I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Jesse Jarvis on Abiding in Christ, Church Unity, and Revival in Dark Times
About this episode
Pastor Jesse Jarvis of The Vine Church in Port Orange, Florida joins Philip Cameron for a conversation about what it truly means to abide in Christ and bear lasting fruit. Jesse unpacks the church's recent rebrand from Christ Church to The Vine — a name rooted in John 15:5, where Jesus declares, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing." The new website, joinedwithjesus.org, reflects that same theology of union with Christ as the source of all fruitfulness, not programs or denominations. Jesse shares a remarkable story from the church's "Shift" initiative — a multi-church worship and baptism event held in a public park in Volusia County — where a woman on vacation, whose believing parents had prayed for her for years, heard the Gospel preached from Romans 5, responded to the altar call, and was baptized on the spot in her clothes. The conversation turns to global threats — neo-Marxism, Islamic immigration reshaping Europe, and escalating geopolitical conflict — and Jesse offers a grounding perspective: "The church under persecution has always been the church empowered." He also previews The Vine's new sermon series on 1 Timothy, titled "Rules of the House," exploring what it means to be a well-ordered people who host God's presence. Learn more at joinedwithjesus.org or find The Vine Church on YouTube and Facebook.
Part of our Revival collection of conversations.
What's Discussed
Pastor Jesse Jarvis of The Vine Church in Port Orange, Florida — formerly Christ Church — explains the theology behind his church's rebrand, rooted in John 15:5 and the website joinedwithjesus.org. He describes the church's 'Shift' initiative, where 12 congregations gathered for public worship, prayer, and baptism in Volusia County, resulting in a vacationing woman being baptized on the spot after hearing the Gospel from Romans 5 — an answer to years of her parents' prayers. Jesse addresses rising global threats including neo-Marxism and geopolitical conflict, arguing that persecution historically empowers the church rather than diminishing it. He previews a new sermon series on 1 Timothy called 'Rules of the House,' focused on Jesus-centered theology applied to family, marriage, money, and community life.
- The Vine Church Rebrand and John 15
- Union with Christ as Life's Source
- Shift Initiative: Multi-Church Public Worship
- Baptism Miracle at the Public Park
- Church Empowered Under Persecution
- Global Threats and Kingdom Perspective
- 1 Timothy Series: Rules of the House
- Jesus-Centered Theology for Everyday Life
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
[instrumental music]
Philip:Welcome to Daily Faith TV. My name is Philip Cameron, and I am delighted to have you with us. I believe that today's program... I'm amazed in my 57 years of ministry. I came to America with my dad on the 12th of March 1969.
Philip:I played the accordion, of all things, and sang, and he preached. And I've preached in every state in America. And it amazes me over the years, the span of our ministry and our life, is how God arranges things, how God can move, it seems, heaven and earth to connect people. The most unbelievable stories of my life is when I've thought God was doing nothing, and suddenly this whole vista opens up by His plan unfolding.
Philip:And I'm gonna tell you something, that God is unfolding something in your life. God has a purpose for you. You're not born just to live and eat and go to work and go to sleep and go to work. God has a purpose for you. And if you could find out what that purpose is, I believe that He brings ability. I'm not the best singer in the world by a million years. I'm not the best preacher in the world by 10 million years. But I'll tell you what I am — I've sought God all of my life to find out what He wants me to do.
Philip:And I've said to my kids, "One thing you'll never, ever doubt about your dad is I'm faithful to God. I'm faithful to His calling. I'm faithful to His work." And if you would commit yourself to be faithful to God, He will move heaven and earth. He will arrange stuff that will blow your mind, because He's looking for those that will go into the fields. Jesus said, "The fields are white with the harvest, but the laborers are few." And we want you to be a part of the great harvest that we are about to see.
Philip:I really believe that something is about to break in this world. And between Islam and all of the different stuff that's taking place in the world, Great Britain — I don't know if you know this — Great Britain is going literally down the tubes as we speak. Ireland, they are... The IRA, which fought the British for separation for the south of Ireland, and they wanted the north of Ireland, they bombed and blew up buses for decades. And they've just reactivated, because they say, "We want every Muslim out of Ireland."
Philip:I mean, this is explosive civil war scenarios in the most docile countries on earth. That's the European countries. Something is about to happen. Something is changing in the world we're living in. And our job and our responsibility is to find out what it is. And I'm just excited to have you with us today.
Philip:We have a mission work in Moldova. 37 years ago, I adopted a wee boy from an orphanage in Romania, and that set me on a path that has lasted for 37 years, believe it or not. And today, we have an amazing ministry in Moldova. We have a village of homes in a place called Vatra Village. It's right on the largest lake in Moldova. And when kids are kicked out on the street from orphanage or poverty-stricken families, when they're at great risk of being caught by traffickers,
Philip:used 30 to 50 times a day until they die, we have a place called Vatra Village. And these girls come to us, and we tell them, "You're not a mistake. God has a plan for your life." And the crazy thing that's happening with these kids is they have turned into missionaries. And all the summertime, they've been having youth camps all over. Each of the houses at our village adopts a village. And for one year, they go and they find every widow, every broken family. They have camps. They find an evangelical church, and every young person they lead to Jesus, they bring that young person to the church.
Philip:It's amazing stuff. Orphans becoming sons and daughters, and sons and daughters becoming missionaries. And I want you to meet one of our young girls from Vatra Village. Her name is Dorina, and I think you'll be blessed as you hear what God's done in her life. Watch this.
Dorina:My name is Dorina, and I come from a large family with 5 children. I am the oldest child. When I think back to my childhood, I remember many quiet evenings in our home, not because everything was okay, but because we simply didn't have enough food to eat. The house we lived in was very small, just 2 rooms for 7 people. It was heartbreaking to watch my younger brothers and sisters go to bed hungry and know that there was nothing I could do to help them.
Dorina:I remember that during those days, my greatest wish was for each day to end as quickly as possible so that I could fall asleep, hide my tears, and pray to God, and that somehow a miracle would happen, that we would have food on our table. My parents never gave us gifts, not for Christmas, not even for birthdays, not because they didn't love us, but because they simply couldn't afford to. I understood that and never blamed them.
Dorina:I didn't dream about having beautiful clothes, sweets, toys, or dolls. My greatest dream was to grow up as quickly as possible so that I could earn money, help my family, and rescue my younger siblings from the hardship we were living through.
Dorina:[instrumental music] I came to Vatra Village through my sister. For me, The Orphan's Hands became one of the greatest opportunities of my life, and a true miracle from God. Here, I learned to believe in myself. I met new people who became my family, and I discovered that God is always at work, and that He continues to bless and provide.
Dorina:My encouragement to anyone who feels trapped in difficult circumstances is this. Even when it seems like there is no way out, when everything feels impossible, don't lose hope. God works miracles. No matter how dark the situation may seem today, God can still write a beautiful story for your future.
Philip:[laughs] That is so good. Her name is Dorina, and the girl you saw hugging in the video is her sister. And her sister has been at Vatra Village for years. And we make a commitment to these kids that whatever their dream is, we'll make it come true. We'll believe with them. We'll put them through college. We'll stand with them. One of our young ladies spent 6 years at Vatra Village, and today is a doctor. Her mother was bedridden, and this little girl sat in a house, a hovel in a village that you have no concept of.
Philip:And we went to help the mother and found the daughter sitting at the bottom of the bed, and our kids started talking to her. And her dream was to be a doctor. So what we did was we supported her mom to allow her to come to Vatra Village and go to college, university, and she now is a doctor. And that's what's happening with that dear young girl, and her sister is also there.
Philip:All we do happens by someone like you hearing this and saying, "I want to be a part of it." We're starting 2 new homes right now for small kids between the age of 4 and 16. Each one of these homes, rather, needs an army of people giving one dollar a day. You can change a life for one dollar a day. If someone hadn't given to allow us to build Vatra Village and create the miracle that happens there every day...
Philip:These kids come to us broken. You saw those Rubbermaid tubs in that video. When they come to us, we have a welcome home party, and in those Rubbermaid tubs is a whole wardrobe of clothes, winter clothes, summer clothes. And they are told by this gift, and all the kids in the house get together and have a... I mean, it's a celebration, because another girl's been rescued.
Philip:And if you could help us support this ministry by giving a gift of a dollar a day, these 2 new homes for the smaller kids are in need. We can't open them until we have the support. One of these new homes is almost finished. And your gift of a dollar a day can change a life. Maybe you're a business person and you can give a capital gift to help us with the 2nd house, with this new ministry for the smaller kids. The 2nd house needs to be finished — about $100,000 to finish it. Let the Lord talk to your heart today. Be a part of a miracle.
Philip:Because if you do, I promise you this, when you give to the poor, the Bible says, you lend to the Lord. Something changes in your world. The Bible said He's the father of the fatherless. He's the father of the orphan. And when you care for His kids — they're His kids — I promise you, you step into the favor of God.
Philip:You can contact us, really simple. Just The Orphan's Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. You can go online at dailyfaith.tv, or you can call us. Really simple. I'm a dinosaur. Just give me a phone and a number, and I'll call the number. And it's really simple. It's 833-DAILYFAITH. Just spell out Daily Faith on the keypad of your phone, and a real live person — AI is not involved — a real [laughs] live person will pick up the phone and talk to you. And do something today to change someone else's world, because what you sow comes back in your life in miracles.
Philip:I appreciate that very much. I've got a dear friend on the program today. When I saw his name come up to let me know who the guests are coming forward, my heart lifted when I said, "Oh my goodness, Jesse's with us today." He pastors The Vine Church. They've just renamed their church. In fact, their new website goes live today, and it is an amazing church. When you go to this church, it's got a dynamic like I've rarely felt. Now, I've been doing this for 57 years. This church has a dynamic that feels different. It's marching to a different cadence, and I believe God has got something spectacular to do. And I'm delighted to have the head pastor with us today. Jesse, I'm thrilled to have you with the Daily Faith. Tell me what God's been doing in the church.
The Vine Church Rebrand and John 15
Jesse Jarvis:Hey, Philip. Thanks for having me. The last couple times I was invited to be on the show, I had so many things going on that I couldn't fit it in, so I'm delighted to be here. So thanks for the invitation.
Philip:That makes two of us. Tell the folks what God is doing at The Vine and the unusual stuff that's unfolding every day.
Jesse Jarvis:Yeah, it's beautiful. So as you mentioned, we just went through a name change, and I was giving you the backstory pre-show. We had a fine name before. We went by Christ Church, and that was a name that we had carried from a previous ministry. And it worked just fine, but it really didn't encapsulate who we are. And our website, joinedwithjesus.org, that really does capture our union with Christ, not just in salvation. Like, when we believe in Jesus, when we trust in Him, He makes us one with Himself.
Union with Christ as Life's Source
Jesse Jarvis:He becomes our life-giving source. He puts His Holy Spirit inside of us, and that is the source of eternal life. That's the reason that we have hope for heaven. That's the reason that we are saved, right? But He also invites us into participation, into a life that is lived with Him, a fruitful life. And nothing really captures that union quite like John 15, where Jesus says, "I am the vine. You are the branches. Anyone who abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing."
Jesse Jarvis:And so we wanna walk in that fruitfulness. We wanna continue to abide in Him, in the vine. We wanna continue to be a part of what He's doing in the world. We want our lives to be fruitful. And I think that's one of the reasons you and I are kindred spirits, is we just love Jesus. We're waking up every day yielding ourselves to Him, being good stewards. In Him we live and move and have our being.
Jesse Jarvis:And we tend — I don't know why we're so silly and so dumb sometimes — but we tend to try to add stuff onto it. If we can get this thing done or this program done. And Jesus is saying, "No, no, no. I'm enough. I'm all you need. I am the way, the truth — no one goes to the Father but by me. I'm the door. I'm the gate." And until we understand that our source of being isn't a program, isn't a denomination, it's Him — it's in Him we move and have our being — it's so true.
Jesse Jarvis:So simple. [laughs] Yeah. I'll tell you a story too. One of the things I love about you and Daily Faith and Orphan's Hands is that you guys participate in what God is doing. You pay attention. You listen to His Spirit. And when He's working, you join with Him to do that. And we're doing the same thing. Every calendar year, we ask the Lord what He wants to do. We set out to participate with other churches.
Shift Initiative: Multi-Church Public Worship
Jesse Jarvis:And one of the things we've done this year is an event we're calling Shift, and we wanna see the atmosphere in our communities shift. And so we have 12 churches who have gotten together, and we just show up in public places for worship, for prayer, for a proclamation of the Gospel. And then whenever possible, we celebrate the sacrament of baptism. And so we had 14 people from the Vine Church who were signed up for baptism.
Jesse Jarvis:And so at this public park with all these other Christians there from all these other churches, we were baptizing. And the music was playing, and there was a family who was on vacation, a multi-generational family — grandma and grandpa, grown children, grandkids — eating dinner at a restaurant adjacent to the park. And this is a believing grandparents with believing grandchildren who go to church, but their adult children were not walking with the Lord. And so they've been praying for their adult children.
Jesse Jarvis:Well, during dinner, one of the little kids heard the music and said, "This is one of my favorite songs from church." And so after dinner, the whole family walked over just as the Gospel was being preached from Romans chapter 5, not by me, by another local pastor. And this adult daughter, my age, with her children and her mother, broke down and responded to the call of God to repentance and was baptized on the spot in the park, in her clothes, [claps hands] to her mother's bewilderment.
Baptism Miracle at the Public Park
Jesse Jarvis:Her jaw was just on the floor. She couldn't believe what was happening. She'd been praying for her daughter for years and years and years, and just all of a sudden, the Lord broke in. And we just wanna be right where God's at work. And that's where we see the transformation, you know?
Philip:That's what I spoke about at the beginning of the program. God's working in ways... There's a chorus, a song we sing in church, "He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me." When we think He's doing nothing is when He's up to something big. Because sometimes we tend to mess stuff up. So this grandmother and grandfather and grandkids are sitting, hearing you, obeying the call to unite with other churches where God commands a blessing when the brethren dwell together in unity. And He's gonna take them from where they were — on vacation — to reach them for the Gospel. That is a crazy story.
Jesse Jarvis:Yeah, it was great. It was a great moment. And that's what we wanna be a part of. We wanna be on the leading edge of the Kingdom of Heaven, where God is doing what He is doing. That's where we wanna be found being faithful. And that's what we're seeking to do as a church, as disciples here in Volusia County, Florida, and what we're partnering with faithful Christians all over the globe.
Philip:Tell me what God... I know, if you're in tune at all with the Spirit, you're watching these events take place in the world. There are world events that could end up in a cataclysmic moment. As I was saying, Russia's been aiding Iran in its targeting with a few missiles that we haven't bombed to pieces. And there's all this undercurrent going on in the world that at any moment... The other day, Ukraine sent 600 drones deep into Russia and blew up a huge oil reserve and stuff. And my concern is, once Russia's back is against the wall, Russia's got the largest nuclear arms in the world.
Philip:And the doctrine of war in Russia compared to America is — America has MAD, mutual assured destruction. You push the button, and everything goes up in one great big bang. Russia thinks it can use nuclear weapons on the battlefield. So they think that they can bomb or obliterate Kyiv or Odessa, where we have a home, by the way. And so I'm concerned that as Russia's pushed further and further back — they've lost a million and a half men in this war, a million and a half men — my concern is, as they're being pushed against the wall, Putin is gonna lose his life because of this. And a guy at that point has no... there's no push the button.
Philip:So the church needs to be ready to see and minister and reach into people's lives in these important days we're living in. Are you seeing the same thing as what I'm feeling in the Spirit?
Church Empowered Under Persecution
Jesse Jarvis:Yeah. You know, there's multiple threats going on in the world. We have a neo-Marxist leftism that is trying to reshape our country. We have Islamic immigration that's reshaping Europe. We've got these big wars, longstanding animosity between people groups. Really, any terrible thing could happen at any time in any place. But I just wanna encourage our audience that the church under persecution has always been the church empowered.
Jesse Jarvis:In fact, we get rather lazy when things are going easy for us, and we get to a place where we just show up and we make it about us. And so my wife was just communicating a deep prophetic sense recently that the opposition is coming, whether that's personal, local, global. We are a part of a global mission. When people ask me what I do for a living, I don't say all the time that I just preach at a church or I pastor a church. Like, I'm a part of a global network of kingdom expansion.
Global Threats and Kingdom Perspective
Jesse Jarvis:And we have outlets in every country, on every continent, and every city. And we are going to rise up.
Philip:We're bigger than Amway. [laughs]
Jesse Jarvis:[laughs] We're bigger than everything, absolutely. And I'm not surprised. You know, the Revelation of John — the Revelation of Jesus to John — describes for us what was happening in the 1st century, what's happening in every century, and that is an unholy trinity of an antichrist, a beast, and a false prophet. And so you're gonna have this war machine. You're gonna have these men of lawlessness who come up who do whatever they want, irregardless of God. And you're gonna have a quasi-sounding religious voice.
Jesse Jarvis:You know, in Russia, that's the state church, which appears to be Christian. And a lot of people on the far right are responding as though Russia's this Christian nation or are wanting us to go in that direction. There's a populism that's brewing among the right in America that's just top-down tyranny of the Judeo-Christian. Like, this is not how the church works. We work from the bottom up, and God is looking for servants. He's looking for humble servants that will live to make much of Jesus wherever He has placed them, taking whatever He's put in their hands and offering it to Him for His use and being a part of what He is doing in this world.
Jesse Jarvis:And that is where the miracles are gonna happen. That is where the life change is gonna happen. And as we face opposition, that little light is gonna shine so much brighter, and I just wanna be a part of that. And we're gonna be in tune. When you go to a jeweler store and he tries to sell you a diamond, he always sets it on a black velvet cloth, because the darkness, the blackness of the velvet accentuates the brilliance of the diamond.
Jesse Jarvis:And I believe that the church can have its finest moment in these days that we're living in. And revival — I'm hearing constantly from Iran that Muslims are finding Jesus, having dreams, and they're coming to the Lord. So I'm not talking out of a point of despair. The only despair I would have is that the church is missing the opportunity. We are so caught up in our own little stuff.
Jesse Jarvis:I remember years ago when Y2K — remember when the year 2000 and all the computers were gonna switch off and the world was gonna, you know. And I travel, as you know, and speak in churches, and every church I was going to, they were saying, "Oh, we've gotta get ready. We've gotta get ourselves ready for Jesus coming back." And I'm thinking, "We should be ready already."
Jesse Jarvis:We should be in the fields, bringing the harvest, and not saying, you know, "We're gonna have a deathbed confession on the 1st of January 2000." And we always tend to take a lag moment to catch up with what the Lord is doing.
Philip:And I know there are pastors watching us just now. We've got three and a half minutes left. I just want you to encourage them, because God's doing tremendous things. If ever you're in Florida and you want to go to a church that will bless you and enrich you and challenge you, I want you to go to the Vine Church in Port Orange. And their website is called joinedwithjesus.org. It is a brilliant place, anointed of the Holy Spirit.
Philip:And I just want the church — if you're a pastor — be aware of what's happening, not just in the pew in front of you, but in the world around you. As Jesse said, we're world citizens. God has called us to a church that knows no boundary. And I just want us to be ready for this great day that's coming. And I believe our moment's on its way.
Jesse Jarvis:Yeah. And I'd invite anybody who wants to log in and follow us — you're welcome to do that. Obviously, we want everybody to be a part of a local church and be using their gifts in service to other people. But if you're looking for a place to listen in, learn, and be a part of what Jesus is doing in the world right now, you can do that with us. We're actually starting a new series on 1st Timothy called Rules of the House. And we're talking about what it means for us to be a well-ordered people who host the presence of God and demonstrate the nature and character of God. And that's inside our gatherings and as we represent Christ to the outside world.
1 Timothy Series: Rules of the House
Jesse Jarvis:And there's a lot of hot topics in 1st Timothy, and so we're excited to get in there and see what a Jesus-centered theology looks like as we apply these things to today. And you know, a lot of us, we prefer theological safety to theological centeredness. It's a lot easier for us to skip the work of understanding what God's Word says and just align ourselves with somebody whose version of doctrine sits well in our hearts. And so I'm always after provoking people to consider putting Jesus at the center of every situation, every issue, what the future holds for us, how we're living our lives, what we're doing with our money, who we're partnering with. We wanna think about this — what our family life looks like, how our marriages are built, how we're parenting our children.
Jesse Jarvis:And as we walk through these things together, what we find is that's where our joy increases, our love increases, our peace increases, our passion increases, our courage and boldness. And we wanna be right at the center of what God's doing, for our own good, for His glory, and for His work in the world. And so that's what we're about here in Volusia County with both of our locations. And if we can be a blessing to you, you can check us out — The Vine Church, Join with Jesus. We're on YouTube, Facebook, all the places. Check it out.
Jesus-Centered Theology for Everyday Life
Philip:Well, I just... I'm so pleased to see what God... Sometimes when you're outside of a church situation, you can view it from afar. You get a wider scope of what's happening. And God is doing great things, and I believe the best is yet to come for you and The Vine Church. Go and see them — The Vine Church in Port Orange — and I believe that God will give you a great blessing. Thank you again for being with us. Jesse, thank you for taking the time. I know you're a busy guy, but thank you for being with us today.
Philip:And I hope that something we say will inspire you to seek Him. In Him we move and have our being. We love you. Help us in our new homes, and we'll be thankful for you. God bless you. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova. From providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing, they champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons. And in the process, orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their Heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now, no longer orphans, they want to return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in The Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and the Ukraine.
If you wanna join Philip and Chrissie in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-DAILYFAITH. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv, or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost. [instrumental music plays]
Topics
jarvisabiding in christjohn 15church unityrevivalbaptismthe vine church