History of the Winepress

In 1987, after an intensive three years of ministry in NZ and Melbourne and seeing God do amazing things, Arthur Cherrie needed a break. He decided to backpack around the world. God, however, had other ideas!

In a 4 x 4 room in the YMCA in East Croydon, London, the Lord distinctly spoke to him from a scripture from 2 Tim 4:1-5, calling him back into ministry. It confirmed a prophetic word given to him earlier in 1984 – “to pastor and care for His people”. This time he couldn’t ignore it.

Several weeks later, whilst still in London, God made it clear that he needed to go back to Australia and pioneer a church in the Berwick/Pakenham corridor.

When he returned to Australia at the end of 1987, Arthur shared what had happened with a few respected friends and elders. They confirmed that the call was from God and encouraged him to attend Bible College and wait for the right timing.

During this time, Arthur met Daniela and midway through 1989 they married. Arthur continued to feel the call to pioneer a church but had not shared this with Daniela as yet. He asked her to pray about what they should do the following year. Three weeks later and after much prayer, she told Arthur that she felt they should pioneer a church in the Berwick/Pakenham corridor. This was a very exciting confirmation!

Praying about the name of the church, a specific scripture from Luke came to mind -
“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38). It reminded Arthur of a winepress.

At the end of 1989, Arthur graduated from Harvest Bible College. In early 1990, after purchasing a house in Berwick, Arthur and Daniela started The Winepress with meetings in their own garage!

From such small beginnings, the church has grown to over 800 attendees, many of whom are new converts.

The Winepress, whose mission statement is to “Love God, Love Others and Make a Difference,” is impacting the local community through a variety of outreach programs. Their annual Single Parents Christmas Dinner now attracts 140 families, most of these unchurched. Relational courses such as Inspirational Women and Sensational Manhood continue to touch families in Australia and overseas.

With over 90% of attendees actively involved in ministry, Winepress is now providing resources to other churches Australia-wide. This includes the STEPPS program, which is now in up to 50 churches in four states and overseas. This focuses primarily on equipping and releasing people into ministry.

The philosophy of the Winepress can be summed up in these words of Arthur & Dani:

“We believe in people. Our part is to help them discover God and His call for them, to connect them in community with each other, and to train and release them to do what God has gifted them to do.
We thank God for His call and are very excited about our part in fulfilling His purpose and growing His kingdom.”

We invite you to be a part of the forward journey!