Serve Teams:

Every student has the opportunity to serve on a team. Whether it is the Porch Band, Audio Visual Team, Welcome & Registration Team, Program Team, Speaking Team or Reset Team, you will play an important part in having an impact on your peers lives!

Grow Groups

 We believe that growth is best experienced in community. It is for this reason that we follow the same Grow Group Semester as The Orchard adults. Grow Groups are the perfect opportunity to hang out with your friends and learn more about Jesus and what it means to be an authentic follower of him. Your Grow Group members will also have opportunities to serve together throughout the year as the Student Ministry participates in “Project 52” spearheaded by The Orchard’s Servant Evangelism Team. Your Grow Groups are also the place where you will do fun things outside of The Orchard. Whether it is bowling, seeing a movie together or spending the night and hanging out, Grow Groups are a better way to connect with God and each other.

Student Leadership

We believe that students are not the Church of the future - they are the Church NOW! Currently, we run an “Adult Mentored/Student Run” youth ministry. This means that adults mentor our students who participate on various Serve Teams. Students learn how to run the various aspects of ministry such as “633”. The best way to get involved in leadership training is to first start out on a Serve Team. It is from here that student leaders who have shown initiative, involvement and ownership are selected to participate in deeper levels of leadership training and development. We offer a couple of different leadership retreats and experiences throughout the year.

Retreats

Students have opportunities to participate in various retreats that encourage them to learn more about worship, serving and leadership. Whether Summer opportunities like “Big Stuff”, Winter retreats like “Windy Gap” or snow skiing, or local or International Missions like Jamaica, our students are encouraged to see and participate in a life that is “bigger” than themselves! We also try to do local low cost retreats throughout the year so that every student has a chance to participate in community life!

Orchard 101

We currently hold an Annual Orchard 101 specifically designed for youth the weekend before Thanksgiving. This is a great opportunity for youth to confirm their faith, build community, learn more about what it means to be a Christian, what the Church truly is as well as a bit of history on the United Methodist Church. Our weekend retreat format is always fun, informative and refreshing.

Adult Leadership

Adult Leadership: Adult volunteers are the “life blood” of Student Ministry here at The Orchard. We want to continue to provide atmospheres where relational ministry can occur. Whether it is Grow Groups, 633, Special Events, Sk8 Ministry or Serve Team Leadership, our goal is that every student feels valued because adults have become adult friends to every student! Our ideal situation is that there would be one adult volunteer for every 5 students!

Porch Band

Like our other Serve Teams, our Porch Band is comprised primarily of student volunteers with adult mentorship. The Porch Band has close ties to The O Band and Porch Band members often participate in leading worship, not only at 633, but also with The O Band on Sunday Mornings! We are always looking for student musicians and adult mentors for The Porch Band.