Q:
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What is the mission
of Orchard Hill Church?
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A:
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Helping people become fully devoted
followers of Christ
Who honor God as we together….
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Worship and Obey
Jesus
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Lead Others to Jesus
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Encourage
Each Other in Faith, Love, and Obedience
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Q:
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Does Orchard Hill have a regular
or main teacher?
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A:
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Orchard Hill Church uses a team
of six teachers in its Sunday morning services: Ed Baker,
Dave Bartlett, Tim Boettger, Alice Shirey, Doug Tensen,
and Kurt Vander Wiel. These six teachers include five
staff people and one volunteer teacher: At times we also
add additional teachers. It is our belief that multiple
gifted voices from different family situations, ages,
and experiences provide our congregation with healthy
and strong teaching from God’s Word.
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Q:
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Who is Orchard’s Senior
Pastor?
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A:
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Orchard Hill does not use a senior
pastor model of leadership. At one point in our history,
Ed Baker was our senior pastor. As we moved towards being
a “gift based” church, we as a congregation
learned that the Body of Christ is to operate according
to the gifts given to individuals for the building up
of the body. (1 Corinthians 12). That passage says, “Now
about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to
be ignorant.” We discovered at that point that
the Body of Christ is to be organized around God-given
spiritual gifts and passions. We have transitioned to
a form of leadership which acknowledges and celebrates
the gifts and passions of our leaders. After 25 years
of serving at Orchard Hill, Ed and Sally Baker have great
influence and outstanding ministry among us!
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Q:
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How is Orchard Hill Church led?
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A:
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Orchard Hill is led by a leadership
team consisting of two groups of servant leaders. Our
Leadership Board is a group of mature men and women,
affirmed by the congregation of Orchard Hill Church,
who provide the legal and fiduciary leadership to our
congregation. These servants of Christ speak with one
voice as they give guidance to the ministries of our
church. The Leadership Board partners with the Staff
Management Team creating Orchard’s Leadership Team
to provide spiritual and visionary leadership to Orchard
Hill Church.
Our Staff Management Team is a staff team
of mature followers of Christ who provide operational
leadership
and day-to-day implementation of ministry to the mission
of Orchard Hill Church and participate with the Leadership
Board creating Orchard’s Leadership Team to provide
spiritual and visionary leadership to Orchard Hill
Church.
Dave Bartlett serves as our visionary leader
who gives leadership and vision to our Leadership
Board, our
Staff Management Team and our congregation. Our staff
management team currently consists of: Ed Baker,
Dave Bartlett, Tim Boettger, Pat Oehler, Walt
Rogers, Doug Tensen and Judy Walsten.
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Q:
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What is this idea of two campuses?
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A:
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Orchard Hill Church has six Sunday
morning services on two different campuses. Four services
are held each Sunday morning at our Cedar Falls campus
and two services are held each Sunday at our Grundy Center
campus which meets in four rented buildings with worship
at
The Center Theatre. Orchard has joined with a growing
group of churches who are finding that God has called
us to reach the mission He has given to us by meeting
on two campuses 30 miles apart. We are truly one church
on two campuses. We share teachers, leaders, musicians,
mission and budget.
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Q:
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How do people get connected to others
in a church the size of Orchard?
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A:
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People get connected to Orchard
by getting connected to smaller groups of people. We
use a 3C model of connection. People get connected at
the Congregational Celebration level by attending the
worship service of their choice. They have the opportunity
to get connected with a Community Group (or a neighborhood
size group). This happens with a Sunday morning community
group within adult education, or as a volunteer in some
service team such as Children’s Ministry,
Chaos, Caravan, etc. We
also encourage everyone to participate in a small group
(cell is the third c). Our small group ministry team
is always starting new small groups. If interested in
any of these things, a person should complete a connection
card from the Sunday bulletin.
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Q: |
Where is Orchard Hill going in the future? |
A: |
Orchard Hill has six vision statements that will lead
us into the future. These include:
- Spiritual Growth—every individual attending
OHC will continually and consistently grow spiritually
to
become more like Jesus
- Connection—OHC inspires a spiritual environment
in which our people feel connected to one another
and to God
- Outreach—OHC attendees are convinced of
Jesus' commandment to go into all the world and
witness the gospel…by helping people come
on the arm of a trusted friend
- The Next Generation—OHC successfully reaches
each next generation for Christ
- Leadership Development—OHC provides “make a difference” development
for leaders who will impact the Church for years to come
- Ministry Resources & Tools—OHC provides
for staff, ministry leaders, and volunteers all
the
resources and tools needed
for church.
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Q: |
How many staff does OHC have? |
A: |
In order to accomplish our mission,
OHC currently has 19 full-time staff, 11 part-time staff,
and unpaid staff.
These men and women serve together to walk with our hundreds
of volunteers to accomplish more than 100 different ministries. |
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Q: |
Why does Orchard have a coffee house in their lobby?
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A: |
Research shows that putting a cup
of coffee into the hands of a church attendee, extends
their stay at the
church by 10 minutes. It seems good to increase the time
spent in our facility in order to create friendship and
connection. Maybe a really good cup of coffee would extend
their visit by 20 minutes! |
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Q: |
Why does Orchard Hill partner with so many other churches
and organizations? |
A: |
We take the prayer of Jesus in John
17 very seriously. We believe that we are called by God
to help be an answer
to this prayer for unity within the body of Jesus. We also
believe God sometimes works best through the partnership
of different churches and organizations. We believe that
God desires for us to recognize that all Christians in
the Cedar Valley are spiritually one church. We are called
to place allegiance to Jesus far above any allegiance to
a local church. |
