Our Story
Our story is an unfolding one…
A few years ago, God gave Howie and April a picture of a city on a hill shining brightly into the community with the hope and love of Jesus.
Over the following years, God developed that original prophecy into a clear vision and a dream that was too big to ignore.
As this dream kept growing and growing, we began to wonder what would it look like to establish a church that would play it’s part in this city, that will meet people right where they are, that will bring hope, belonging and inspire change. A church that we can invite the city into that’s a beacon of love to our communities, and a place where we can truly say “Welcome home!”.
As our story begins to unfold, we’re excited for the vision of what God wants to build and that we get to be a part of what He’s doing, right now.
Join us in our unfolding story and make a difference with us!
Our Pastors
Hello, we’re Howie and April, and we’re the Pastors and Church Planters of Northwest Vineyard. We’ve been married since 2004 and have two amazing children, and one cat. We love drinking coffee, sitting with friends, eating good food… and of course Jesus.
Over the years, we’ve been involved in various leadership roles. Previously, we’ve been teaching in local West Auckland schools, we love to teach and have a heart for working and being around children, families and people in general. We’ve also been involved in working with youth as Youth Pastors, as well as other various pastoral roles. In 2011, we discovered the Vineyard Church movement and realised that we had found our family. Over this time, we served on staff at Urban Vineyard and also in a role as the national Children’s Ministry coordinators for Vineyard NZ.
Looking back, we can see God’s fingerprints on our lives to prepare us for this adventure. We love this part of the city, and we love the dream and vision that’s God’s given us for it.
As we’ve visited with the people in local cafes, shops and other places, we have become overwhelmed with His love for this area. We have a desire to help people find hope and belonging in Jesus, to see others experience the same love and freedom that we’ve experienced, knowing and becoming more like Him, and doing what He’s called them to do.
For us, we want to live a life faithful and obedient to following Jesus, establishing Northwest Vineyard is simply us saying yes to His calling and leading, and we’re excited for it.
As it begins to come alive, we’re beyond excited to dream, plan, and prepare for Northwest Vineyard to come to the West Harbour, Whenuapai and Hobsonville area.
We consider it a real honour to partner with God and amazing people to help make this dream a reality.
We hope to meet you soon!