They said a Bible-believing church would never grow in Sydney's secular heartland.

But 15 years after planting Vine Church in Surry Hills with just 12 adults, Toby Neal leads a church community of 380, with over 160 professions of faith.

Yet the journey has been anything but smooth — hostile media coverage, a controversial merger and a church that suddenly stopped growing.

Senior Pastor & planter Toby Neal says the most confronting discovery was that he himself had become the barrier to further growth — so what went wrong and how did he need to change?