Some could say church planting is in Doug Vagle’s blood. His parents, Wes and Nancy Vagle, started church planting in Michigan and moved to Minnesota when Doug was two years old. Minnesota has been his home ever since. Doug followed in his parents’ footsteps as a church planter and now takes on the role of MN Church Multiplication Director.
Doug received his call to ministry as a teenager. He was at an Ordination service and watched his parents pass on a symbolic mantel of ordination to his cousin. He didn’t know how or when, but knew someday that would be him.
Before starting college at North Central University to pursue his ministry calling, Doug went to flight school and got a Commercial Pilot license. While at North Central, he got to know his future wife Peggy, and they were married in 1994.
After college, Doug flew for 2 1/2 years as a corporate pilot for Mermaids Corporation. He loved flying but promised God he would give it up anytime the Lord told him to. Twenty-one years ago this summer, God spoke clearly that the time was right to jump into full time ministry. Within a month he and Peggy packed up and moved to St. Cloud to be Youth Pastors at Good News Assembly.
They later transitioned to Brainerd and served on staff at Heritage Assembly of God for nearly nine years. It was there God called them to do what they thought was the unthinkable…plant a church. Roger Stacy kept asking them the scariest question they had ever heard: “Would you want to plant a church?” Their response was, “NO WAY!” They are so thankful the Lord has a good sense of humor and pushed them past their fears to leap into the greatest adventure of their lives. In 2007 they planted The Waters Church in Sartell.
Since The Waters opened, it has grown from a core group of 12 people to well over 1,000 attending each weekend. In the past six years the church has been able to give over $1,000,000 to the Great Commission outside of their walls and have seen nearly 2,000 people accept Christ. They have also planted four new churches and have two more starting this fall.
Doug and Peggy’s greatest personal joy comes from being the parents of Abby (20), Nathaniel (16), and Sophie (13). All have been actively involved in family ministry since day one.
Doug is passionate about his new District role. “I believe that God’s kingdom is about multiplication, and I am so excited about dreaming with pastors and churches about how we can expand the kingdom together! Church plants are a highly effective way to reach new people with the Good News of the Gospel!
“My dad was a church planter when I was born and the first Church Planting Director for the MN District in the late 1980’s preparing for the Decade of Harvest. Now I get to pick up my dad’s mantel and build on the incredible foundation that Roger Stacy has built to keep church planting alive in MN. What an honor!”
We welcome Doug and Peggy Vagle to our Minnesota District leadership team!
