A Note from Parker

Dear friends at Central Vineyard,

I want to take a moment to write to you with gratitude, affection, and clarity around our new model of co-leadership. Over the past year and more, I’ve become increasingly aware of what a gift it is to serve this community. Central Vineyard has become home for me in ways that are both deeply personal and profoundly pastoral. I love this church—your openness, your honesty, your hunger for God, your willingness to wrestle with hard things, and your commitment to showing up for one another with courage and grace. It is an honor I don’t take lightly to be invited into your lives, your stories, and our shared pursuit of the kingdom.

The Board, Elders, Jared, and I have been engaged in a careful process of discernment around the future pastoral leadership of Central Vineyard. That process has been marked by listening, testing, waiting, and has included real conversation and honest engagement about the risks and possibilities of shared leadership. Out of that discernment has come a deep sense of peace and clarity that Jared and I are being called to serve together for a season as Co-Lead Pastors. I’m grateful for the trust the Board and Elders have placed in us through this process and for the ways so many of you have encouraged me and helped my family settle in since moving to Columbus 18 months ago.

Practically speaking, our co-lead arrangement is meant to reflect shared responsibility, mutual accountability, and collaborative discernment. Jared and I will carry the role of Co-Lead Pastor together, serving alongside the Elders, Board, and Leadership Team in close partnership. While we bring different gifts, histories, and areas of focus, we are aligned in vision, theology, and love for this community. To help provide additional clarity, we’ve put together a Co-Leadership FAQ that details a bit more of how this shared leadership will function. We invite you to read it and reach out if questions remain.

As I look ahead, I’m genuinely excited about what this next season holds. I’m hopeful about deepening our presence in the neighborhood and continuing to grow as a church that leads with humility and courage. I’m excited about strengthening partnerships with other churches and organizations as we serve our unhoused, immigrant, and refugee neighbors, and about continuing to equip the body for worship and ministry while building a team of thoughtful, generous leaders who love Jesus and this city. This community and this moment feel like the fruit of a long road of learning and growth, and I remain thankful for that formation as we continue to build on our longstanding partnership with Asia’s Hope, including Jared’s and my upcoming trip to Cambodia this February.

Above all, my commitment is simple and enduring: to care well for this congregation and for our neighborhood; to listen carefully, lead faithfully, and help Central Vineyard continue to become a community of prayer that engages suffering, open to the work of the Spirit among us.

I’m deeply thankful for the patience, prayer, and trust that have marked this season, and I’m hopeful for what’s ahead because I believe God is present, active, and faithful in this community. It is my joy to step into this next chapter with you.

Warmly,

Parker Frey | Co-Lead Pastor
Central Vineyard Church