The Trellis and the Vine: The ministry mind-shift that changes everything

The Vine Project

by Colin Marshall, Tony Payne

All Christian ministry is a mixture of trellis and vine.

There is vine the prayerful preaching and teaching of the word of God to see people converted and grow to maturity as disciples of Christ. Vine work is the Great Commission.

And there is trellis creating and maintaining the physical and organizational structures and programs that support vine work and its growth.

What’s the state of the trellis and the vine in your part of the world? Has trellis work taken over, as it has a habit of doing? Is the vine work being done by very few (perhaps only the pastor and only on Sundays)? And is the vine starting to wilt as a result?

The image of the trellis and the vine raises all the fundamental questions of Christian

What is the vine for?How does the vine grow?How does the vine relate to my church?What is vine work and what is trellis work, and how can we tell the difference?What part do different people play in growing the vine?How can we get more people involved in vine work?In The Trellis and the Vine, Colin Marshall and Tony Payne answer these urgent questions afresh. They dig back into the Bible’s view of Christian ministry, and argue that a major mind-shift is required if we are to fulfil the Great Commission of Christ, and see the vine flourish again.

This latest edition of The Trellis and the Vine contains a discussion guide for groups and ministry teams working through it together, a list of recommended resources, and an index of Bible verses referenced throughout the text.

If you've been convinced by The Trellis and the Vine, then the next step is The Vine Project.

Genres: Christian, Discipleship, Theology, Church, Leadership, Christianity, Christian Living

219 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Colin is married to Jacquie and they have three adult children, Karyn, Deborah and Jonathon.

Together with Jacquie he has spent the past 30 years training men and women in the ministry of the gospel, both in university and local church contexts. He is a graduate of Moore Theological College, Sydney.

He is the author of The Trellis and the Vine, Growth Groups, a training course for small group leaders, and Passing the Baton, a handbook for ministry apprenticeship.

Until 2006 he directed The Ministry Training Strategy, a ministry apprenticeship movement.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great book on how to do church ministry. The idea is that we should not focus on various programs, but instead on discipling people. This is the way that Jesus taught us to do ministry: make disciples of all nations. This book contains some practical guides for how to incorporate discipling into the life of a church.

This book will definitely be on my "read a second time" list. I'd love to revisit this book if I ever find myself in ministry.

UPDATE: September 2022. I read this one again. It's really got me thinking about how I can institute steps to train church members to be disciplers of one another.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book. A very, very good book. It says a lot without needing too many pages, and is encouraging and straight forward. And it does an amazing job reorienting the modern Christian mindset back into the proper focus of ministry: discipling people and training up others to do the same.

If you are a pastor or elder, this is a must read. If you're not, you'll find this book helps you better understand the leader's role, but that most of the chapters aren't practical for you.

That's not to say it detracts from the book, but I was surprised how pastor focused this book is. That means most of the practical advice wasn'tnt directly relevant for me. But what it did give me was a better understanding of my role as a disciple and disciple-maker.

In the end, I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to serve as a pastor or elder, but would point most non-pastors to something else.

[John Dube · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second time through this. This book is a help in thinking about the relationship between church programming (the trellis) and discipleship/people(the vine). The thesis is that churches generally focus more on the trellis than the vine, and when we shift the focus to the vine and making vine-dressers, we fulfill the mission on the church, namely, to make disciples who make disciples. I appreciate how practical this book is. This book is required reading for pastors.

[Teodora Miceva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been taught this concept for a while, but it never fell into place as well as it did now that I've read this book. The basic premise is that every church's goal should be to grow the vine - the vine being the people, or disciples of Jesus Christ. This means making new ones and growing the ones that are already there, by meeting them where they are and by helping them to make it one step further by sharing the word of God with them. In this process, the pastor is a trainer whose main job is to focus on looking for a new generation of leaders and to train them in order to delegate much of what is traditionally thought of as pastor's responsibilities, thus gradually reducing a great deal of pastor's traditional work. These trainees in turn look for other people to share the word of God with, meet them where they are and take them one step further. This process continues down to the point that every church member is both a disciple maker and a disciple himself. In this process, the trellis is just a structure that helps grow the vine, and implies things like small groups, one-on-one meetings and so on. The existing trellis should never be the mold that you want to force your people into at all costs; rather, you should start with the kind of people you have and adjust the trellis accordingly.
A very very helpful book, well worth of my time. In fact, I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. I will be thinking and learning more about these concepts and ideas. I recommend this especially to pastors in countries where there is very little existing structure and where the next generation of leaders is virtually neglected.

[Tim Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A summary in three sentences: we care about the growth of the vine—God’s kingdom—through Spirit-backed, prayerful proclamation of the Bible. Everything we do to support that work is ‘trellis’, but must be updated to keep supporting the growth of ‘the vine’. Vine work is the work of every Christian, who should be equipped to partner in it.

From these three core convictions flow a whole book—and it’s well worth reading. To many its core message may seem obvious, but it certainly can’t be taken for granted, and despite having read it before (multiple times), it was definitely worth reading again. It’s so easy to shift my thinking onto the systems that are already in place, to get into the habit of ‘gap filling’, and to miss what we’re all about. Even the best trellis, a trellis designed to help the vine grow, needs tending to in order to help the vine grow in its current form.

This has been helpful for me to consider how I engage in the ministry God has given me to do—but it’s also enormously helpful for those I’m seeking to train in ministry. While there are elements of it that are starting to feel a little dated, it’s hard to overstate the usefulness of this book. For any inclined to doubt, you only need to consider the profound underlining of its key messages when its inadvertently-prophetic conclusion (“Imagine a pandemic…”) was realised a few years ago. When all else is stripped away, what are we trying to do?

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful in many ways, this presentation of pastoral theology emphasizes a pastor-trainer model over either the preacher-service provider model or teacher-CEO model. The most significant takeaway for me was the three Cs of ministry/duplication: conviction, character, and competency. We must not overemphasize one at the expense of the others. The book’s use of Scripture is generally sound and insightful. This was a worthwhile read, even if a bit simplistic and redundant at points. Some weaknesses include a too-low view of the ordained ministry (for Presbyterians/Reformed readers, this includes Ruling Elders and Deacons), a lack of clear application (I was left wondering, “how does this work in real life?”), and a failure to handle/address the threat of truly destructive sin patterns which disrupt church life and complicate the ministry of every pastor/leader.

[Lukas Stock · Rating 2 out of 5]

The metaphor is right. It just takes a page to explain, not a book.

I’ve also seen the ways the focus on “people worth watching (PWWs)” is not only cringeworthy but just creates a new class division in place of the clergy/lay distinction Marshall and Payne are so concerned with.

Join your parish, worship Christ, love people. Don’t buy this book.

[Blake Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done. I really like the emphasis on how we need to be God-oriented and people-focused. Not programs, not numbers, not events. The goal of discipleship is to make disciples and mature those disciples.

And maturing disciples comes from when all the saints, every member of the body, is building up one another through love, prayer, and service. A pastor’s work is not to do the work of ministry. Rather it’s to equip the saints for the work of ministry (love one another, forgive, pray for one another, show hospitality, and bear each others burdens.) Eph. 4:12-13

A pushback I might have is that I don’t think this means that every member of our church should be expected to become a teacher of the Word. Though that’s kind of the vibe I get from this book and other like minded-books…work hard to make everyone a pastor/elder. Yes, godliness comes from knowing the truth (Psalm 1, Titus 1:1). But I think there are various examples and mentions in the NT of how brothers and sisters are faithful without exercising gifts of teaching (Phobe, Acts 6 deacons besides Stephen). We need to recognize and praise people full of good works that aren’t noticeably tied to “Word-ministries”. I love faithful teachings in the church and in homes and in coffee shops. But it’s not the only honorable work that happens in churches.

[Sam Crosbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basic ethos of the book is that gospel growth is not equivalent to church growth, numerically or in programmes it is running. Rather, gospel growth happens through relational teaching of the word, and for this to happen effectively the pastor must primarily see their role as a trainer. I largely agree with that and would give the book 5 stars but for its idealistic and somewhat naive applications.

[Andrew Krom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I read this book a long time ago. I believe so many unhealthy churches would benefit from this. The philosophy of ministry that Marshall and Payne set forward in this book is one I will seek to emulate in my future life in ministry.

[C.J. Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful but not as helpful or groundbreaking as some have made it out to be. But perhaps that’s because they were successful in changing the status quo so long ago, that now it doesn’t feel as paradigm shifting as it did to the previous generation.

Most helpful aspect is that we should treat more of our church members as disciple makers alongside us (as pastors). It's only by doing this that we can see the exponential growth we all desire, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

[Chris Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. A book focusing on the importance of discipleship and building the church.

[Tung · Rating 1 out of 5]

Marshall is a Christian teacher and Payne is a Christian author, and the two team up to write this book challenging churches to reconsider the effectiveness of their programs and goals; specifically they argue that churches need to focus more on growing its members spiritually (the “vine” in the title) and less on events and ministry structures (the trellises). They don’t argue that trellis-building is wrong as some believe, merely that our focus should be more on vine growth. Their arguments are well-grounded in Scriptural verses and lines of theology. Unfortunately, I had many issues with the book. First, the book does what many of the contemporary Christian books do when analyzing church effectiveness and behavior – they blame the church. If a congregation isn’t growing spiritually, it is 100% because of something the church is doing or is not doing, rather than because the individuals are making bad choices, or because modern society and culture have an effect. Second, the book makes statements claiming to be counter-intuitive to church culture, even though none of the churches I have ever encountered would ever argue that these truths weren’t completely intuitive (e.g. statements like “Everyone is called to be evangelistic” – that’s commonly preached in sermons everywhere). Thirdly, they classify churches or ministries or pastors into categories, without recognizing the blurred lines between their categories. For instance, they classify pastors as clergymen, CEOs, or trainers, and express that the third classification is the best – as if most pastors aren’t a mix of all three categories. Fourthly, the book is long on arguing a position, but shallow on practical applications. Three-quarters of the book is setting up their position, with the last quarter a FAQ and some examples. This book is a prime example of why even though I’m a Christian, I avoid reading Christian-specific books. Not recommended.

[Ryan Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the single best book on ministry I’ve ever read. It’s a hidden gem: recommended by so many popular ministry leaders I respect (Chandler, Dever, Duncan, Mohler, etc.), but because it is printed by their own publisher (Matthias Media), I think it gets less publicity. But when you research it, I’m not the only one who has come to think this is an astounding book on ministry.

What makes it so great? A handful of things. First, it properly distinguishes the difference between trellis work (structure, programs, etc.) and vine-work (gospel growth in people), with the emphasis clearly being on the vine—the trellis only exists to support the vine. Second, it’s emphasis on disciple-based ministry is spot on. It both aims at growing Christians, and also evangelism—depth and width. Moreover, third, this view of ministry finds the biblical model where the church isn’t supposed to be so attractional (just doing whatever it takes to get people in the door) nor dead and routine (just doing what is traditional).

Fourth, the book also gives pastoral ministry its proper place. It gives supremacy to the word, but then also to pastors applying that word to people who then apply the word to other people—“equipping the saints [not just the pastors] to do the work of the ministry.”

Finally—and I could write more, but I just encourage you to read the book—the book is very practical. My fear with it, after reading the first six chapters, was that it was going to be spot on biblically and philosophically, but then vague in how to implement. That wasn’t the case at all. Not only do they have training books and curriculum, but more importantly, the last two chapters are extremely practical and give examples of what this might look like.

So, overall, one of (if not the) best ministry books I’ve read. Very thankful for the book, and very thankful that they wrote a follow up, *The Vine Project*, to make it even more understandable and attainable! I’ll be reading that in the future.

[Gaby Dj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book changed my mindset to think more about how I can be more focused on discipleship and the growth of people in my church and small group. Not just focused on event planning and organising, which my church does a lot. Even though the call to be a disciple-making-disciple is a slow, unpredictable and sometimes frustrating process, I see now how it is a joyful task. The book puts much focus on one-to-one discipleship, with the belief that learning by close imitation will create gospel spreading Christians who live out what they believe. You cannot pass on what you have first experienced and learned first-hand. It provides different training approaches, graphs and methods to prioritize people to grow spiritually and skillfully.

[Colby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bemoaning that we taught Australians how to use metaphors


(p.s. this book is yet another attempt to 'redefine' the ministry—as if they are the first people to have ever thought about it. it's shameful that this book was assigned in a seminary. it's a book written to guilt a pastor into purchasing their ministry scheme which 'conveniently' resembles a watered-down seminary.)

[Brian Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple but radical vision for equipping believers to be gospel ministers. If our church structures are the trellis, and gospel growth is the vine, then this book reminds us that vine work is key. We must focus our attention on training vine-workers.

[Aardvark · Rating 3 out of 5]

a fine book that i felt at times was not always super applicable, and i was a little disappointed in light of how formative this book was to many of my church leaders.
though this book was primarily about the importance of personal discipleship, my main takeaway was really to be more intentional about integrating God's Word in my conversations and relationships (i.e. everyday Bible ministry). though it may be hard to enter officially into a disciple-discipler relationship, the beauty of discipleship is that it often occurs via osmosis rather than formal instruction. this means that i can embody the heart of discipleship by following up with non-members, reading books with people, sharing new hymns, and other similarly ordinary things--so long as the Word is saturated in each.
im encouraged to be more actively involved and intentional with those around me, to bear a positive Christian influence, and to be more useful to the Lord in His work in the church! c:

[Derrick Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for a philosophy of ministry. It wasn’t ground breaking like the title suggests, but it did help strengthen some convictions I already had. The three C’s will forever be a part of how I think of the qualifications for ministry. My one critique is that the idea of a pastor as trainer might be a bit simplistic. I wish they would have used a word like discipler or theologian or both. Trainer might convey a more pragmatic approach to ministry, though that isn’t Marshall or Payne’s intent. Regardless, this was a helpful book that I would highly recommend. I think many pastors would greatly benefit from this book.

[Luke Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Very helpful in understanding the purpose of a church’s staff and how they should spend their time. They did a good job of placing all the emphasis on training and discipleship. I wish they would have gotten deeper into how to balance programming overall. Sure a massive trellis isn’t the solution, but neither is 0 events/programs. How does this change from congregation to congregation, especially as they grow in size?

[Logan Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read this book it was profound. I just read this again with our elders, and it was less profound. But, that isn’t because the book isn’t as good as I remember. I have just been swimming in the gospel-centered/intentional-discipleship pool for a while now, so the concepts aren’t as fresh as they were then.

The core of the book is still relevant and spot on.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential outline for ministry that is people-centred and focused on growing disciple-making disciples, rather than creating and propagating structures that look good on paper but do not inherently produce fruit. A short and helpful practical read that identifies the pastoral staff's role in training leaders to go forth and train future leaders, who in turn will "entrust [the gospel] to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others" (2 Tim 2:2)

[Stephen Hoogerhyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the elders in our church read and discussed this a number of years ago. The central images of the book are really helpful, and the book contains a lot of good information. Definitely recommended.

[Luiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provocador e direto. Livro compara de modo interessante o investimento pastoral na estrutura que pode promover o crescimento dos discípulos que congregam com ele ao investimento no crescimento dos discípulos com ou sem estruturas específicas. Uma leitura agradável apesar de confrontadora e desafiadora.

[Marc Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ministry is much more simple than you think, but much harder. Ministry is essentially discipleship, and discipleship requires relationships, and relationships require time, patience, intentionality, and love.

[Edwin Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful read. If your looking for a basic overview of what it means to make disciples of all nations this book is a good place to start. Enjoy.

[emma jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an incredible resource for discipleship, ministry life, and church leadership! Highly recommend

[Jonah Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

disciples make disciples it’s that simple yall

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fascinating to read. I'm planning to reread it soon with others, and work through how to apply the principles in our own contexts.

[Ben Franks · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book to get you thinking about the culture of your church. The authors write in a readable way and do a good job of drawing our attention to what should be core in our ministries. As they articulate in the book, much of the activity that takes place in the American church is centered on structural support and institutional development (what they call "trellis work") instead of practical discipleship and spiritual growth ("vine work"). While they recognize that both are essential (and indeed, are overlapping and interdependent) a church with little to no vine-work is falling short of the call of Christ.

For some this book will be "the ministry mind-shift that changes everything" (as the publisher somewhat grandiosely puts it) while for others it will be a convicting reminder of the biblical priorities which should shape our churches. But for all readers, the Trellis and the Vine offers a refreshing opportunity to refocus on what really matters in ministry. The authors write as Gospel-Coalition style Anglicans (hailing from the evangelical and Reformed diocese of Sydney, Australia) and so some issue of polity and practice will be done differently if you are a Baptist or Presbyterian Pastor. But for Western church leaders, this book can be a welcome influence to push us back to the Bible as we think about what we do and why we do it as a church.