2023
quarterlyREPORT
We started off the 2nd quarter strong with Easter on the Field! 600 were in attendance with 85 volunteers, 400 seat cushions handed out, and best of all...2 salvations! The Orchard Guys Mens Ministry's Man-Up Event was a huge hit. 30 men (including some teen sons) joined us for some awesome worship, teaching and really fun outdoor activities. Our serve summer season kicked-off with Seamless Summer. 30 volunteers served 800 lunches in June to children in our community. June 19th, 30 (4 of them from our outreach in Kenya) traveled to Israel for another spiritually moving tour of the Holy Land. We wrapped up the quarter preparing for VBS in July. Some of our volunteers began creating the set for the stage and other areas while others rehearsed and prepared for their roles both on stage and in the breakout sessions. Overall, it was a great quarter with a total of 20 decisions and 14 baptisms! We look forward to baptizing more at Super Tailgate Sunday on August 27th.
Making the Gospel Relevant
by
Loving God
Decisions for Christ
Loving Others
People in LifeGroups
Making Disciples
Equipping & Serving in some capacity
14 Baptisms
and 20 decisions for Christ!
Engagement Growth
The approach of warmer weather always sees a dip in attendance. It's to be expected, especially as the schools let out and everyone heads out of town for their summer vacations.
Service Attendance
(Not including Easter on the Field attendance of 600)
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Lifegroup Participation
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Student Ministry Attendance
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Celebrate Recovery Attendance
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Stepping Out In Faith
In February, we set a salvation goal of 150 for 2023 and asked everyone to pick 3 people they would be praying for. We're happy to report, we've reached 54 salvations during the first half of the year!
Anyone But Me
LifeGroups really responded to the evangelism emphasis as we read through Ray Comfort’s Anyone But Me. Through reading Ray’s stories or watching his videos, individuals learned that there is a variety of approaches to evangelism. Ray’s methods challenged groups to boldly and confidently go share with people both their deep spiritual need for rescue from sin as well as the good news of salvation found through Christ. Group members were encouraged to recognize the many opportunities God affords us while becoming aware that even the smallest ways of sharing can have large impact on people. Our people felt better equipped to have spiritual conversations as a result.
Easter on the Field
With over 600 in attendance, we rocked the stadium this year! Our set-up facing the bleachers was different than in previous years, when we were literally on the field. All in all, we really liked the new set-up and we hope you did too! In addition to the new seating area, we handed out 400 custom seat cushions. When we presented the idea to our church, they loved it so much they donated nearly $3,000 to offset the cost! Our youth helped put together 10,000 eggs which covered the field for our egg hunt. Plus, there were several other craft stations around the track for our families to enjoy. Best of all, 2 gave their lives to Christ! A BIG "Thank You" to the 85 volunteers who made this event possible.
MAN-UP Event
The Orchard Guys had 30 attend their Man-Up Event in May, including the 7 volunteers that put this adventure all together. They enjoyed worship, teaching, fellowship and some really cool outdoor activities! Take a look at the video Art Brown created for us...
FUGE CAMP
It was an amazing week of students grabbing hold of the truth that they are made in His [God’s] image! We had double the number of students (32) and adults (7) go from last year to this year, and it was awesome to see God working in their lives. We saw the high schoolers really step-up and serve on mission sites where our students set a superb standard. Meanwhile our middle schoolers were enjoying track times of sports and growing faith classes on campus. Throughout the week we saw new friendships forming within the group and discipleship budding through high schoolers really mentoring other students. By week’s end, we got to celebrate 4 students giving their lives to Christ and lighting their bulbs upon returning home!
Celebrate Recovery
We've had 9 decisions for Christ! Even though they have 19 leaders and 79 rotating volunteers each week, these serve numbers may seem like a lot already, but did you know Friday night operations are on a larger scale than Sunday mornings? Not only do they need volunteers on First Impressions and Worship teams for the usual Sunday morning stuff, they also offer childcare and cook/serve meals every Friday night as well. Those are just the needs volunteers fulfill. Their leaders run the small groups that take place after the evening worship. If you've never stopped by Celebrate Recovery, we recommend you do. You might find your calling!
We continue to find innovative ways to inspire growth and share the gospel with those around us both physically and digitally. Our For Gilmer strategy has adapted and grown in ways we never imagined! From serving meals to playground maintenance, we have been hard at work continually identifying and meeting the needs of our community.
Here are a few ways we are doing just that weekly:
Weekly Family Resource Packets Available On-Site Each Week
Praying for our Community, Leaders, and Individual Needs
Community Partnerships with the School System, Food Pantry, and local EMS
SEAMLESS SUMMER
In June, 31 rotating volunteers served, on a daily average, 60 children a total of 800 lunches.
MEETING TOGETHER
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DEEPER CONNECTIONS
We wrapped up the book Anyone But Me in our LifeGroups that's been a huge hit. Ray Comfort's unique style of sharing the Gospel with strangers showed us all we could do this too!
We continue to look for new ways to engage with our online audience. We understand not everyone can meet in person, which is why our digital presence is so important to us, both on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. Take a look at the social connections we're making!
2023 Quarterly General Fund
$148,292
Current Fund Balance
$186,250
2nd Quarter Budget
$195,811
2nd Quarter Giving
$168,995
2nd Quarter Spending
2021
$565,027
Total Contributions
2022
$885,149
Total Contributions
2023
$402,509
Contributions to Date
Student Ministry
$13,248
Current Fund Balances
$14,130
Total Giving
$10,843
Total Spending
Celebrate Recovery
$17,422
Current Fund Balances
$4,344
Total Giving
$4,920
Total Spending
For Gilmer
$550
Current Fund Balances
$701
Total Giving
$1,372
Total Spending
Guatemala
$2,568
Current Fund Balances
$505
Total Giving
$0
Total Spending
Highland Parkway
Future Home of The Orchard Church
$9,128
Current Fund Balances
$5,923
Total Giving
$5,190
Total Spending
Extraordinary Expenses
$5,000
Master's Plan for New Facility
We hope that this information gives you a complete and well rounded look at how we seek to steward our resources. Your obedience and generosity makes all of this possible. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to our executive director, Larry Lynch. You can call at 706-621-5160, or email through the button below. He manages our accounts and is more than happy to help!
If you would like to give towards our mission for 2023:
The Orchard Church
7288 Hwy 515 N
Ellijay, GA 30536
706-621-5160
hello@orchardellijay.com
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