Initially ordained as a Quaker minister, he became an early, pioneering pastor of charismatic congregations, and a popular thought leader in modern Christian publications on the third person of the Christian Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit's action in modern churches through miraculous phenomena referred to as miracles, or signs and wonders.

[1] Wimber was recognised as a talented musician,[4] and he first played as a professional at the age of 15 at the Dixie Castle in Orange, California.

[8][4] This five-member band preceded Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley's eventual induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Wimber's embrace of this new approach led a friend, C. Peter Wagner, to coin the phrase, "The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit" to describe the concept he taught.

His teaching revolutionized what was a major theological stumbling block to some mainstream Evangelicals, and normalized the demonstration of "signs and wonders" in current times.

[13] Wimber held influence with a number of them, most famously Jack Deere, C. Peter Wagner, and Wayne Grudem.

Services led by Wimber often included activities, described as Holy Spirit manifestations, where congregants appeared to be drunk, dazed, or uncoordinated.

In 2006, his daughter-in-law, Christy Wimber planted and led a Vineyard Church in Yorba Linda for eleven years.

In spite of his complementarian convictions, Wimber permitted at least two notable exceptions: both Jackie Pullinger (Hong Kong) and Ann Watson (England) served as the senior leaders of their respective congregations (although I should mention that Watson viewed her role as exceptional, given the premature death of her husband, and not a position to which women in ordinary circumstances should aspire).

Another characteristic is in the area of teaching, which emphasized preaching extensively from the gospels and using Jesus as the model for Christian believers.

He strongly emphasized signs and wonders, which he referred to as "Doin' the Stuff",[21] the priesthood of every believer and that every Christian has the ability to prophesy and heal the sick.

Wimber's teaching has had a significant influence on other Charismatic leaders, such as Mike Bickle, Terry Virgo, Randy Clark, John Arnott, Bill Johnson, John Paul Jackson, Sandy Millar, David Pytches and Christy Wimber.

"[22] The next month his cardiologist confirmed he had a damaged heart and told him that his weight and schedule put him at risk of imminent death.

[25] This caused a massive brain hemorrhage, from which he died on November 17, 1997, at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, California.

The temptation was to withdraw from practicing Christ's commands or, at the other extreme, to drum up a false bravado to convince God to do what we thought He ought to do.