The Orchard BLOG
About The Author
The Orchard Blog is written by Steve Dusek, Founding Church Planter here at The Orchard Church. Steve is a father of two kids, both leading worship in the student band at The Orchard. He and his lovely wife, Sherry, celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in January of 2010.





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The Orchard BLOG

In The Final Stretch

Mar/31/2009 02:21 AM
It is hard to believe that we are in the final TWO WEEKS before the official LAUNCH! Man, things are busy these days. It seems that my “to do” list is longer than my days can handle.

I have to give a big shout out to the entire worship and tech teams... Man, there were quite a few curve balls thrown at us at the last minute, from Casey’s finger getting sliced, to the words being switched up in the computer. BUT, these guys (and girls) all handled it like pros! It all worked out, and GOD was glorified!



I was really encouraged by everyone’s response to the second preview service. SO many positive words of excitement about what lies ahead. Thanks to all who stayed afterwards for our first ever “Orchard Orientation.” I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how we were going to pull off some of the stuff we were hoping to do... But after talking with you guys, I am ready to run screaming at the enemy! (Judges 6&7... Okay, maybe you had to be there.)

It was great to see some familiar faces on Sunday. What a blessing to see many new ones, as well. Cool new kid of the week: Haley. Anyone who draws exclamation points with big hearts is cool in my book.

Preview Was GREAT!

Mar/16/2009 10:16 PM
Wow. I have GOT to say a big thanks to everyone who worked hard to pull off this weekend’s preview service. It was really awesome. What a great kickoff!

Here are my quick thoughts on the morning:
  • It was awesome meeting new friends and seeing new faces.
  • The tech stuff was really hard and time-intensive during the week to set up, but it was SO worth it!
  • The message was consistent from the opening video, through the songs, the “Meant to Live” theme song, and the message
  • Our team seems to have an unlimited amount of drive and ability to pull stuff off
  • Conner did a great job with the lights
  • So glad we went with the “Meant To Live” theme.
  • “Dare You To Move” is going to be GREAT on March 29th!


Overall, I felt like the preview was a great start to what will be an awesome, growing, vibrant ministry. I expect we’ll see God change a lot of lives as a result of all this. Wednesday night is our “Orchard Orientation,” and even if you didn’t sign up, we’d still love to have you. Shoot me an email (from the CONTACT page) or give me a call to let me know you’re coming.

Why A Preview Service?

Mar/11/2009 08:35 PM
I am getting so pumped about our first PREVIEW SERVICE coming up this weekend! All the little parts and pieces are starting to fall into place. Man, putting together a rockin’ sound system is a lot more work than I thought it was! When it is all together, it will raise the roof! Doug, Zac, and I spent some time in the movie theater today reworking and adding lighting. Larry built a makeshift “tech table” that fits over the bolted-down movie theater seats! It is really cool.



Someone asked me this week, “Why a ‘preview service?’ I’m not familiar with that term.” SO, I thought I would try to answer that question two general ways...

First is an external purpose... We want to build a little momentum before the launch. We hope to create something of a buzz about what we’re doing. I don’t expect that we’ll blow the doors off the movie theater this week, but I do hope that we will get people talking. I am hoping that people will try us out for the first time and tell their friends. Hopefully, this momentum will build for our March 29th preview, and really explode for our April 12 Launch!

Second is an internal purpose... Engaging people in the Body of Christ. Let’s face it... If this is important to Ellijay, it is going to take a lot of people to pull it off. And I mean a LOT. People with ALL KINDS of gifts and abilities. We want to serve people on all kinds of levels in this, from parking, to greeting, to children’s ministry, to singing, to tech... You name it. We are going to blatantly ask people to jump in and start serving!

Our first preview is going to KICK. The theme for this one is “Meant To Live,” which is a popular Switchfoot (iTunes link) song from a couple of years ago. Chad, Casey, and the band are working hard on the song, and I know it will be cool. We’ll use the message of the song as a tool to reinforce Jesus’ purpose of coming so that we could have life, and have it abundantly. We also have other creative things planned that I think you’ll really like. You’ll definitely want to be there if you can. Hope to see YOU on Sunday!!

Church In A Movie Theater?

Feb/17/2009 09:39 AM
What a weekend!! I was so blown away by each of you guys that came out ALL DAY on Saturday to set up, experiment, practice, set up some more, tear down, clean up, and set up again. It was so cool! My mind was all about the lights and sound, so I barely thought about the lobby, coffee, and all that stuff... But you guys HANDLED it, and it was awesome!

Sunday morning was a great taste of what is to come. I was really pumped. All the tech was really basic, and everything kind of came together at the last minute... But I am feeling pretty great about it all.

So what do you think of the whole I Love Ellijay thing?? Is that gonna rock, or what?? Man, there are so many needs right in that one school that we are going to be able to meet. Have you started multiplying your little picture yet? I don’t know about you, but today is Tuesday, and my $5 has already turned into $30! How is yours coming? Shoot me an email to let me know.