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In 2023, after thirteen years of planting and pastoring Vine Church, Toby stepped into long service leave. On his final Sunday before that well-earned rest, Beth Williams stood up to honour the years of ministry that have shaped our community. Here is what she shared…

I’m going to start this with a little story, and a bit of Matt’s Maths. When Toby Neal started Vine Church with 16 people in his living room, I was fourteen years old. Since that living room, Vine Church has met in a school, a cafe, a pub, a hotel, a library, a community hall, an old church, online, a design college, and a refurbished church. There have been 676 Sundays, 13 Easters and Christmases, three congregations started, one building project, and one pandemic. For the first five years of planting Vine, Toby worked so hard to get the church off the ground that he barely took a week of annual leave. You might have only been here for a few months, or a couple of years, but this gathering is a result of Toby’s life’s work in the Lord. He has relentlessly poured himself out for thirteen years, to see people like you sitting under God’s word, loving Jesus more, and being baptised into new life.

I’ve only been at Vine Church for two years and on staff for one of those, but I just wanted to share a bit about the ways I’ve seen Toby pour into this church in the short time I’ve been here. The first way is the way he brings the word to us week in and week out. I know I speak for many people when I say that Toby’s preaching of God’s word is one of the main things that drew me to Vine Church. Toby puts so much thought and time and planning into making sure that God’s word is preached clearly and in its fullness – he doesn’t skip over the parts that make us uncomfortable (as we all realised during the Song of Songs series). We are so blessed to have a lead pastor who faithfully allows God’s word to direct the trajectory of our sermons.

The second way Toby invests in Vine Church is by investing in his staff team. Some of you may not have spent time personally getting to know Toby, but you have been significantly impacted by the ministry of Meg, or Liv, or Matt, or Grant. That is because Toby is constantly pouring into his staff members. He always makes time for them, he is invested in the work they are doing, he pushes them to grow in their faith and to think strategically and carefully about the area they are leading. Vine Church is well served by its staff members, because the staff members are well served by their lead pastor.

This is connected to the third way I’ve seen Toby pour into Vine Church, which is his servant-heartedness. There have been so many little moments of sacrificial, behind the scenes service from Toby Neal. If you see him for part of the day, what you probably don’t see is that he’s had a 7am meeting with parish council, back to back meetings with his staff, picked up his kids from their after school sport and is running Onboard that night. At the recent working bee, Grant saw him take one of the worst jobs, covering up rat holes. After most 4:30 dinners or Life courses, you’ll find him stacking the chairs or unpacking the dishwasher. Every Sunday, Toby checks the expiry dates on the milk to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy their coffee or tea. He waters the plants. And even if he’s preaching a massive sermon in half an hour, Toby will always pick up the phone if you need him.

Finally, Toby Neal is a visionary. Without a doubt, if you’re a member of Vine Church, the phrases “bigger than the Beresford” and “life, love and freedom of Jesus” have sunk deep into your bones. I have never been at a church where every single member knows exactly what they are driving towards and can articulate it so clearly. Toby has always kept this church driving towards the vision of the gospel – to see many people come to know the life, love and freedom that Jesus offers. Everything that happens at Vine Church, from the sermons, to the meals, to the weekends away, to the Christmas Festival is driven to that end. No one at this church has any doubt as to what our purpose is! And that is thanks to Toby’s visionary leadership, and his refusal to settle for anything less than what Jesus calls us to be: a church that works hard and passionately for our city repent and believe the gospel, and love the Lord Jesus with their whole lives.

So. All that to say is that Toby, you have more than earned this rest. We are so delighted that you are going to be able to spend eight weeks recharging, surfing and spending quality time with your family. I’ve said a lot, but Toby, would you mind coming up and sharing a bit more about how you’re going to be spending this time?

PRAYER

Father thank you for the fire that you gave Toby 13 years ago to plant a church in Surry Hills. Thank you for the way you have blessed this ministry, and the hundreds of lives that have been changed by you. Thank you for Toby and Liz, Maisy, Evie and Archer. We ask that these next eight weeks would be a joy and a blessing to them. Please give them wonderful weather, meaningful connections and forever memories as a family. We pray that God would help Toby especially to rest well; help him settle into deep rhythms of rest over the next two months, and to prioritise the things that attune his spirit to yours. We ask that this time would set Toby up for another decade of ministry, and seeing hundreds more people come to know the life, love and freedom of Jesus.

Beth Williams | Vine Church MTS Apprentice (2023–2024)