Vineyard Christian Church of Crystal Lake

Tim Mengler

Tim and Amy Mengler grew up in Crystal Lake, but moved to northern McHenry County after getting married. Later they felt God calling them back to Crystal Lake to plant a church. Tim owned and operated his own business and then later sold it to enter Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. Amy is a longtime public schoolteacher in Crystal Lake district 47. They have two teenage children. Tim and & Amy have been married for 23 years. The Menglers’ heart is to establish a multicultural church in McHenry County. In fact, they served for several years at La Vina, an all-Hispanic Vineyard church in Mundelein, before coming to Crystal Lake to begin Vineyard Christian Church. They previously helped plant two other churches in the Chicago area. But beyond asking God to grow a church that would reflect the ethnic tapestry represented in Crystal Lake, they seek to establish a praying community that will reflect the love, power and presence of Jesus. “People are spiritually hungry these days, but they don’t want to just learn about God. They want to experience his love and his presence. That’s the atmosphere we try to foster at the Vineyard,” he says. The theological balance of the Vineyard movement appeals to the Menglers, who are active in the community and, especially, in the Crystal Lake Food Pantry and other ministries to the economically disadvantaged. The church has hosted job fairs for the unemployed and legal seminars for single mothers. “Love God. Love people. It’s not meant to be complicated,” Tim says. “Come join us as we seek to pursue the heart and presence of the Father.”