More than ten years ago members of All Saints Church, Trull began praying about reaching out to a new housing development due to be built near them. In 2024 that church had grown to be 30 adults and seven children. Revd Jon Ball tells us about the Orchard Grove Church and the hope it brings.
What inspired the creation of a new worshiping community in Orchard Grove, and how does it reflect hope for the future?
A new housing development of 2000 homes is planned for Orchard Grove. There are currently about 350 homes. The leadership in Trull had been praying about how to serve the people moving in.
When my wife Imogen and I began our curacy in Trull we started discerning and praying about how we could be involved in this. In 2023, a weekly prayer gathering began, leading to the launch of Orchard Grove Church a year later with 15 adults and two children, by November 2024 this had grown.
How does the mission in Orchard Grove offer hope to those who feel disconnected in new housing developments?
New housing is notorious for not having good connections or a good community feel, but our hope for Orchard Grove is that it's nothing like that, that it's a thriving community with this new church at the heart of it and part of the fabric of it, offering hope to the community. That hope is ultimately in living and telling the story of Jesus here. And people being drawn into that life with him and finding the living hope that he offers.
What role does perseverance play in building hope for others?
It’s definitely been a step of faith, and it still is. How things are going to be provided for in the medium and long term are still being worked out. But we've seen God provide every step of the way. And he continues to provide. Ours is a story of long-term hope. For anyone else with an exciting idea of how to engage where they are, it is about perseverance and holding on to hope all the way through.
How can the story of Orchard Grove inspire hope for others attempting to create change in their communities?
I think two words when I think about this, they are patience and proactivity. We need to keep taking steps of faith and waiting for God to open doors, which is sometimes hard. But he is our hope and we’ve seen him give those green lights throughout this journey. I think others would see that too, as they step out with faith and hope into the future.
How do you start to build that community of hope in a new development like Orchard Grove?
We’re always going to be disappointed if we have that expectation of a house giving us the perfect home, so we want to be part of creating home for people who are moving here so they have a sense of belonging. Ultimately our hope is that they come to the church and feel they belong in faith. We have a vision for a few years’ time for what this community will look like, and it is a hopeful one. One where we know our neighbours, where we look out for each other. That hope is from within the church, but we also hope that blessing spreads out into the community around us as well. It's a hope that Orchard Grove will look different from what people might expect from a new housing development.