A New Choice
PENN TWP — Butler County residents without a church will have a new choice come Sunday when Orchard Hill Church Butler County begins its first service at 10:30 a.m. in the gym of Penn Christian Academy, 199 Airport Road.
The new church is headed by Pastor Brady Randall of Butler and his wife, Susan, who acts as worship leader.
The church is the newest campus of Orchard Hill Church which has locations in Wexford and Pittsburgh's Strip District.
Brady Randall, who grew up in East Butler and graduated from Butler High School in 2004, joined Orchard Hill in 2014 as the adult ministries/new campus pastor after spending 3½ years as pastor of a Presbyterian church near New Castle.
He received his undergraduate degree from Grove City College and his Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
When asked why he and Susan joined Orchard Hill, he said, “I think because it was an interdenominational contemporary church that looks to reach people that are far from the church.”
He intends to continue that mission in Butler County.
“According to some of the data, there are about 76,000 people with no church affiliation in Butler County,” he said. “Both Susan and I have roots here. We've prayed about it.
“It's a great community, but a struggling community. Because there are so many unchurched, we felt this is where God is leading us,” said Randall.
“We are an interdenominational church, welcoming everyone whether a follower of Jesus or still considering if God has a place in your life,” he said. “This is a community where you can explore faith and the reality of Jesus.”
Susan Randall, an elementary music teacher in Shaler, said she and some volunteers will provide the music for the inaugural service.
She said, “I sing, lead people in musical worship. I hope to have a band of five people every Sunday.”
She said, “It will all be contemporary Christian music, acoustic guitars, keyboards. Every Sunday a different group will play. We have a decent group of volunteers.”
Her husband said part of the church service will video teachings from Orchard Hill Church's senior pastor, the Rev. Kurt Bjorklund, who will also visit the fledgling church in the near future
Bjorklund said the church was started in Wexford in 1989 and added the Strip District campus in 2013.
As for the move to add a Butler County location, he said, “There were a lot of people driving down from the area, Butler County to Wexford, and since Brady is from this area as our campus pastor that seemed a really good fit.”
Bjorklund said, “We are excited about what will happen and to serve the community.”
The Randalls said the new church will also offer a children's ministry called Kidzburgh, a nursery and life groups with a focus on Bible study that have already started in people's homes.
The Randalls and a group of volunteers from Orchard Hill have been working to ready the gym for the first service.
In fact, he said, the group already had a “soft opening” service, mostly to see how long it took to set up and take down chairs and musical instruments.
The Randalls, who live in Butler with their 2-year-old son, said they are getting the word out about the new church through word of mouth and Internet postings.
“We are passionate about a place where we were born in and our families are still here,” said Randall.
“We hope that the story of Orchard Hill will be told through the changes in people's lives. We really want to connect people to God and people with people,” Randall said.
WHAT: Orchard Hill Church Butler County inaugural worship serviceWHEN: 10:30 a.m. SundayWHERE: Penn Christian Academy, 199 Airport Road, Penn Township. Use rear doors adjacent to playgroundINFO: For more information, email brandall@orchardhill.com
