Some may well have seen the news that a vital figure in the formation of the Vineyard movement, Carol Wimber-Wong, has been promoted to glory. As the VCUKI (Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland) Facebook post put it;
“We are saddened to share the news that Carol Wimber-Wong has been promoted to glory, having passed away earlier today, 3rd of January 2025.
As someone who was 7 when John Wimber died, and chose as an adult to identify with Vineyard theology and churches, I’d been aware of Carol, not least from reading Bill Jackson’s The Quest for the Radical Middle, a history of the Vineyard movement up until the close of 1990s. As someone born in 1990, who didn’t encounter the Vineyard until about 2010, this book was a really helpful too for me to think through what I thought about all sorts of things. A quick name search of an electronic version throws up about 74 references in just over 400 pages – but even that perhaps underplays Carol’s significance for the Vineyard. She was always pushing closer to God, in a variety of contexts, and it is that image that I will remember.
One of the most formative experiences for me has been being part of the Society of Vineyard Scholars – from a meeting back in 2013 at Anaheim (now, of course, not a part of the Vineyard movement), to the last meeting in 2022 in Denver – and in 2019, in Minneapolis, I nearly met Carol Wimber Wong. I say nearly, because I want to be really clear that (and this is important, as ‘being’ or ‘thinking’ Vineyard is less about relationship to certain people, and more about biblical fidelity and some core theological ideas/experiences) actually meeting her wasn’t the point. She and some other ‘OG’ Vineyard folk were flown out to Minneapolis to pray for us ‘scholars’, at what was the 10th anniversary of SVS. I will never, I don’t think, forget the slightly surreal sight of Carol, and her sister and brother in law (The Fultons) shuffling up the access ramp from the church floor onto a small stage. Having read a paper on that same stage, as a younger person, I knew it was a hypothetically easy step. The time of prayer ministry that followed, however, was extraordinary, both for me personally and for some of those I saw prayed for. People who looked weak in the world’s eyes, are made strong by the Spirit of God, in and for the Kingdom of God.
That reminded me of some words from Scripture that capture this, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10:
“Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.“
I’m sure there were things I’d theologically disagree with Carol about – but the way that she pointed to Jesus over so many years, spoke out about injustice even recently regarding Anaheim, and modelled a pursuit of Christ and his Kingdom, will remain an inspiration to me and many, many others.
To get a feel for Carol’s life and passion, you might enjoy this interview a friend of mine, Luke Geraty, did with her a few years ago:
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