ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the narrative of the Jacobsfield Vineyard (JV) congregational study, organized in three phases: familiarization, analysis, and interpretation and the central theological question. It recounts the initial phase of the congregational study, in which the author sought to acquaint himself with the general characteristics of the JV situation. The Jacobsfield Vineyard story begins with 34-year-old Matt Lawton, their founding and current pastor. Raised in a large city in central England in a home environment with alcoholic parents, Lawton was converted to Christianity in a Baptist church at the age of 16. JV manifested a rich and diverse background of church experience. The chapter encounters the emerging church, a network which seemed to be filled with like-minded individuals, unsure of what they wanted but persistently trying to discover something better. It assimilates the author into the natural life of JV in order to build a fundamental descriptive narrative of the JV community.
