Over the last few years, we’ve studied and discussed together the different views that evangelical Christians hold regarding the nature of hell. At two separate times we studied these differing views intensely. Both of these studies were prompted by questions or requests from people in our church. The first study was a “detour” in a leadership training class, and the second was…
Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks, CA
Church Life
The following constitution and bylaws establish a framework for our fellowship and ministry together as a church. ARTICLE I: NAME The name of this church shall be The Orchard. It is incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of California. ARTICLE II: PURPOSE A. Greatest Commandment Before anything else, we are worshipers of God, disciples of Jesus Christ,…
This article was originally posted at Exploring the Faith. We’ve looked at some of the benefits of interactive teaching. So let’s consider some of the challenges of teaching this way: “It takes a lot more time.”This is true. If you’re studying a passage of Scripture, and you have people respond to you and invite them to raise their hands and ask questions,…
This article was originally posted at Exploring the Faith. In the last post, we saw that Scripture doesn’t call pastors to preach, in the familiar sense of delivering sermons, but there is a repeated call for pastors to teach the church. I noted that—contrasted with preaching—teaching has different priorities, a different focus, and different expectations. So we should want to see this kind…
This article was originally posted at Exploring the Faith. The preaching of the Word has traditionally held a preeminent place in most evangelical churches. This is no accident. Young pastors and leaders have been taught how vital sound preaching is for keeping a church faithful and healthy. Quotes from noted leaders reinforce to us the crucial nature of preaching to the life…
“Welcome to The Orchard” is a 4-week study and discussion of our core beliefs and church DNA. We’re offering this series in our Forum beginning March 28. If you’re interested in participating, please email info@orchardefc.org.
Since our church body is considering adding another pastor to our pastoral team, it might be helpful for us to post these qualifications for the elders or pastors, who shepherd the whole church, compiled from 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9: Desire to serve: The desire to serve by shepherding or pastoring the church is an honorable one from God (see 1…
Our church is led by our pastoral team. As the name indicates, these pastors lead the church as a team, with no team member being designated the Senior or Lead Pastor over the rest of the team. (To see more about why we’re committed to this kind of leadership structure, click here.) So, if the church isn’t led by one pastor but…
Our first Digging Deeper seminar will be February 2 and will begin a series examining the current political division within evangelical churches. Our conviction is that evangelical Christians should be modeling a different way of engaging one another, discussing even issues about which we passionately disagree with love, grace and mutual respect. The church should be showing the world another way, rather…
We’re excited to announce that Greg Smit is the newest addition to our leadership team. Greg will serve as the ministry leader of our care ministries, including such vital areas of service as discipleship counseling, hospital visitation and prayer groups (for both our church family and also for the community around us). Greg has extensive training and experience in these kinds of…