Pastor Colin Smith was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. He trained at London School of Theology, where he met his wife, Karen. He served as pastor of Enfield Evangelical Free Church in London for 16 years before coming to The Orchard in 1996. As Senior Pastor, he has brought a strong emphasis on God's Word, has helped the church develop a vision for the future and has encouraged and taught young preachers. Colin and Karen have two sons, Andrew and David.
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Pastor Scott was born and raised in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. Before coming to The Orchard in 2007, he served as a church planter for the EFCA in Valparaiso, Indiana, and Bolingbrook, Illinois, and as a Sports Ministry Director for Athletes In Action in Tampa, Florida. Scott has helped the church move to a multi-site model for ministry and reinforce the strong commitment to the gospel. Scott and his wife Cindy, who grew up at The Orchard, have four children: Alyssa, John, Matt, and Ben.
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Beth is originally from southeastern Michigan and attended Michigan State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Employment Relations and Organizational Psychology. Beth moved to the northwest suburbs in 1993 to pursue a career in human resources and while doing so earned her MBA with an emphasis on Organizational Development at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Beth has held various corporate and consulting positions focused on employee benefits, recruiting, and staff development. Beth and her husband Andres, a school Social Worker in District 211, have five children and enjoy attending band and choir concerts, sporting events, and ballet recitals.
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Claire grew up in southeastern Michigan. She studied social work at both Central Michigan University and the University of Michigan before moving to the northwest suburbs in January 2006. The Orchard became her church home shortly after moving. Claire joined the staff in March 2008 to help develop and support the LIFE Group ministry. After serving in a variety of roles, she became the Director of Communications and Media Services in February 2017.
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Michelle grew up in Long Grove. She attended Olivet Nazarene University where she received her bachelors degree in Business Administration with a concentration in management and played volleyball for the ONU Tigers. She joined the staff in December 2008 as the Administrative Assistant to Congregational Life at the Arlington Heights Campus. She currently serves as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of Operations. One of her favorite verses is Ephesians 6:7.
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Jason grew up in Dowagiac, Michigan, where he met his wife, Jenny. Jason started his accounting career as an intern with Honeywell, who eventually moved them to Phoenix, Arizona. While in Phoenix, both Jason and Jenny put their faith in Christ. Jason attended the University of Phoenix where he received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Prior to joining the staff at The Orchard, he worked in accounting in the manufacturing, financial, and nonprofit industries. Jason and Jenny homeschool their three children and enjoy spending time on the beach, hiking, and camping.
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Cindi grew up in Arlington Heights and has attended The Orchard since 1968. She attended Taylor University. She met her husband, Steve, through the Singles Ministry when James MacDonald was the pastor and they were married here in September 1989.They have two boys – Brad and Tim. Cindi has been working at The Orchard since October 2005.
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Jeanne grew up in Arlington Heights in a family of eight kids. She graduated from Arlington High School before it closed in 1984. Jeanne has enjoyed creating art in all mediums for as long as she can remember. She attended Columbia College to study Graphic Design where she fell in love with the beauty of figure drawing. She moved to Wauconda in 1996, bought her first house and started her family. She has two daughters, Emma and Grace.
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Russ grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, and attended Illinois State University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts. Prior to joining the staff at The Orchard as Business Administrator, Russ worked in operations and account management in the healthcare industry. Russ and his wife, Julie, a special needs teacher in Arlington Heights School District, have three children and enjoy camping, drum corps and sporting events.
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Brad was born in Colorado and grew up at Calvary Bible Evangelical Free Church in Boulder. He finished high school in Vienna, Austria where he started corresponding with his future wife, Kari. Brad is a licensed aircraft mechanic and pilot, served as a Russian Linguist in the United States Air Force, and went on to earn a B.A. in Aviation Science from College of the Ozarks. Brad and Kari helped plant the First Evangelical Free Church in Springfield, Missouri before being sent to Budapest, Hungary in 1999. They were supported missionaries of The Orchard while serving with ReachGlobal. Brad and Kari have four children: Whitney, Kelsey, Peter, and Jacob. As the Director of Global Ministries, Brad will play a key role in helping us fulfill The Orchard’s mission around the world.
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Kristin Schambach grew up in central Illinois and has been worshiping at The Orchard since 2015. She attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and has lived in the Chicagoland area since she graduated from the school in 2011. She worked at TEAM, The Evangelical Alliance Mission, for 7 years before joining the staff at The Orchard in January of 2019. She has been married to Jeremy since June of 2016, and they love serving in Student Ministries together at the Northfield campus. She also loves hiking, traveling, and summer!
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Georgette and her husband, Joe, came to The Orchard in 1996 and soon after began serving in student ministries. In 2007, Georgette joined The Orchard Student Ministries staff. Georgette now works alongside Brad Mullet, coordinating Global Ministries at The Orchard. She enjoys facilitating mission trips and has been blessed to serve personally on short team teams for Katrina, Bangkok, and Hungary. She and Joe have two adult children, Andrew (and wife Emily) and Ally and (husband Will).
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Shohei was born in Japan and came to Chicago in 2004 with his family. He came to know Christ when he was in Canada in 2000. Since then, he has been called to reach out to diverse people (Matthew 28:19-20). He graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with his Master of Divinity degree. He loves the Lord Jesus Christ and has a vision for all the diverse people being united in the name of Jesus worshiping Him together. Shohei and his wife, Nami, have two children, Paul and Rayna.
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Rita was raised in Central Florida where she met her husband, Brian. All three of their children, Emily, Ben and Sara, were born there. They moved to the northwest suburbs of Chicago in 1994 and began attending The Orchard in 1999. After serving as the interim accountant here, Rita closed her 12-year-old accounting business, knowing she was called to work at The Orchard. Rita and her family attend the Barrington Campus.
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Sandy grew up in Erie, PA and met her husband, Russ, at Taylor University in Indiana. They have been attending The Orchard since shortly after their marriage in 1982 and have two adult daughters who are married and live in the area. Sandy came on staff in 2004, working for Pastor Colin's radio ministry, Unlocking the Bible, and in 2006 became Pastor Colin’s Executive Assistant.
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Mary grew up in South Bend, Indiana. She graduated from Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana with a bachelors degree in Music Education. She started to attended The Orchard in 1979, served two years in Korea with TEAM (sent by The Orchard), helped plant Grace Church in Palatine and returned to the Arlington Heights Campus in 2008. She has more than 25 years of IT experience in computer software, data analysis and reporting tools. Mary has been on staff since April 2008 helping to support the church management software.
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