, and we agree together, and we pay some dues to the denomination, but they don’t own our building, so it’s more of a loose affiliation,” she said.

Clark said the church offers “modern worship and children’s ministry and teaching from the Bible.”

“What might set us apart is we emphasize the person and gifts of the Holy Spirit, but in a non-hype, non-weird manner. We try to be natural about it,” she explained.

Clark said the church also “celebrates women in ministry.”

Attendance each Sunday hovers around 100. Clark noted as the church is small, it’s “highly relational.”

Although the church isn’t large enough to offer some programs, “we do have the ability to have healthy thriving community with our members,” said Clark.

She said she hoped the celebration Sunday would help people know about the church’s existence.

“We’re just small enough and just off of the main drag enough that not everyone knows we’re here,” said Clark.

Everyone is welcome to attend weekly services at 10 a.m. Sundays. Clark said there are also adult small groups during the week, with youth group from 6-8 p.m. Sundays.