Written by Robert Sivigny, University Librarian

On September 12th Regent University library was honored to host a reception for the family of John Wimber to thank them for their donation of John Wimber materials to the library. John Wimber was a founding leader of the Vineyard church movement, a man who greatly impacted mission theory and practice in the last decades of the twentieth century. John taught at Fuller Theological Seminary from 1982 to 1986, held teaching seminars all over the world, and authored several books, the most popular of which was Power Evangelism, written in 1986. He died at the age of 63 in November 1997.

For the past two years, Regent University library has received twenty-six boxes of materials from the Wimber family, largely due to the efforts of distinguished School of Divinity professor Dr. Graham Twelftree. These materials comprise the “John Wimber Collection” which is currently held at the Library in the Special Collections & Archives department. The collection includes a rich selection of lecture notes and other teaching materials, conference binders, brochures, correspondence, journal articles by and about John Wimber, photos, DVDs, CDs, cassette tapes, catalogs, books, and Vineyard publications such as Equipping the Saints, and Voice of the Vineyard, among others.

Gordon Robertson was the keynote speaker at the reception and Christy Wimber, wife of Sean Wimber, spoke on behalf of the family. Connie Dawson, PhD candidate in Renewal Studies, shared a student reflection; and Dr. Twelftree offered introductory remarks. Music by John Wimber was performed by Vineyard musician David Ruis. A streaming video of the event may be viewed at http://www.regent.edu/admin/media/fms/lib/general/.