Spotlight: Adam Peacocke: An Unexpected Encounter with God

Adam Peacocke served as lead pastor at City Life Fellowship in Santa Rosa from 2002 until 2017. He surprised himself when he made the decision to leave the pulpit after fifteen years to found Feathervine, a ministry focused on uniting local churches in an effort to address some of the big issues facing Sonoma County.  Adam explains,

“I had an unexpected encounter with God in prayer and felt a strong call to step away from pastoring. God put a burden on my heart to serve a different type of ministry function -- building bridges to help the church become more present in our community.”

The name Feathervine speaks to the elements of faith and faithfulness. “It’s about seeing the church have roots and wings in our community as a witness to life with Jesus Christ,” says Adam.

It’s been a tough few years for the half million people who live in the region. Many are still reeling from devastating wildfires on top of the challenges of homelessness, crime, and a continuing rise in the cost of living.  While Adam, a lifelong Sonoma County resident, has been a community advocate for decades, his hope is that through Feathervine churches will unite to increase involvement. “I had a conversation with the Mayor of Santa Rosa who told me that it’s hard for a municipality to partner with a church or any single organization. But she said it’s easy to partner with ten churches. To me the problem to solve is bringing those churches together.”

Building Trust to Build Unity

“I firmly believe that there’s no substitute for trust as we look to engage our community,” says Adam. “When I was pastoring, I made a point of building trust with the pastors of other congregations here. We often gathered together to serve and worship. We also made our facilities available to other congregations. I got a reputation as someone who was encouraging unity and trust among the churches. Now there’s a core group of close to 50 congregations committed to supporting our community.”

Feathervine has relationships with an additional twenty-five churches, many serving different cultures. “I’m excited about the Gospel’s impact as we build unity across ethnic and cultural lines here in Santa Rosa.”

Right now, Feathervine is focusing on three areas: local schools, foster care, and homelessness, but Adam continues to prioritize trust. “I love goals. I love potential; but I want to move at the speed of trust. I believe that’s the pace where change really happens.”

Roots and Wings in the Community

Twenty churches are working in the foster care system and supporting a number of aligned ministries including CarePortal, Foster the City, and Royal Family Kids. 

Feathervine is also focused on supporting elementary schools which are often under-resourced. So far 20 churches are participating in this work. “It’s a strategic opportunity. Kids are at an elementary school longer than the rest of their school time combined. We match congregations with schools near them. There’s a whole host of ways that our churches have been able to creatively step in to be good neighbors to our local schools. It’s as simple as meeting needs where the schools have them.”

Using a model similar to TBC, Feathervine comes alongside churches to support their existing ministries. “We amplify the good works local churches are doing to meet the needs in our community.”

During the 18 months following Sonoma County’s catastrophic wildfires, teams from different area churches visited displaced families occupying FEMA trailers in a Santa Rosa RV park to deliver water and other resources. “Church teams rotate, but Feathervine’s role was to be there every week and help coordinate the efforts,” says Adam. “We were there the day they moved in, and we were there when the last person moved out of the trailers.”

Area congregations are also ministering to the homeless in partnership with the Redwood Gospel Mission. “Churches open their doors and provide meals for up to 40 unhoused people. We don’t just stand behind a table and ladle soup into a bowl. We sit at the table together, share a meal, and get to know each other.”

Admittedly Feathervine has a lot on its plate right now. “I’m trying to keep things as simple as possible,” says Adam. “We’re working on growing and maturing in effectiveness and impact not just in our community, but also in our churches. I want to be the relational bridge, to be the convener and encourager.”

To connect with Adam and some of the work he’s doing in the North Bay, email