The Orchard Group

Claudio Divinio - Ethnic Church Planting Consultant

"And there was great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9).

After years in New York, just yesterday I bought my first two Statue of Liberty souvenirs.  I bought one for my office and one for my house. 

 The Orchard Group board of trustees met in Manhattan, and as I walked to their meeting at the Empire State Building, I decided to buy the little statues.  My office is filled with knickknacks from my international missions travels.  I have visited 31 countries, so you can imagine how many I have... but until yesterday I never had anything from New York.

I love New York.  There are almost 200 different ethnic groups there, including hundreds of thousands of Brazilians.  I planted my first church in the United States in New York when we began Antioch Christian Church near the Bronx.  After seeing that church grow to 300, I moved on to become the missions professor at Crossroads Christian College in Rochester, Minnesota.

But now I am returning to the city I love - New York!  Well, sort of.  I have agreed to travel to New York twice each month to lead a new Brazilian church plant in Mamaroneck, New York.  I will be working with two other pastors who will be serving full time with the church, Elias Pereira and Evaldo Fernandes.  We will be meeting in the facilities of the Straight Gate Church in Mamaroneck, Westchester County, just north of New York City.

Pre-services for the new congregation have already been started.  Almost 150 attended the first informational and worship service on November 4, 2007.  An official grand opening will take place in the spring of 2008.