Who We Are-The Wine Family
The seasons of our lives may change and we may set our hands to work at different assignments the Lord gives us, but always our core calling is the same: We will actively love and obey our Lord Jesus Christ and minister to the people He puts before us.
Early years:
Matthew grew up in Waynesboro, VA. His sister shared the Gospel with him and led him to the Lord when he was 16. It was in Matthew’s college years (spent at King College, now King University) that significant transformation, growth, and even deliverance took place. He experienced freedom from bondages from the past and growth in his identity in Christ. It was in these years when Matthew received initial burdens for worship and intercession. He organized and led a prayer watch on King’s campus. During these years he started attending a new church plant in Johnson City called Hosanna Fellowship and it has remained his church home since.
I, Julie, grew up in Statesville, NC in a church faithful to the word of God. I had pivotal moments in my early life where I received God’s gift of salvation and surrendered my life to Christ. College was a new season of experiencing God’s presence and love through the person of the Holy Spirit. Encountering Jesus in times of private and corporate worship and prayer at Hosanna Fellowship (which I had also begun attending), was also a critical factor in my growth in that season.
We were both growing in lifestyles of worship and prayer. We were also growing in ministry in the body of Christ.
Marriage years:
We got married in 2002. Matthew was on staff at Hosanna, and we both had the opportunity to receive foundational, hands-on training about ministering to the Lord and to people in this season. There were significant opportunities to learn through the ministries of our church, through a growing prayer ministry (TRIHOP-Tri-Cities House of Prayer), and through other ministries like IHOP (The International House of Prayer in Kansas City). In addition to learning, we had valuable opportunities to teach. We led a home group for a time as well as taught classes in our church body. We had our first 3 children during this time.
A Decade of Intercession:
In late 2009, Matthew began sensing a change and was seeking the Lord fervently for direction, even staying up one night each week to pray. We both felt the Lord leading Matthew to step out of his role on staff at Hosanna and into raising support to be intercessory missionaries through TRIHOP, which we did in 2011. This was a leap of faith, as many transitions can be, but we felt God’s leadership into this new role to be primarily focused on prayer and worship and encouraging people from that place. This meant that we were engaged in weekly corporate and individual prayer gatherings. We spent many hours in prayer for our nation, the nation of Israel, for LIFE in our region, for the Church of this region and the nation, for the nations of the earth to see the great worth of Jesus.
We have always carried a heart for ministry to others, and the years with TRIHOP were also marked with discipleship and ministry through various means, including the Lampstand meetings that developed during that time. The heart of this was to provide a place for people to gather and worship and pray and study the word together with an emphasis on fueling our hearts, just as oil is placed in a lamp.
What a decade this was! We received so much teaching and impartation in this time. The Lord was training us in prayer, and also in new levels of trust in Him! We are so grateful for the community of prayer warriors we got to walk with in those days.
We also had our 4th and 5th child in this season and what an adventure having 5 kids has been! The Lord has entrusted them to us to raise them to be strong followers of Jesus. We also began our adventures of homeschooling our kids.
These Days- A New Role:
In July 2021, God surprised us with another transition! Through the Lord’s clear leadership, we moved out of the season of raising support as intercessory missionaries and Matthew is back on staff as Lead/Teaching pastor at Hosanna Fellowship as of January 2022. This new season of ministry looks different, but the hours of prayer have prepared and shaped us, and we are thankful for the Lord’s direction and the amazing body of people at Hosanna.
The burden to minister to the Lord as the Levites did in the Scripture, through continual praise and worship only increases. Jesus is truly worthy of a pure offering of worship and prayer that would rise from His people like incense (Malachi 1:11). We continue to stand with our prayer warrior friends at TRIHOP. We are also thankful for this new role of pastoring a local fellowship. We understand more and more the role of Jesus as the Good Shepherd of His people.
Family Life:
Matthew and I have been so blessed to welcome five amazing children into our family over the past 20 years of marriage, two boys and three girls. We also experienced three miscarriages, and even though we don’t have those children with us in our home, we really do carry them in our hearts and are so thankful for the way God used each one of them to shape us and our family. Life is so precious.
In 2010, we began a journey of homeschooling our children. We felt the Lord lead us clearly to homeschooling, with an emphasis on “raising up Daniels.” For us, this has meant an emphasis on excellence in character and literature and learning within a lifestyle of prayer. One of the most extraordinary gifts during the season of prayer ministry was to see our children embrace a love for being in prayer. They have stood with us in prayer watches, prayer sieges, prayer conferences, countless prayer meetings, and helped serve in the Lampstand meetings. We are so thankful for each one of our precious treasures and the way God uniquely designed them, and for the incredible blessing of launching them into the world.
1st Commandment 1st:
We endeavor to lead our family to always love God with everything we have and seek to shine the light of Christ to others. May God receive the glory!