Originally from the metro Atlanta area, lead pastors Chad and Allison Mackey met in the Marietta Vineyard Church in Marietta, Georgia in 1993, married in 1995, and served as worship and youth pastors for sixteen years. The Lord captured our hearts within the Vineyard movement around several key distinctives including following Jesus in real ways, “doing the stuff” that we had read about in the Gospels but never seen in a real everyday life way; serving our neighbors in real ways; ministering to the poor through service projects and homeless ministries; we had never experienced worship songs that were so intimate, expressing our hearts to Jesus and inviting His presence into our gatherings; and facilitating time in our gatherings for prayer ministry for anyone in need.

Our love for Florence began to take root when we moved from Georgia to Northwest Alabama in 2009. We fell in love with the people, the college-town, the music scene, and the Tennessee River, and we began asking God what His plan was for us. We served at several different types of churches in the area beginning in 2009, but we missed our Vineyard tribe. In 2013, God turned our hearts toward planting a Vineyard church in Florence. We began to work it out practically, taking next steps by attending conferences,  meeting with regional leaders, and serving at the Franklin Vineyard in Franklin, Tennessee (the closest Vineyard to our home at the time). We moved into the city of Florence at God's clear leading in August 2016, and in February 2019 we began making our home in the heart of downtown Florence.  There are so many God-stories throughout our lives and especially in the six years living and serving downtown. The great commission Jesus has called us and his followers is life changing.