Miami Vineyard Church — Attraction in Palmetto Bay

I want to begin by saying this isn’t a hit piece. I’ve attended Vineyard Church for a season of my life and met some genuinely kind, sincere people—both in the congregation and on staff. The pastor was personable, the volunteers were welcoming, and the environment was intentionally relaxed and friendly. I completely understand the appeal.

But over time, I began to notice things that troubled me—not because I’m looking to nitpick, but because I believe the church plays an eternal role in shaping souls. I’m now convinced that, despite good intentions, Vineyard’s model of church might unintentionally produce believers who are spiritually undernourished, and in some cases, pushed toward unbelief altogether. That’s why I—along with others—have started to think of it as what some call an “atheist factory.”

Here’s why

Worship or Concert?

The worship style at Vineyard is energetic and emotionally charged, more like a rock concert than reverent liturgy. For some, that’s engaging. But for me, it lacked depth. The songs often sound like Jesus is a boyfriend helping you through a break up—lots of emotion, not much theology.

When worship centers around feelings rather than truth, people may confuse emotional highs for spiritual depth. What happens when those feelings fade? If Jesus is only your comfort in a breakup song, do you still follow Him when the emotions aren’t there

TED Talks About Jesus

The sermons were casual, often filled with jokes or life advice. I wanted Bible-based teaching, rooted in history and doctrine. But instead, I got what felt like a TED Talk encouraging, sometimes clever, but spiritually light.

The danger is this: if people are never challenged to wrestle with sin, sacrifice, or salvation history, they’re left with a feel-good version of faith that can’t hold up under suffering, doubt, or serious critique.

Loss of the Sacred

It bothered me that coffee cups were brought into the sanctuary like it was a café. Baptisms were sometimes done by laypeople without the traditional Trinitarian formula. Communion was rare, and when offered, felt optional almost an afterthought.

These may seem like small things, but taken together, they reflect a loss of reverence. Christianity is not just a social gathering—it’s a sacred encounter with the living God. When that sacredness disappears, people start treating church like any other activity: something they might drop when life gets busy or another interest arises.

Cultural Blending

Vineyard celebrates Halloween events. It supports female pastors (prior to 2006 Vineyard did not allow women pastors, why now?) It uses modern language and casual theology to make the Gospel more “relevant.” But at what cost?

While many see these choices as progressive or inclusive, I couldn’t help but feel that Vineyard is more interested in adapting to culture than challenging it. And if the church starts to reflect the world more than the Kingdom, why would people stay? They can just go to therapy, yoga, or brunch and get the same warm vibes without the awkward “sin” talk.

No Root in Tradition

Vineyard’s website claims to draw from “the rich traditions of the Church throughout history,” but I saw little evidence of that. No liturgy. No creeds. No connection to Church Fathers. No reference to the early Church. Just a modern shell with spiritual slogans.

When a church loses its historical foundation, it becomes just another version of spiritual self-help. And when people eventually realize that, they may walk away altogether—into agnosticism, deconstruction, or full-blown atheism.

In conclusion,

I don’t say any of this to attack, but to warn. Vineyard’s intentions may be good. But good intentions don’t always produce faithful disciples. When reverence is replaced with entertainment, when truth is softened into life tips, and when tradition is thrown out for relevance, the result is often a faith too weak to survive.

I recommend the book “Rock and Sand” by Josiah Trenham. It offers a powerful perspective on what Christianity was—and what it...

What can I say... I went with my wife for one day, just checking what church to call home. I remember both of us saying, let's check a few churches and then decide... All it took was 1 service and our lives were impacted. A year after, I remember telling my wife how it still amazes me how these people have so much attention to details.

Now, the real deal about the Word given here. So some review say that they are superficial, but religious people have that word overrated. It is true that they won't go into the theology of the Bible and the deep secrets, and that's ok with me. I think their emphasis is on the day to day things we deal with. I used to get upset at people cutting me off in traffic, but now Everytime that happens I can hear Pastor Kevin saying to relax because this is Miami and I need to show the love of Christ. These day-to-day things are more practical to me than going into the theology of exorcisms and what not.

While I'm at this review thing, let's debunk the lie that other people say about them asking for too much money. Let's just say that ALL churches rely on offerings. If it bothers you so much, then you are going to have a hard time finding one. They collect tithes and offerings, but at no moment do I think they harass people into it. With that said, if you do happen to go for the first time and it so much happens to be the day that they asked a little bit more aggressively, give them the benefit of the doubt and go the next Sunday.

Now, all this is from my point of view, but to better understand my point of view, you have to know that while I was going to Med School, I was also doing a Minor in Theology, which I had to stop because Med School is very demanding. With that said, I believe that your community Church is just that, a community... If you want to study deeper, go to school. And on their defense, they go a little bit deeper in Wednesday.

My 2 cents, and Yes, we may have different views. That's the beauty of all this. God bless!

P.d: Pastor Denvil is ssshhhhh... Sorry, I sneezed... As I was saying... Pastor Denvil is...

I’m beyond disappointed at Pastor Kevin’s service this weekend. He made two distant references to the assassination of a Jesus follower named Charlie Kirk. He said and I quote “what happened this week”. Well pastor Kevin , what happened this week was the cold blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk, husband to Erika Kirk and father of two children who will never be able to feel their father’s embrace.

Charlie Kirk was spreading the word of Jesus going into the lion’s den, colleges, fiercely.

Christianity is the foundation laid out by Jesus Christ and that is exactly what Charlie was spreading. Christian values are conservative values intrinsically and Pastor Kevin did not even reference Charlie Kirk nor did he call for taking a stand against Evil perpetrated against that man.

Pastor Kevin straddles the fence between Good and Evil by not standing with those, who like the apostles, spread the word of Christ everywhere.

He seems to straddle the fence not to offend or infuriate those on the other side and by doing that, he is going against what Jesus asked of us, which it was to spread his message unafraid.

This country was founded on Judeo Christian values and we must never forget that. By not tanking a stand he is taking the wrong stand.

This behavior coupled with a situation that happened before, has forced me to never return to Miami Vineyard.

Clarification: what happened before was my wife had a sad situation on her side of the family and I personally approached Pastor Kevin to see if he could speak with her and give her some words of encouragement. Pastor Kevin without losing a beat told me he would get someone to talk to her and after calling that someone, he walked away.

I don’t recall anywhere in the Bible where Jesus walked away from those who needed him.

I felt he simply passed my wife to a third party like a hot potato not worthy of his time. I felt offended and hurt by the manner in which he dismissed my wife’s problem. That is not the way the leader of Christian congregation...