Thor & Bonnie Colberg
Lead Pastors
Thor and Bonnie Colberg
Bonnie was born in Charleston, SC, and Thor was born in New Haven, CT. Thus ended the War Between the States. Thor accepted the challenge of following Jesus while at Furman University through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After graduation, he went on to complete a Masters of Divinity at Emory University, and became a United Methodist Pastor. That same year after two dates, he asked Bonnie to marry him. They then spent the next 13 years in the Methodist church. In 1987, God called Thor, Bonnie and their three kids to plant a Vineyard in Augusta, GA, which started in their home with a handful of people. Over the next 16 years the church grew to over 750 people and planted five churches.
In 2003, Thor and Bonnie felt like the Lord said, “Do it again!” They turned the Augusta Vineyard over to their Executive Pastor and launched out to Charlotte. Worship Celebrations began in January 2004. Many wonderful people have joined in and The Vineyard North Charlotte has already planted two churches; Charleston, SC, and Palm Spring , FL. We are active in the Ukraine Vineyard Partnership where we have planted five Vineyards to date. It is through the work in Ukraine that Thor and Bonnie met Vladimir in the orphanage. He is now their forth child.
Thor has served as an Area Pastoral Coordinator and as the Southeast Region Church Planting Coordinator, overseeing seven states, for the Vineyard. In 2006, Bonnie authored, Through the Looking Glass, the Journey of a Natural Blond and has been active with Vineyard women on a regional and national level.
Bonnie is a REALTOR with Keller Williams. Her realtor web site is ColbergRealty.com
And, by the way, Thor and Bonnie are at the Vineyard North Charlotte for the duration and loving it!
- V & Yuliya Greben
Arts and Worship Pastor
“V” Vitaliy Greben
Vitaliy grew up in the now defunct Soviet Union. After he spent the required 2 years in the Soviet Army, he finished nursing school and entered medical school with a dream of becoming a medical surgeon. It wasn’t long after, however, that he became kicked out of the university by the Communist Party, since he was the only believer on campus. At this point in V’s life, God gave him a different vision instead, about His Kingdom. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the 90s, V and his wife Yuliya got involved in church planting in Ukraine, becoming church planters, pastors, and entrepreneurs.
In the late nineties, they discovered Vineyard worship music, and yearned to find out more about the movement. So, at the turn of the millennium, V and his family moved to the US with a dream of getting connected with the Vineyard movement and, eventually, help plant churches back in Ukraine.
In 2005, V and Yuliya met Thor at a Vineyard National Conference in Columbus, OH and soon after became involved with the Vineyard North Charlotte. Before long, the Ukraine Mission Vineyard Partnership was born.
Today, V co-leads the partnership with Thor. V and his wife Yuliya have three boys, Yan, Mark and Dave. V loves to worship God by playing the keyboard. He also enjoys traveling, hiking, and playing tennis.
Youth Director: Rebecca Robbins
Rebecca grew up in Coeburn, VA, a rural area hidden in the Appalachian Mountains. At age 8 Rebecca dedicated her life to following Jesus and upon baptism became a member of the Rural Missionary Baptist Church. Her Sophomore year in high school she received an opportunity to skip her Junior year and graduate 1 year early. Because of her young age she wrestled with the opportunity and approached her mentor/geometry teacher/pastor to request prayer. After a full weekend of prayer, Rebecca, her mom and her pastor met early on a Monday morning and all agreed they heard the Lord clearly leading her to early graduation. Upon graduation in 1998, Rebecca, her mom and younger sister moved to Charlotte, NC where she worked her way through college and earned a double major in Communications and Political Science at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. During her college years Rebecca developed a love of Health & Fitness and has dedicated herself to this field in her “spare” time earning certificates & degrees she now uses to help educate & train others in a healthier lifestyle.
After college Rebecca pursued a career in the transportation industry where she has continued to develop her professional skills and knowledge. Make no mistake about it, in the midst of her professional atmospheres Rebecca is consistently looking for opportunities to share her faith and love for Jesus’ ministry. She has had opportunity to work hand in hand with upper management to revamp mission statements, evaluate core values and establish prayer ministry/bible studies within her professional spheres. Currently, Rebecca continues her career in transportation working from home as an independent, Customer Retention and Business Development Analyst for Robert Bare and Associates of Kannapolis, NC.
Rebecca became acquainted with the Vineyard North Charlotte in 2005 when she was the recipient of a water bottle from one of the youth outreaches. She was so intrigued by the energy and message of the outreach that she immediately called her mom, Teri, to inform her she had “found their new home church.” The following Sunday, Rebecca and Teri attended service and have been at home ever since.
In January 2010 Rebecca felt the leading to step up and be an active leader of the Vineyard North Charlotte Youth Group and by spring her schedule had arranged itself to accommodate this time dedication. She was accepted with loving arms by the group and immediately made arrangements to attend Camp Vineyard Summer Camp where she received confirmation of her commitment to the group, an increased awareness of the importance of youth ministry and a vision for the future of Vineyard North Charlotte Youth.
Rebecca’s heart and motivation for Vineyard North Charlotte Youth is to help raise and direct a generation of leaders that walk proficiently TODAY in the already/not yet of the Kingdom and are willing to further the Kingdom of God by taking risks in ministry, outreach and everyday life in Jesus’ name. Her vision is to see youth grow into adults that efficiently combine school, work, family and the ministry of Jesus every day of their lives.
