During a Pastors’ Conference in Anaheim, California, a seed was planted in Raymond and Teresa McDonald to plant a church in the Northern Houston Area of Texas.  They felt they needed training and went to serve on the staff of the Mountain Vineyard in Park City, Utah.  It was there God’s call was confirmed and hastened in their lives.  After much prayer, they came to Spring, Texas in the fall of 1997 and  served on the staff of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Spring.

In June, Raymond and Teresa purchased a home northwest of The Woodlands and began hosting a home group for the purpose of planting a church in Conroe, Texas.  They were joined by several families from the Vineyard in Spring.  The planting team knew they wanted to be in Conroe but did not know their “target” until the spring of 2000.

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Raymond and Teresa stumbled upon the downtown Conroe community and immediately felt God’s call there.  They drove around town and found a small Victorian style house next to the railroad tracks and within a few months made it their home.  They hosted home groups twice per week at “The Yellow House” and the numbers in attendance increased steadily from week to week.

On January 8, 2001, the Vineyard Church of Conroe held its first meeting in a small banquet room on the sixth floor of the Conroe Tower in downtown Conroe.  God provided this temporary sanctuary and the young church was thankful for this blessing from God.  After all, meeting in the Conroe Tower, the highest point in Conroe, made the young church the closest church to God! Home groups continued to thrive and grow. At times, due to scheduling conflicts with the Conroe Tower, the church was forced to meet in Heritage Park, a few blocks away from the Conroe Tower.  We also met in Brad and Melinda Sledge’s back yard a couple of times. The church continued growing. God was giving the increase.

In July of 2001, the church was given a deadline by the proprietors of the Conroe Tower to find another meeting location. The church knew that God would have to provide new facilities. The search intensified for a new, permanent home. After pursuing several dead ends (a few strip centers and an old feed store), the church felt God had something greater in mind. Little did they know that His provision would be something beyond what they could have asked for or imagined.
A few blocks north of downtown Conroe, just up the street from the Conroe Tower, the First Presbyterian Church was preparing to move to their new facilities on the west side of town. The original campus, located at 1126 N. San Jacinto Street, would soon be vacant.

This historic facility was over 20,000 square feet, ample space to meet the needs of the young church and provide it room to grow. It was in the perfect location to anchor their outreach being launched into the community. However, for a young church, such a facility seemed financially out of reach. Still, they believed that God still works miracles and approached the Presbyterian church leadership to discuss the purchase of the property. In the meetings with the Presbyterian church, they expressed their desire to see God’s work continue in the community. The Vineyard expressed their desire to continue that work.

In August 2001, just a month after discussions began, the Vineyard Church of Conroe began meeting in the facility and officially called it home in September of that same year.