NYC - Witts
We have great news for you, and even better news for New York City! Orchard Group is pleased to announce that Jared and Stephanie Witt are joining us to plant a church in Manhattan, New York.
Jared grew up in Fort Scott, Kansas, where his family worshipped with Community Christian Church. Stephanie Batchelor grew up at First Christian Church in Owasso, Oklahoma. Jared and Stephanie met in 1991 when they were students at Ozark Christian College, and married in 1994.
This young, newly married couple from the Midwest moved across the country to New Haven, Connecticut where Jared began his graduate studies at Yale Divinity School. Jared also ministered with the Woodland Church of Christ in Connecticut.
After nine years in Connecticut, Jared earned his Masters of Divinity degree and a PhD in Theology - both from Yale. Stephanie earned her Masters degree in Education, and taught fifth grade while Jared was in school. The church they served more than doubled in size. During the same time frame, two of their three boys had arrived!
Jared had been preparing for a career in teaching at a Christian college, a seminary or a university. After seeing firsthand how rigorously independent the life of a professor could be, he decided to take a different route. Jared knew he needed to be working in a more relational setting.
Jared and Stephanie wanted their children to have the opportunity to live close to grandparents for a while, so they moved back to the Midwest. Jared went to work with his parents at the funeral home they own and operate.
Looking back over the past few years, Jared and Stephanie can see how God was preparing them for their next step in ministry. In his work with the funeral home, Jared was ministering daily to families grieving over the loss of a loved one. He performed hundreds of funerals, mostly for families without a church home.
Stephanie has taken a lead role in organizing an outreach group for moms with young children. Together they have been involved in couples groups and community service projects, bringing hurting and struggling people to Christ and the church.
About a year ago God starting bringing all the pieces together. As Jared and Stephanie were feeling an intense pull to get back into a local church ministry, Orchard Group began actively recruiting them to move to Manhattan to plant a new church.
Everyone involved spent several months in prayer and ongoing conversation about the opportunity. Jared and Stephanie participated in the Church Planting Assessment Center and received a strong recommendation as church planters. Last month, the Witts officially accepted the call to plant a new church in Manhattan!
In case they needed further confirmation... within a few weeks of making their decision they sold their house! They had not yet even put it on the market!
The Witts will allow their boys - Henry, Oliver and Remy - to finish the school semester before moving to Manhattan. They hope to find an apartment and relocate in June or July. The new church will be launched in 2009.
There are still a lot of "unknowns" about the new church. Jared and Stephanie are looking at neighborhoods around Columbia University, New York University, and the Upper East Side. Orchard Group will provide start-up funds through the "It's Up To You, New York, New York" campaign, but the Witts will need to raise additional support from churches and individuals.
They will be recruiting people to move to New York as volunteers in their core group and others to join the ministry staff. These additional team members have not yet been identified.
Jared and Stephanie are convinced that this is the right step for them. They are eager to follow God's leading as they move to New York City. It would be hard to imagine a couple more prepared to plant a Christian Church in Manhattan. They lived in the northeast for nine years, have a strong foundation in the Christian Church, and the educational and professional experience that will give them credibility with New Yorkers.
Over 22 million people call the New York City area home. Two million live in Manhattan. Less than three percent of those people attend church. People who live and work in New York influence our world in countless areas, including education, finance, media, politics and art. Jared and Stephanie will connect well with these people of influence.
Please pray for Jared, Stephanie, and their children, as they move to New York and launch the next new Manhattan church with the Orchard Group.