Vineyard Church of Knox County
Our Staff
The Vineyard Church of Knox County is currently led by Assistant Pastor Sharon Mutchler and the Elders as they seek God’s direction and guidance during the transition time following the departure of the church’s founding pastor, Chris Macky. Sharon’s Christian journey is a testament to the faithfulness and leading of God ... here is her story.
Assistant Pastor Sharon Mutchler
Being raised in a Christian home planted good seed in her heart, but she didn’t come to a personal relationship with Christ until she turned 40, when she was a single mother with three children. Somewhere she had the idea that if you really became a Christian life would become much easier, but much to her surprise it didn’t. However, she soon learned that although the difficulties remained she wasn’t walking through them alone because Jesus was walking with her, strengthening and supporting her.
She has been in full-time ministry since joining Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in 1985, serving on the mission field and aboard the Mercy Ship, the M/V Anastasis. After being ordained as a pastor in 1989 by ECA (Evangelical Church Alliance), the Lord led her to start a home for women in the Seattle area where for 11 years she lived and worked with women in transition.
God then called her to Mt. Vernon in 2002. While visiting friends in Mount Vernon a few years ago she felt the Lord specifically calling me to move here from the Pacific Northwest. Now, being a native Washingtonian, she spent a great deal of time arguing with the Lord and asking for multiple confirmations that this was what she was to do. Of course, He won! In 2002 she made the move, uncertain of why the Lord was asking me to do this. She soon connected with Chris Macky and became a founding partner in VCKC. She knows now why God called her here.
Facilitating home groups and creating small group studies is something dear to her. Over the years she has written a number of studies that the Lord has used to draw people into a closer, more intimate relationship with Him. Overseeing the home groups at VCKC is a real joy for her. The desire of her heart is that we all come to a greater understanding of who God is and who we are in relationship with Him. When we grow in this we are then drawn into His heart of love causing us to become more of who He created us to be.
She has been familiar with The Vineyard for years and was fortunate enough to attend conferences where John Wimber (the founder of The Vineyard) was the teacher/speaker. The Vineyard philosophy of “every member a minister” and “let’s do the stuff” is what she believes to be the way the Lord wants to see His Church function.
Her children are now grown and she is the grandmother of nine fantastic grandchildren.
Contact Sharon -
Founding Pastor Chris Macky
Chris Macky served as the Vineyard Church of Knox County’s planting and founding pastor from its beginning in 2003 until September of 2007. After serving in Young Life for six years as a volunteer and finally as the Area Director in Licking and Knox Counties, Chris finished a Masters of Divinity degree at Ashland Theological Seminary in June of 2002. During those seminary years, he was exposed to a different (to him) understanding of Jesus’ model of ministry and of the role of the Holy Spirit, what he came to understand as “Kingdom Ministry.” Chris became convinced that the Vineyard’s understanding of the Kingdom of God and of Jesus’ model of ministry were exciting and biblically accurate. He wanted to join them.
Wondering how and where God wanted Chris to minister in the Vineyard, he met with Danny Meyer, founding pastor of the Vineyard Church of Delaware County and regional coordinator for church planting, for an informal interview. Chris explained his experiences and his understanding of God’s call on his life to minister in the Vineyard. So, Danny invited Chris to intern at his church with the possibility of planting a Vineyard Church in Mt. Vernon.
During the spring and summer of 2007, Chris began feeling God’s call away from full-time ministry and back to graduate school, specifically to study the interaction of faith, play (and how play manifests itself in sports), and culture, with the purpose of teaching at the university level. During the fall of 2007, he stepped out in faith and down from his position as Senior Pastor at VCKC and began the process of applying to graduate school programs. Chris and his wife and their daughter remain in Mt. Vernon as they wait for the graduate school application process to play out and they see what God has in store for them in this next stage of their lives.
Support Staff
Gail Dement serves the church as office administrator. You can contact her at
