We believe the Church is at its best when it reflects the fullness of God’s richly diverse Kingdom. Our heart is to see every person, whatever their ethnicity, culture, or background, fully welcomed, empowered, and released into all that God has for them in our churches and across our movement.
Vision
Our vision is to see ethnic diversity at every level of the Vineyard, and equity regardless of ethnicity. Whatever country we might call home and whatever our ethnic heritage, we believe God’s family is united and is richer because of the unique contribution that each of us has to make.
- To see ethnic diversity expressed at every level of ministry and leadership across Vineyard churches in the UK and Ireland.
- To be a movement marked by racial equity, cultural humility, and Kingdom unity.
- To champion the unique contribution of every person, as we extend God’s Kingdom together everywhere in every way.
Why This Matters
- God’s vision is for a united family “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” (Revelation 7:9).
- Diversity is not an optional extra; it is part of God’s design.
- When the Church embraces ethnic diversity, we more fully reflect the breadth and beauty of God’s Kingdom.
As Peter declared in Acts 10:34-35, “God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
Our Commitment
We are on a journey as a movement, and we recognise there is more to do. In 2024, Vineyard leadership commissioned the Racial Diversity Network to help us accelerate this work with clarity and care. Together, we are:
- Equipping leaders to grow in cultural awareness and lead inclusive, welcoming churches.
- Identifying and releasing leaders from under-represented people groups.
- Providing tools to help churches assess and grow in diversity and inclusion.
Everyone is invited to play their part, whether you’re new to Vineyard or have been part of the family for years.
Explore our resources
We encourage leaders and teams to explore our growing library of resources, prayerfully reflect on their context, and take steps forward together.
Training Modules
On the Training platform, there is a Foundations Module that acts as an entry point leading to three other modules: Educate, Equip and Empower.
The ‘Foundations Module‘ was filmed as part of the ‘Vineyard Leadership Essentials’ course and shares vision and a helpful framework.
‘Educate‘ is designed to enable us to listen to under-represented voices and narratives outside of the dominant culture.
‘Equip‘ are bitesize resources where tips, ideas and perspectives are shared to help stimulate conversations that lead to meaningful change.
Coming later this year is ‘Empower‘, which includes tools that are designed to measure the effectiveness of our actions. We’ll also be introducing ‘reciprocal mentoring’ where a strategic relationship is formed between a current leader and a person from an under-represented ethnic people group in order to enhance both of their development as leaders.
These free resources are available on our training platform and are designed to support churches, church plants, teams and individuals.
We want to play our part in being a beautiful demonstration of hope, freedom and peace. Whatever our background or ethnicity, we all have a part to play. We hope these new resources help serve you and your church well.
Team
Donna
Donna Bernard-Carlin (Trent Vineyard, Nottingham) grew up in Nottingham, is of Jamaican heritage and is married to John, who is of Irish descent. She holds qualifications in Social Work, Counselling, and currently works and lectures in Healthcare Chaplaincy. She and John moved back to Nottingham from South West London Vineyard to support John and Debby in planting Trent Vineyard in 1996.
Dan
Dan Green (Severn Vineyard, Bristol) grew up in India, the son of British parents. He studied in England before moving with his wife Karen to live in Lebanon and Jordan, where he learnt Arabic. He now lives in Bristol, where he leads a charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and creating opportunities for people of all faiths, races and cultures to better understand one another.
Josh
Josh Kay (Hope Vineyard, Oxford) was adopted as a baby by white British parents who trained church leaders in Kenya. His teenage years were spent in Bristol. He then moved to Nottingham working in Physiotherapy and playing Rugby Union. In 2017, he and his family moved from Trent Vineyard to plant Hope Vineyard. Josh plays a key role in conversations about diversity within VCUKI and facilitating what God is doing through this network.
Cap and Jo
Cap and Jo Ramdas-Harsia (Birmingham Vineyard) led a church in Leeds, before moving to Birmingham. Cap is from a Jamaican-Indian family and worked for many years as an accountant for a number of large businesses. Jo grew up in London and is a trained teacher with a passion for justice. They oversee a number of areas of ministry as Executive/Assistant pastors, at Birmingham Vineyard and have been instrumental in strategic changes, enabling the church to grow in racial diversity.
Sarah
Sarah Shin (Catalyst Vineyard, Aberdeen) is a theologian, speaker, and author. Her book 'Beyond Colorblind' was a recommended text in Christianity Today. She and her husband are Korean Americans with a big heart for Scotland. Sarah's wealth of experience, includes: university student ministry, training church leaders, teaching about evangelism, ethnicity/race and scripture at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary (USA), Westminster Theological Centre (UK), Vineyard USA and UK&I
