The Vineyard story is about ordinary people who worship and serve an extraordinary God. The Vineyard is simply one thread in the rich tapestry of the historic and global Church of Jesus Christ. But it is a thread of God’s weaving.

In the late 1970s in Cambria, a group of “twenty-somethings” gave their lives to our Lord Jesus Christ. They started meeting weekly in homes and would go to Cayucos Christian Fellowship to attend church on Sundays. It became their desire to start a church in Cambria. In the early spring of 1980, that group approached Daniel and Denise Brill to join them and pastor the founding of this church.

Through a relationship with San Luis Obispo Vineyard Christian Fellowship, they decided to become part of the Vineyard movement and incorporated as Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambria in 1983.

We have gone through a succession of pastors since the early days: Dan & Denise Brill 1980-1985; Bobby deLancellotti 1985-1995; Kin Lancaster 1995-2000; and Gary White 2001-2023.
.
From the beginning, Vineyard pastors and leaders have sought to hold in tension the biblical doctrines of the Christian faith with an ardent pursuit of the present-day work of the Spirit of God. Maintaining that balance is never easy in the midst of rapid growth and renewal.

John Wimber was a founding leader of the Vineyard. His influence profoundly shaped the theology and practice of Vineyard churches from their earliest days until his death in November 1997. When John was conscripted by God he was, in the words of Christianity Today, a “beer-guzzling, drug-abusing pop musician, who was converted at the age of 29 while chain-smoking his way through a Quaker-led Bible study” (Christianity Today, editorial, Feb. 9, 1998).

Our first public meeting room was the Chamber of Commerce in 1980. For the following 17 years, we met at the old elementary school, the high school, and then the historic church on Bridge Street. In 1997 our current permanent building site became available. Through fits and starts the property was purchased and subdivided in 1999 with the current land configuration. It was shortly after this time that a balloon payment became due and the other local churches of Cambria, (spearheaded by the Community Presbyterian Church) secretly raised the needed funds and presented them to the Vineyard Church, keeping the dream alive! 

The first phase of our facility was completed in September 2009. Our vision for future phases of the building includes a church sanctuary, a fellowship hall, an education building, and a prayer chapel. Buildings aside, our focus has always been on people with our mission, “to love God, to love others, and help others do that too.”