Dr. A.B. Vines Delivers Chapel Message Jan. 30

January 30, 2019

Students and faculty gathered together in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium Wednesday, Jan. 30, for the first chapel of the spring semester. Dr. A.B. Vines, senior pastor at New Seasons Church in San Diego, California, spoke about being afraid to follow the calling that God has given you.

Vines spoke from Genesis 12:1-5 and Joshua 24:1-2. He gave a personal testimony and several others that he has witnessed of people who had their own plan before God called them elsewhere.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a knowing God,” he said.

Vines discussed how people tend to stay in their comfort zones, while God is calling them out of those comfort zones. He challenged the students that while it may seem like a scary thought, we nonetheless need to listen to God’s calling and be obedient.

“You cannot fulfill your calling in your comfort zone,” he said. “On the other side of fear is your future.”

Vines then asked the audience to examine three passages of scripture, from Genesis 12:2, Deuteronomy 32:10-11, and Psalms 139:141. He encouraged the audience to look to these pillars of truth to remind them about the truth of who God is and who we are as His children.

Vines studied at Point Loma University, Andersonville Theological Seminary and the Southern California School of Ministry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, master’s degree in pastoral counseling and a Doctor of Ministry.

From 2012 to 2014, he served as the president of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Association. In 2016, he established a global church planting ministry called New Seasons Church Global Network. He served as the president of the California Southern Baptist Convention from 2016 to 2018. He was then elected as the first vice president for the Southern Baptist Association.