The Church of the Oranges offers a wide variety of opportunities for ministry and service to its members and the community. Each member is strongly encouraged to become involved in at least some aspect of the current church ministry program or start a new ministry. The Personal Ministries Leader and pastors stand ready to help each individual choose a ministry. What follows is a synopsis of several of the ministries sponsored by our church.
Health Ministries
Leader Dianne Washington
Follow to Health-Specific Ministries
Children's Ministry
The vision of the Children’s Ministry Department is to acquaint children with the love and saving power of Jesus Christ; to provide them with the opportunity to accept Jesus as their Friend and Savior; and help them develop a strong passion for the word of God. The Department’s interactive programs emphasize ministry to children within the community who are not exposed to Christian values and provide them the opportunity to participle in our various programs. The following are interactive programs that the children are involved in: Age appropriate Sabbath School Classes Children’s Church, Adventurer’s Club, lead by Bethany Phillip, Pathfinder Club, lead by Clint Brown Children’s Choir Bell Choir, and Children’s Story Time. During the Divine Service the Children’s story is highlighted by the use of the Puppets and media Junior AY, Summer Camp/ Vacation Bible School. Contact Alleson Lyons (leader of Childrens Ministry) if you are interested in Children's Ministries.
Adventist Youth Society (AYS) Every Week one hour before sunset on Sabbath our AYS ministry lead by Moise Phanor Lead out by involving the youth of the Church and community into programs that help them understand the world we live in now and the world to come when Christ comes again for us. The Youth are also involved in community outreach programs such as Shelter Ministry Mission projects inside and outside of the USA.
Media Ministry
Each week, the Church of the Oranges produces audio and/or videotapes which are available at nominal charge. They also avail our community and world a view of our “Divine Service” on the Internet each week which can be logged on from our website face page by clicking”Watch Service Live” The members of this department play a vital role in assuring that the sound and video projection system are functioning well and they are also responsible for coordinating all aspects of multimedia to enhance the worship service and environment. The Photographers keep our still photo archives up to date by weekly photos of different events such as baptisms, baby dedications and special honoring programs which can be viewed on this site. This ministry has active PR persons who on a weekly and even daily basis communicate with flyers, email, social networking, phone trees and texting for involvement in our ministry programs. Out “IT” group help us to maintain connections and updates with the ever changing Technologies the Multimedia Director, Peter Mason along with his Assistant Director Clint Brown, oversees the overall multimedia resources and projects.
Community Services
The Community Services Department of our church has an active outreach program that caters to the physical needs of the homeless and hungry in our inner-city area. We provide food, clothing, and other items to those in need. We would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to all who helped us collect and distribute items to the needy. They were extremely grateful for the contribution. Recently a Soup Kitchen has been started on Sundays. If you or someone you know would like to benefit from any of these services, please contact our Community Services Leader, Kirt Danclar, or Personal Ministries Leader, Oral Leslie. Click here to see photos of the Soup Kitchen
Education Ministry
The Adventist church worldwide is well known for its emphasis on education. The church operates several schools, colleges and Universities. This includes 5,500 schools, colleges and universities, with 47,000 teachers and almost one million students in 100 countries. The Church of the Oranges, through its Education Department, seeks to inspire, train and educate members so they can realize their full God given potential and use this in service to God and man. Among the various programs are Scholarship support and Care Packages to students away at college; an annual career day program and graduation recognition exercises; and seminars and workshops on College Funding, Financial Management, Leadership, etc. The Education department also sponsors cultural activities: e.g. visiting Music and Drama Groups, Black History Celebration, Educational Tours, etc. If you would like to participate in the Education department's ministry, please contact Charles Washington.
Family Life
The Family Life Department provides sound, practical, advice and programs for improving family relationships as well as Marriage Enrichment seminars annually. Divorce, Domestic Violence, Incest, Alcoholism, Sexuality and Drugs are ever present in society. Unfortunately, they are sometimes present within our church families. Programs are presented on a quarterly basis. If you would like to participate in this ministry please contact Sherwin or Marlyse Campbell.
Men's Ministry
We want to encourage you to become involved with the Men’s Ministry. Not only will your circle of influence be widened but you will have the opportunity to make new friendships and obtain resources that will aid in your spiritual and personal growth Our vision is to develop godly, visionary men who are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission. Our goal is to provide you with renewed inspiration, ideas and encouragement that will catapult you forward in your Christian growth and service to others. We have many ways in which you can participate from right where you are. To become involved, contact Torrel Hutchinson, the Men’s Ministry Director. Click here to go to the Men's Ministry Page
Music Ministry
The mission and purpose of music ministry is to glorify God and lead others into His divine presence through praise, thanksgiving and worship that all may experience His love and goodness. Church Music is provided primarily by the Sanctuary Choir (a combination of the the Youth Gospel Choir and the Orange Choral), The Praise Team and the Children’s Choir (Heaven's Angels). In addition, a small instrumental ensemble participates in the Divine Worship Service. To enhance and help musically talents and gifts we have private voice and group musical instrument lessons every Sunday from 1pm to 5:30 pm with private lessons on both by special appointment thru out the week. Practice for the Sanctuary Choir is held every Sunday night in the Choir Room of the Church from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. And for all other choirs every Friday night 7:30pm. If you would like to participate in our music ministry, please contact Marlyse Campbell, Minister of Music
Personal Ministries
The Personal Ministries Department has the responsibility to engage every member into active soul-winning service for God. The Personal Ministries Council consist of the Family Life, Men’s, Women’s, Community Services, Youth, Children’s, Education, Sabbath School, Health, Public Relations, Education and Interest Coordination ministries. This council focuses on personal and community evangelism. The council works in synergy in all evangelistic efforts of the church. Some of the activities of Personal Ministries include:
(1) personal Bible studies; executed well by our team of Bible Workers lead by
Jocelyn Locke (2) group Bible studies, such as the Voice of Prophecy Bible Courses and Revelation Seminars;
(3) literature distribution,
(4) health outreach
(5) planning and startup of other community outreach ministries.
(6) Our Interceding prayer team, lead by
Samuel Dover To become involved, contact
Oral Leslie, Personal Ministries Leader.
Prison Ministry
This ministry is not for the skirmish it takes strong compassionate and fearless saints to muster up the courage to attend every week 2x a week to minister to the lost in the prisons. The aim is to help facilitate and empower the transformation of the lives of men, women and youth who have been adversely affected by wrong life choices and the process of incarceration. The "Angel Tree" Christmas Project is part of the annual Prison Ministry outreach. Each year we distribute to inmates’ children carefully chosen gifts. For many of the children, these will be the only gifts they will receive at Christmas. The US Dream Academy Started in 1998 by World Renown SDA Pastor/Gospel Singer, Whitley Phipps to tutor and mentor Children after school of incarcerated inmates, to empower them who are at risk of incarceration to maximize their potential by providing them with academic, social and values enrichment though supportive mentoring and the use of technology. The US Dream Academy has made impact on 10 states in the USA check the web link below to read these fantastic stories in each city. We are looking for individuals to be a part of the ministry Team. If you are interested, please contact Charles Winbush, the Prison Ministry Leader.
The NJ Academy is located at:
US Dream Academy
Dionne Warwick Institute
120 Central Avenue
East Orange, NJ 07018
Phone 973-677-1119
Fax 973-677-1133:
Headquarters: Columbia, MD
http://www.usdreamacademy.org/dream_cities
Sabbath School Department
The Sabbath School Department provides a forum for consistent study of the bible while encouraging the development of close relationships among members. The Sabbath School period commences every Sabbath morning at 9:15 a.m. and ends at 10:45 a.m. Members and visitors discuss spiritual and Biblical issues in small groups that facilitate interaction with each other. Worldwide, the SDA church, through the Sabbath School is involved in a variety of missionary activities and outreach efforts. During the Sabbath School program we periodically highlight reports from different parts of the world. The Department is organized into several divisions with teachers targeted to specific age groups. The age divisions include: (1) Cradle Roll (up to age 3); (2) Kindergarten (ages 4 to 7); (3) Primary (ages 8 to 10); (4) Junior (ages 11 to 12); (5) Earliteen (ages 13 to 14); (6) Cornerstone or Juniors (ages 15 to 17); (7) Collegiate (College age) and (8) Adult. If you would like to be placed in a class or become a Sabbath School teacher or assistant please contact the Sabbath School Superintendent, Loraine Pottinger. The following online resources are helpful to Sabbath school students and teachers. Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide Collegiate Lesson Online (targeting ages 18-35) Guide magazine (Juniors and Earliteens) Cornerstone magazine (targeting ages 15-18) Insight magazine (targeting Teens). Online Sabbath School Lessons are encouraged www.ssnet.org
Small Group Ministry
Jesus ministered to the masses, but He chose to develop the faith of His closest disciples in the context of a small group. The book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul often make reference to the early believers meeting in homes. .Small groups bring a personal touch of the Church into homes of many church members and their friends. These small groups of 8 to 12 people are for new believers and mature Christians alike. Led by trained members of the congregation, they offer the opportunity to come together for mutual encouragement through prayer, the study of God's Word and the development of close personal relationships. God's Word exhorts us to "love one another", to "pray for one another" and to "build up one another. There are several active groups including "Agape", "The Rock", "Birthday Groups", "Sabbath School" Nursing Home group, Bus Ministry team and The Shelter Ministry, lead by the Youth. Contact Oral Leslie Personal Ministry leader to help you find a group or start one.
Stewardship Lead by Hayden Lyons
This Ministry equips the body of Christ with knowing where their resources come from by obeying Gods law or methods of investment of our time and our money management skills for the growth and the ministry of the body of Christ.
Women's Ministry
Meetings are held quarterly on Sabbaths after Divine service or as needed. The purpose of this group is to provide spiritual and other support to women facing a variety of personal and family issues. The Women’s Ministries Department from time to time contributes to various church projects and has been an important source of support to bereaved families. Contact
Helena Groce to join.
Click here to go to the Women's Ministry Page
