Josh Orndorff

Josh Orndorff is an ordained United Methodist elder and serves as the pastor at Mount Hermon United Methodist Church in Basye, Virginia. He also is a Ph.D. student in Strategic Leadership at James Madison University (JMU). Josh serves as the Social Innovation Scholar in JMU’s Research and Scholarship department.

Josh attended Randolph-Macon College as an A. Purnell Bailey pre-ministerial Scholar where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Sociology. Thereafter, he attended Duke Divinity School and graduated in 2014 with a Masters of Divinity.

Josh feels particularly called to support young men and women on their faith journeys by helping them recognize God’s voice calling their name just as Eli did for Samuel. His ministry has primarily focused on youth and campus ministry. He served as the Chaplain of Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA) for 8 years where he led chapel services, taught religion classes, guided his operational Spiritual Life team, and coached soccer and basketball. He also served as a youth director at Millbrook UMC before becoming chaplain at R-MA. Josh has been trained through Growing Leaders to teach Habitudes which focuses on teaching character and leadership to the next generation. Josh first experienced SLI in 2016 as a member of the Virginia Conference Campus Ministry Team, which he now serves as team lead. Additionally, Josh served as an apprentice coach for IGNITE at Old Dominion University.

Josh is blessed to be married to his high school sweetheart, Michelle, and they have three sons, Julian, Orion, and Titus. He enjoys playing (and watching) sports, the great outdoors (hunting, fishing, hiking), Star Wars, and music.

Front Royal, VA

Some of my Projects

Ignite at Old Dominion University

This campus ministry was in a need of a relaunch. They had suspended worship services. The Campus Minister's role was reduced to part-time, and he was in need of a team to support the work of the ministry. They were looking to develop a plan for the future. They felt frustration with how the ministry had declined in the previous year, and were hopeful for becoming a vital campus ministry again. A team consisting of students, alumnae, and campus ministry staff was formed to develop a discipleship-making plan to reach new people for Jesus Christ. We focused on Spiritual Formation to develop the right culture to reach new people. Developing a discipleship-making plan led to an evaluation of the effectiveness of their current ministries, such as their food pantry, to make sure there was synergy with the discipleship plan. Many members felt they had grown spiritually and as leaders. The ministry developed a clear focus and began experimenting with opportunities for students to connect during the COVID'19 crisis. New teams are being created to support the work of reaching new people at ODU for Jesus Christ.

Virginia Annual Conference Campus Ministry Team

Campus Ministries and United Methodist affiliated schools were experiencing a disconnect with the conference and local churches. The Director of the Center of Next Gen Ministries was seeking to develop a team of campus ministers and chaplains to combat the feeling of isolation. As the team lead for the past two years, I guided the team to reframe its work from effectiveness in our individual ministries to effectiveness across the Conference. We started focusing on building connections with the campus ministers across the conference to develop a sense of community. Team members were equipped with resources for team development and strategic planning. The team strategically invited local pastors onto the team to be able to focus on the adaptive work of connecting youth to campus ministries and graduates to local churches who are equipped as leaders. Individual team members were transformed. They no longer felt isolation and a lack of focus. Personal growth was a key factor in the success of this team. In terms of the team's impact on campus ministries, every campus ministry now has a ministry action plan for fruitful ministry. Campus Ministers are meeting regularly to collaborate and reach new students.

Josh Orndorff

Josh Orndorff is an ordained United Methodist elder and serves as the pastor at Mount Hermon United Methodist Church in Basye, Virginia. He also is a Ph.D. student in Strategic Leadership at James Madison University (JMU). Josh serves as the Social Innovation Scholar in JMU’s Research and Scholarship department.

Josh attended Randolph-Macon College as an A. Purnell Bailey pre-ministerial Scholar where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Sociology. Thereafter, he attended Duke Divinity School and graduated in 2014 with a Masters of Divinity.

Josh feels particularly called to support young men and women on their faith journeys by helping them recognize God’s voice calling their name just as Eli did for Samuel. His ministry has primarily focused on youth and campus ministry. He served as the Chaplain of Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA) for 8 years where he led chapel services, taught religion classes, guided his operational Spiritual Life team, and coached soccer and basketball. He also served as a youth director at Millbrook UMC before becoming chaplain at R-MA. Josh has been trained through Growing Leaders to teach Habitudes which focuses on teaching character and leadership to the next generation. Josh first experienced SLI in 2016 as a member of the Virginia Conference Campus Ministry Team, which he now serves as team lead. Additionally, Josh served as an apprentice coach for IGNITE at Old Dominion University.

Josh is blessed to be married to his high school sweetheart, Michelle, and they have three sons, Julian, Orion, and Titus. He enjoys playing (and watching) sports, the great outdoors (hunting, fishing, hiking), Star Wars, and music.

Front Royal, VA

Some of my Projects

Ignite at Old Dominion University

This campus ministry was in a need of a relaunch. They had suspended worship services. The Campus Minister's role was reduced to part-time, and he was in need of a team to support the work of the ministry. They were looking to develop a plan for the future. They felt frustration with how the ministry had declined in the previous year, and were hopeful for becoming a vital campus ministry again. A team consisting of students, alumnae, and campus ministry staff was formed to develop a discipleship-making plan to reach new people for Jesus Christ. We focused on Spiritual Formation to develop the right culture to reach new people. Developing a discipleship-making plan led to an evaluation of the effectiveness of their current ministries, such as their food pantry, to make sure there was synergy with the discipleship plan. Many members felt they had grown spiritually and as leaders. The ministry developed a clear focus and began experimenting with opportunities for students to connect during the COVID'19 crisis. New teams are being created to support the work of reaching new people at ODU for Jesus Christ.

Virginia Annual Conference Campus Ministry Team

Campus Ministries and United Methodist affiliated schools were experiencing a disconnect with the conference and local churches. The Director of the Center of Next Gen Ministries was seeking to develop a team of campus ministers and chaplains to combat the feeling of isolation. As the team lead for the past two years, I guided the team to reframe its work from effectiveness in our individual ministries to effectiveness across the Conference. We started focusing on building connections with the campus ministers across the conference to develop a sense of community. Team members were equipped with resources for team development and strategic planning. The team strategically invited local pastors onto the team to be able to focus on the adaptive work of connecting youth to campus ministries and graduates to local churches who are equipped as leaders. Individual team members were transformed. They no longer felt isolation and a lack of focus. Personal growth was a key factor in the success of this team. In terms of the team's impact on campus ministries, every campus ministry now has a ministry action plan for fruitful ministry. Campus Ministers are meeting regularly to collaborate and reach new students.

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