"God has shown us once again just how good he is"
By Luke Greer, Director of Partnership
Receiving truly good news is a delight — all the more so in the middle of a prolonged tumultuous season. As our team here at Orchard Group began preparing last year to publish our annual report, I was a bit apprehensive as to what we would uncover. After all, we were looking back on a year chock-full of challenges for our churches. Everything from natural disasters to political unrest to the pandemic seemed to conspire against the work of church planting.
However, as we gathered stories, crunched numbers, and reviewed images from the past year, my concern proved misplaced. The difficulties encountered are numerous and real, but ultimately, so much good work is being accomplished through these leaders and new churches. It was beautiful to review, remember, and prepare this good news to share with others.
Lou Pizzichillo planted Community Christian Church exactly one year ago, back when 2020 seemed like it would be an ordinary year. Lou shared with me recently:
“When Ephesians 3:20 says, ‘God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,’ it sounds pretty extreme. Yet… for us, that’s been the story of 2020. We certainly wouldn’t have asked, and definitely couldn’t have imagined, all that 2020 would throw our way, but one thing is for sure — God has shown us once again just how good he is.”
As a “teaser,” here are just three things you’ll find inside in the annual report:
- Hundreds of new people came to new faith and were baptized.
- Even in these unpredictable times, six new churches are preparing for launch in cities across the U.S.
- Our church plants were able to meet their communities’ needs in generous ways, giving more than half a million dollars to benevolence and COVID relief.
Lou’s right. God has once again shown how good he is!
Want to explore the report? Here are three ways:
- Download: View and download the .pdf version
- Mail: Request a full-color booklet to be delivered straight to your door
- Online: Check out the online version — packed with photos, stories, and stats