Information on how our annual rhythm works and what we need from you.
Our goal is to create clear, life-giving rhythms for our senior leaders, ministries, and regions. These shared spaces give us room to celebrate, learn, and connect across the movement. Together they shape an annual pattern that strengthens our leaders, supports healthy churches, and keeps us moving in step with what God is doing.
As you plan your 2027 dates, please review the calendar structure and submit your dates by Monday 16th February 2026 to ensure we can prioritise these in the national diary.
Yearly rhythms
First Third of the Year (Jan – Apr): Focus on Senior Leaders
Focus on learning communities, investment in church leadership, and senior leaders.
This culminates with the Vineyard Leaders Gathering in April.
Second Third of the Year (May – Aug): Focus on Ministries and Networks
The focus in this third is on Network events that invest in ministry staff, pastoral staff, and volunteer teams. This also includes ministry-specific programs like Soul Spa, Worship Gathering, or Multiply Summit, and culminates with Dreaming the Impossible.
Final Third of the Year (Sep – Dec): Focus on Regions
This third provides a flexible period for regional gatherings (including Equip & Ignite if appropriate).
Any region can use any weekend in the block indicated for their regional events, as the only other events happening are other regional events. Where we might want to steer (or help land dates) is where we have a visiting speaker who could be strategically helpful in multiple regions. This term culminates with The Cause to Live For.
A more focussed annual cycle
We begin each year by investing deeply in senior leadership and trans-local leaders, creating space for shared learning and direction that leads naturally into the Vineyard Leaders Gathering. By the time we arrive at VLG, we have already been on a journey together.
VLG becomes both a celebration and a launch point, catalysing local ministries and church planting. The second term then zeroes in on ministries, pastoral staff, and key volunteers, with events designed to strengthen their training, wellbeing, and practice.
After DTI and the summer pause, the final term offers space and flexibility for regional gatherings to meet local needs and rhythms.
This approach places one Tier A event in each term, while giving clearer shape and intention to how the annual cycle works as a whole.
Caveats
There will always be exceptions. If we hold the structure too tightly, we risk limiting what God is doing.
Ireland retains freedom to shape its own calendar, while still holding the shared anchors of VLG, Learning Communities, and the Area Leaders Gathering. They will continue to receive full support from Comms.
DTI follows its own rhythm, planned carefully to build momentum toward the summer festival. Its dates still sit within the national diary so that nothing competes unnecessarily.
Vineyard Leadership College works to the academic year, so it needs room to plan in a way that fits student rhythms while avoiding clashes with national moments.
Vineyard Worship are developing regional retreats, which can land in either of the first two thirds depending on what best serves their teams.
This cycle is designed mainly for public-facing events. Closed-door gatherings such as the VLT or Trustees tend to follow the natural pattern of the school terms.
Every system needs room for anomalies if we want to stay flexible, responsive, and open to growth.
We recognise that no diary can perfectly suit every context in a movement that is expanding, but we believe this updated pattern offers a clearer and more sustainable way forward.
How will this look?
With this improved system, we can more clearly define sections of the diary, with space blocked out around the Vineyard Leaders’ Gathering, Dreaming the Impossible and The Cause to Live For, as this example from 2025 shows.
Submitting 2027 dates
As you plan your 2027 dates, please review the calendar structure and submit your dates by Monday 16th February 2026 to ensure we can prioritise these in the national diary. At this point we will sign-off dates and begin creating the 2027 diary.
Dates can be submitted after this date but, in the event of a clash, the priority will be given to the dates that were submitted within the deadline and that are already confirmed in the national diary.
NB. Please do not confirm venues, sign contracts, invite speakers or pay deposits until your date is confirmed.
Thank you for your help and feedback as we prepare a system that works for us all and serves the movement well. If you have any questions please email [email protected]. Thank you.
