in their own words

Right now, Orchard Group is backing several church planters who have left secure jobs at established churches in order to pursue a vision of planting a new church. Why would someone voluntarily trade security for fragility, or something known for something ambiguous? Church planting often requires these kinds of big

This article is contributed by Chris and Katherine Marlin and Tyler Chernesky, who are currently preparing to start a new church in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our dreams of church planting reach back almost a decade. And while those dreams have changed and grown over the years, they

This article is contributed by Gabe Garcia. Gabe, Kari, and their kids recently moved to Oakland, California, where they are preparing to start a new church. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > “Many are the plans of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” –Proverbs 19:21 Planting

This article is contributed by Dave Smith, who served as the founding pastor at Crossway Christian Church in Nashau, NH – one of Orchard Group's church plants back in the '90s. He now serves as the planter of Crossway's Downtown Campus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just over 25 years

Every crisis is different and the one we find ourselves in is particularly unique. Still, there are lessons to be gleaned from the past and principles learned in previous fires that can shape how we navigate adversity today. We recently asked a few staff members and church planters to share

I don’t think it’s presumptive to say we all like the feeling of being helpful and feeling as though we make a difference in other people’s lives. We like the idea of someone standing on an award stage and declaring that they couldn’t have done it without us.

From Brian Kruckenberg, New City Church in Phoenix During Bill Clinton’s 1992 Presidential campaign, Clinton’s entertaining and often polarizing lead campaign advisor, James Carville, boiled down the strategy to one, now infamous, and often repeated, slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid.” While there were many important aspects to

by Kyle Costello, Missio Dei Community, Salt Lake City Six months before my wife and I moved to plant our church, the lead pastor of the church where I was on staff publicly announced our plans. He didn’t just mention the church plant and our future move from Portland

By Ty Watts, Epiphany Church in Brooklyn, New York I find it hard to admit when I am wrong. Maybe because I’m usually always right – or at least I try and convince myself that I am. However, I can look back at one particular moment in my marriage when

From Bert Crabbe, Lead Pastor of True North Community Church Planting a church is a huge undertaking, and anyone who’s even glanced at a first-year church planter can see that it takes a toll on a person – body, mind, and soul. But. There’s another area that can really

From Lindsay Kuhl, Mosaic Church, Elkridge, Maryland Mother Teresa says “loneliness...is the most terrible poverty.” When we launched Mosaic nearly 10 years ago, I wasn’t prepared for the deep loneliness that came with it. In 2008, my husband Carl and I moved from Louisville, KY to Baltimore, MD

From Jeremy Hazelton, Village Church, Buffalo, New York Every time I learn something new, I realize how much more I still have to learn. This has been a challenge for me in virtually every aspect of my life, but perhaps most acutely in my work as a church planter and

By Derrick Puckett, Renewal Church, Chicago We came into planting a church in Chicago like we had it all together. We thought we had the perfect location, the perfect staff team, enough money, and people. In the mind of the church planter, the plant may look and feel better than

from Justin Anderson, lead planter of the Seattle Project I've been told more than once if there is anything else I could do with my life, besides church planting, I should do that thing. I have now ignored that advice three times. I never thought I would plant