About Orchard View
At Orchard View, our greatest desire is to be a community that loves God and one another. Our mission is to be a people dedicated to living in community.
So what does it mean; to live in “community?” Webster defines community as “a group of people leading a common life.” Inherent in this definition is the idea of mutual respect, joint possession of a cause, enjoyment, and accountability. What community isn’t: community isn’t a group of people that are exactly identical. We come in all shapes, colors and sizes. We all have different ways of viewing the world, different ideas, opinions and experiences, different skills and abilities. We don’t even all vote the same way! In fact, the most important part of living in community is celebrating the beautifully unique way that God created each and every one of us. In fact, in a loving community, we can’t even function without these differences! In the Bible, which we believe is God’s inspired word, we find this instruction:
“The body (That’s us!) is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ…in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be…So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:12,18,25-26
What a beautiful and perfect picture of what it means to live in community; if one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. So this is our mission. It isn’t just a pleasant idea, but a way of living life. Experiencing life together, sharing each other’s joy AND each other’s pain. We laugh together, we cry together. Our desire is not to be a “holy fort” where our hatches are battened down against the outside world but to be involved in the neighborhoods and communities around us. Jesus’ example calls us to be his hands and feet to the world, to love as he loved.
So please join us! We would love for you to become a part of our lives, but ultimately hope to become a part of yours! Please keep in mind; we are real people with real struggles and real pain. We don’t pretend to have it all figured out, but we serve an awesome God that is bigger than any storm we may face and His love has the power to transform lives! We have a Redeemer who bears the burden of the mess we make in our lives. We serve a God is who is strong enough to handle our tough questions and we aren’t afraid to ask them. So whether you have been following God your entire life, or you aren’t even sure if God really exists, we welcome you with loving arms into this family! Join us as we journey together on our mission to live and love together.
“There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
~Romans 8:1
