Restoration House Ministries and Orchard Group have announced a partnership that their respective boards of directors believe will strengthen and accelerate church-planting efforts in New England.
“Today the greatest need in New England is for more new, healthy, vibrant churches,” the boards wrote in a joint announcement. “There are nearly 15 million people in the region and far too few gospel-centered churches. For this reason, the RHM board has decided to partner together with Orchard Group. . . .”
Plans call for hiring a regional director to oversee church-planting efforts in the region later this year. Ideally this person will have firsthand church-planting experience, ties to New England, and a relationship with RHM, the boards shared.
Restoration House Ministries was started in 1996 under the direction of Dan Clymer with a mission to “transform the spiritual landscape of New England.”
Since that time, RHM has planted 20 new churches, more than doubling the number of independent Christian churches in New England. Through these efforts, the new churches have baptized thousands of new followers of Jesus, and more than 100 ministry interns and residents have received housing and training through RHM; many of those interns and residents have remained to serve with churches in the region.
“There is no doubt that the churches in New England are more numerous, healthy, and vibrant because of the ministry of RHM,” according to the announcement.
Orchard Group was started in 1948 in the New York City area and originally was known as “Go Ye” Chapel Mission. After decades of church-planting work in and around the Big Apple, Orchard Group expanded to other regions, including New England.
“I was there for the grand opening of RHM in the fall of 1996,” said Orchard Group president and CEO Brent Storms, who planted a church in Massachusetts after completing his master’s degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. “We love New England and are excited about the church-planting opportunities ahead!”
Clymer said Orchard Group’s experience and commitment “will actively help expand the ‘transformation of the spiritual landscape of New England.’”
The partnership will leverage Orchard Group team members’ skill and expertise in recruiting and assessing potential church planters, developing partner churches to invest in new churches, legal and accounting support, and decades of experience overseeing church-planting efforts.
Using Orchard Group’s existing support staff will free up thousands of dollars donated to RHM every month. Supporters of RHM can continue making contributions the same ways they have up until now, with 100 percent of donations made to RHM and RHM-planted churches being used entirely to support church planting in New England.
More about the transition timeline will be announced over the coming months.
Read more about the announcement at RHM’s website.
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