I am so pumped up right now. We just got back from an abbreviated leadership mini-retreat… It was just me and some of our guys that have been with us since the beginning of this whole process of launching The Orchard. I’m excited because even though we DIDN’T get to everything I wanted us to get to on our retreat, we definitely covered some very important ground!
FIRST, we took our first chance to step back and evaluate the run-up and the launch, all of which happened from January through April. Everybody there felt that we met and/or exceeded our goals, expectations, and hopes. We reflected back on those initial intensive prayer times, and looked at how God has worked and answered prayer time and time again in this process. We are so blessed to be part of this!
NEXT, we began to dream about what THE ORCHARD is really ultimately going to be all about. ALL of us agreed that we DO NOT want to be simply a weekend worship service. That is fun, and it is important… But ultimately, what does it produce? EACH member of our group desires for us to be a DISCIPLE-MAKING FACTORY. We talked in depth about what that looks like, and it is exciting. We do NOT have all the pieces in place… In fact, we just got the general structure down. Next, we will have to spend some time putting the “meat on the bones” of how that will look for us. I know you will be hearing more and more about this in the coming weeks and months.
Just a little insight… we hope to launch small groups this summer! (as in, just a few weeks from now!) BUT, we have a LONG way to go before we’re ready to do that, so please be praying.
My favorite quote from the weekend: “We can’t ENABLE the old habit of sitting and soaking… We want to EMPOWER people to step up and lead!” You will DEFINITELY be hearing that from me again.