The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything, by Colin Marshall

and Tony Payne. Kingsford, N.S.W.: Matthias Media, 2009. 196 pages. Reviewed by Joe
Drisdale.
Introduction
Colin Marshall is a graduate of Moore Theological College in Sydney (BTh, MA). Until
2006 he directed the Ministry Training Strategy, a ministry apprenticeship movement. He
currently serves as CEO of Vinegrowers, which was established in 2010 to help pastors and
church leaders implement the principles of The Trellis and the Vine. He is also the author of
Passing the Baton: A Handbook for Ministry Apprenticeship (Matthias Media, 2007) and Growth
Groups: a Training Course in How to Lead Small Groups (Matthias Media, 1995). Tony Payne,
also a graduate of Moore Theological College (BTh Hons), is the Publishing Director of
Matthias Media. He has authored or co-authored several written works and video-based courses
on spiritual growth. The authors fifty-plus years (combined, at the time of publication) of close
work with people to help them mature in ministry is compressed into the twelve chapters of this
book, with clear applications from scriptural fundamentals that both men have shared and helped
implement to dedicated ministry leaders for maturing disciples and equipping them to make new
disciples.
Synopsis
In the Trellis and the Vine, Marshall and Payne offer a methodology to accomplish the
often-neglected main thrust of the Great Commission. This requires a conscious shift for
leaders, the authors explain as their thesis, because pastors invariably get tangled up in business
aspects and church programs (trellis work). As a consequence, the vine work growing
people who are disciple-making disciples of Christ must be reestablished at the core of

ministry (p. 17). The beginning chapters bear this out to show that leaders need to make mental
shifts regarding various ministry occasions (Chapter 2 lists eleven examples, such as from
running programs to building people; from using people to growing people; from relying on
training institutions to establishing local training; and from seeking church growth to desiring
gospel growth). The real focus should be on boundless opportunities to share the Word, and on
praying that God would make that word bear fruit through the inward working of His Spirit . . .
Thats vine work. Everything else is trellis (p. 39).
The authors further detail how personal relationship, prayer, teaching, modeling, and
practical instruction are essential to the three key areas of godly growth: conviction (knowledge
of God and knowledge of the Bible), character (which coheres with sound doctrine), and
competency (ability to prayerfully share Gods word). They do this through interaction with
seven imaginary church members, charting their progress (pp. 87ff; 109ff), and somewhat
modeled after Richard Baxter, who viewed individual training and relationships as critically
necessary (pp. 104ff.).
Utilizing the explained diagnostic tool, each members gospel growth is charted in
relation to four stages (Outreach, Follow-up, Growth, and Training). A sample strategy addresses
the problem of dedicating the necessary time to members who are young in Christ or hurting by
pairing lower stage members with higher stage members to help nurture the process of growth.
This practice also helps develop and utilize the mature or maturing. The pastor, in turn, has freed
himself to be more effective with his congregation without getting too bogged down in time
consuming individual ministryespecially concerning those who need help early on and cannot
be overlooked.

The text also covers recruiting and training co-workers, with the goal of developing vine
workers (disciple-making disciples who partner in the Gospel). The authors reference Broughton
Knox (Moore Theological College), to emphasize scriptural continuance of the ministry of
God, where in 2 Tim. 2:2 Paul covers four generations of apostolic succession in the apostolic
wordPaul, then to Timothy, then to hand it on to faithful men, and finally able to teach
others. (p. 128). The qualities and characteristics of potential candidates as gospel workers are
also emphasized. In addition to being faithful and committed to the Word, they should exemplify
godliness, be gifted teachers, and proven family leaders. Pastors should also look for evidence of
other qualities, such as communication skills, entrepreneurs, those who show potential to reach
particular groups based on background or ethnicity, and academic gifting. Furthermore, pastors
should ask themselves critical questions about those being considered: are they genuinely
converted, humble, and is there any past or present sin that could bring Christs name into
dishonour? (p. 141). Additionally, because gospel growth is the ultimate aim, apprenticeship (a
two-year immersion is detailed in Chapter 11) should not be overlooked.
Critical Evaluation
The authors advice with respect to potential leaders, while very good and thorough,
might include one overly critical pointnamely no past or present sin that could bring Christs
name into dishonour (141). Had the Early Church Fathers adopted this practice, it might have
changed how we do theology today. Augustine would surely have been disqualified (he not only
abandoned the faith in his early life in favor of joining a pagan (Manichean) cult, he also
produced along with his long-time mistress a living reminder of his past sinfulness. A
contemporary example is President Nixons convicted hatchet man, Chuck Colson, who
founded the Prison Fellowship ministry after serving his prison sentence for obstruction of

justice. In fact, the apostle Paul himself might be disqualified (Titus 3:3). And while it could be
argued that Paul was justified by his holy zeal for Judaism (Phil. 3:6), he nonetheless had the law
written in his heart (Rom. 3:20; c.f. Jer. 31:33), which seems to have been cause enough for
Jesus to ask him, Why? (Acts 9:4).
Regardless of this debatable point, pastors who know the value of disciple making will
appreciate how this text describes the traps to avoid regarding trelliswork or structures and
the contrasting significance of dedicated vine work. The material also helps to bring the
metaphor into focus with solid application examples. Furthermore, one can see the need to
develop effective co-workers in order to implement a plan with Baxter-like attention to the flock.
Most importantly, though, Marshall and Payne have presented a convincing case for negligent
pastors to mentally shift their focus and energy the full imperative of the Great Commission.