Starting today (September 16), we will be moving our Sunday services to Orangewood Academy! This will be a temporary location while we continue our search for a permanent home, but here are the five big reasons we are really thankful and excited.
1. It’s bigger
At Orangewood, the main room is twice as big as before, so here we can grow from a church of two services with 300 people, to a church of 1,200 people at two services, worshiping Jesus together on Sundays. We’ve baptized 68 people in the 10 months since moving to the Observatory, and Orangewood will be a place where we can see even more sleepy Christians woken up, and cultural Christians and non-Christians meet Jesus.
2. It’s more centrally located
Our mission is to make disciples and plant churches in Orange County. At this early phase of the church, we need to be a place from which we can have an impact on the majority of the county. Our Community Groups are the most localized ministries where we can see the gospel of Jesus influence particular neighborhoods. As we first plant groups and then churches, we’ll see those spheres of influence hone in. Right now, Orangewood is just south of Angel Stadium and just west of The Block, so it is accessible by the 5, 22, 57, and 55.
3. There’s a better kids space
Because it is a very well kept school, the classrooms are already set up and hospitable for children. There are also two playgrounds and a huge field that we want to use as well. Orangewood will be a place where we can continue to make disciples of the children God has given us. Additionally, our current space handles roughly 60 children per Sunday. Orangewood is set up to handle 160 per Sunday.
4. It’s less expensive
Orangewood is half the price of what we’ve been paying for rent. Mars Hill Orange County has existed because of the generosity and mission-mindedness of the churches in Seattle. They know the mission, they saw the vision and the need, and they’ve supported us financially. Reducing our facility costs will get us to a place where other churches we plant can be supported by our generosity more quickly.
5. More church planting
Planting churches is the most effective way to reach new generations, the unchurched, and non-Christians in an area. Planting churches also renews existing churches in a region. Getting all of the portable equipment necessary to move to Orangewood only better prepares us to plant our first church plant.
