the
Vine
About the Vine
At the Vine, we are Cultivating Christ-Centered Relationships.
In chapter 15 of John's Gospel, Jesus calls Himself the Vine and speaks about the importance of remaining in Him. If we were to live independently and apart from Jesus, we would not produce the fruit of His Spirit. When we live in surrendered relationship with Jesus, His Holy Spirit produces fruit in us by nourishing and nurturing us.
God created us to live in relationship with Him and with others. That's the Vine. It's about staying connected to God and to others. The Vine represents healthy relationships, abundant life, consistent growth, and healthy fruit. At the Vine, we lift each other up as Christ lifts us up, we nurture each other as Christ nurtures us, and we live life together by remaining in Christ just as He remains in us.
The Christian life is more than a personal relationship with Jesus. It is a life lived in community with other believers who are living in relationship with Jesus. The Christian life is lived in the Vine.
"Abide in Me, and I [will abide] in you. Just as the vine-shoot is not able to bear fruit from itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither [are] you [able] unless you abide in Me. I AM the Vine; you [are] the vine-shoots. The one who abides in Me, and I in them—this one bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you are able to accomplish nothing at all."
John 15:4-5
What to Expect
Welcome to the Vine! We are a community of believers who love Jesus and seek to glorify Him in all things. Sunday worship services tend to be casual and informal. While we have a general format for worship, we let the Holy Spirit lead in whatever way He desires. Sermons are thoroughly rooted in scripture. We offer a "Grace Space" for children in our sanctuary. Children are welcome to draw, color, or doodle at the table during any portion of the service.
One of the things different about our services is that we celebrate Holy Communion (The Lord's Supper) every Sunday. Everyone is welcome to receive the elements of bread and grape juice. We usually serve the elements by intinction (you will receive a piece of the bread and then dip it into the cup of grape juice). Another different thing is that we don't pass a collection plate. You can give as God leads you, but we won't ask.
Weekly Calendar
Sundays
Prayer Gathering — 10:00 am
Worship Service — 11:00 am
Bible Study — 5:00 pm
Wednesdays
Bible Study — 6:00 pm
We want to give you a complementary subscription to a library of biblical video resources through RightNow Media. Click the RightNow Media logo above and follow the instructions to create your free account.
What We Believe
Rather than provide a list of doctrines here, we feel it is more helpful to define our worldview—the lens through which we view the world and the people in it. This worldview perspective is focused more on the individual than on the world as a whole.
This short description is only an introduction. For a complete description of our worldview, click this link or the image below.
The Christian Worldview
and the
Path of Salvation
Creation (Conception)
Every person has been created in the image and likeness of God. God's intention is for each of us to exercise authority over His creation as stewards or managers in accordance with His will. Every person has inherent value. God longs to live in fellowship with each one of us.
Sin
Sin is rebellion toward God. It is the rejection of His will. Sin is harmful to us and prevents us from living in fellowship with God. It prevents us from being who God created us to be. The end result of sin is brokenness and death.
Surrender
We cannot overcome sin by trying harder. Jesus graciously removes our sin when we stop trusting in ourselves and begin trusting in Him—when we surrender our selfish desires and submit to Jesus as our Lord. From this point of surrender, we belong to Jesus.
Redemption
Redemption is deliverance at a cost. Through His death on the cross, Jesus delivers us from our brokenness and saves us from death. Every person can be redeemed. No sin is too great. The only requirement is complete surrender and submission to Jesus as Lord.
Restoration (Rebirth)
As new creations in Christ Jesus, we no longer take our identities from our past. Our new identities are in Christ. This work of Jesus restores us into right relationships with God. No longer strangers to God, we become His sons and daughters.
Covenant Relationship
Because of His great love for us, Jesus establishes a blood covenant with all who surrender to Him. Even though we may slip or fall, Jesus is faithful to maintain His covenant with each of us so that we can maintain fellowship with God.
Our Team
A Community of Leaders
We are a community of believers abiding together in Christ to bear good fruit for the Father's glory. We acknowledge that Jesus is the True Vine, and we are the branches. As we remain in the Vine, Jesus causes us to bear fruit through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Father prunes us so that we bear more fruit for His glory.
This model of abiding in Christ means we each have a vital function in the church family. We intend for all aspects of life in the Vine to embody this shared leadership style. Christ is the head of the body. We are His complement. We each have been given something important to contribute to the body so that it remains healthy and fruitful. How is God calling you to lead? Find your place in the Vine.
Donna Looney
Worship Accompanist
Sean & Tricia Hachem
Founding Pastor
Sean is passionate about guiding people toward a deeper relationship with Jesus. He desires to see the church (the Ekklēsia—an assembly of citizens of the kingdom of heaven) fully operate in today's world as Jesus intended. Sean's desire is for the body of Christ to walk in the love and the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that the world might encounter Jesus—the One in whom we are set free.
Tricia has a heart to educate, equip, and empower parents throughout their parenting journey. She serves at Bartow Family Resources, a local pro-life non-profit that offers personalized parenting classes and baby supplies such as diapers, wipes, and baby formula.
Our History
At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we planted the Vine in 2022 as a new, non-denominational church. We acknowledge that we would not be here today except for the deep faith of those who came before us. This page seeks to preserve some of that rich history.
Sunshine Sunday School
Our story began in 1929 with 12-year-old Tillman Newton Wise, a member of the Methodist church in Calhoun, who felt a burden from the Holy Spirit for the youth who lived on the south end of town. It seems many did not attend church—partly because they did not feel they could dress well enough to do so. Newton began gathering the youth in his father’s barn on Sunday afternoons. As interest grew, the youth started meeting in the basement of his home at 509 South Wall Street for Bible study, singing, and prayer. This assembly became known as the “Sunshine Sunday School”. They continued meeting until Newton graduated from Calhoun High School in 1934, when he began his studies at Old Emory College in Oxford, GA.
Nellie Peters Chapel
While he attended Emory University in Atlanta in 1936, Wise returned to Calhoun each weekend and began raising funds to build a chapel. Rev. Thomas Ellis Reeves, a former missionary in the Belgian Congo who returned to live in Calhoun, served as treasurer for the endeavor.
Ralph P. Black, a Georgia Tech professor, was approached for a donation. Ralph was heir to the Peters Plantation, an agricultural research facility founded by his grandfather, Richard Peters. Ralph agreed the Peters estate would donate a parcel of land and asked the chapel be named after his mother, Nellie Peters Black, who had taken over farm operations after her father’s death.
The groundbreaking for Nellie Peters Chapel took place on Easter Sunday, 1937. The now Reverend T. Newton Wise preached the first sermon in the chapel. Rev. T. E. Reeves served as interim pastor until a permanent pastor could be found. Nellie Peters Chapel soon became Nellie Peters Methodist Church and was placed on a circuit with New Echota Methodist Church. Rev. Cullen Jones was appointed as its first pastor.
Rev. T. E. Reeves continued to be involved with the church and was instrumental in acquiring land for a larger chapel further south in the community known as Rock City. The parcel of land where the chapel now sits was purchased in November 1946. Construction of the new chapel was completed in 1947. The chapel’s unique construction matched the homes surrounding it. Observant passersby can still see a few of these stone-constructed homes in the surrounding area. Additional meeting space and restroom facilities were added later.
For many years, the chapel hosted a gathering of Methodists on Sunday mornings and a Pentecostal congregation on Sunday evenings.
Community Resources
Here are some resources that help with basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.
National Resources
Pregnancy and Parenting Resources
Bartow Family Resources
Anyone can receive services from Bartow Family Resources. You do not have to be a resident of Bartow County.
Gordon County Resources
Bartow County Resources
