Pastor Assad Saif
My name is Assad Saif and I am the Pastor at Orchard Church. I was born and raised in California and love living in San Diego County! Growing up my mom was Catholic, and my dad Muslim. Upon their divorce, I was exposed to both religions. I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 1998 and began sharing my faith with anyone that would listen.
"If I can do anything, my hope is to do things that help people find and follow Jesus. We started the Orchard so people can find hope, and experience love through faith in Christ."
- Assad Saif, Pastor at Orchard Church
More About Pastor Assad Saif
I have been serving in Pastoral work for the past 25 years and have served at three different churches and one mission agency that served an underserved population in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California. I did my undergrad at BIOLA University, my graduate and doctoral work at Bethel University in San Diego, and St. Paul Minnesota. I have been married for 24 years and have four children. My family and I have been in Escondido since 2006.
About the start of Orchard Church
Orchard started as a church plant from Emmanuel Faith Community Church (EFCC) in Escondido in 2014. I planted the church with the blessing and support of the Elders at EFCC. Upon becoming independent from EFCC, Orchard became affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America denomination.
I started Orchard to reach people in our community who may not have considered attending a church. We began meeting at Orange Glen High School in Escondido. We met there from 2014-2020 when Covid-19 affected our ability to meet in person. I led the church through a dynamic change from in-person ministry to online ministry, eventually bringing the church back together in a few of our local parks. We met in the Park from the Summer of 2020-August 2021. It was then we began meeting in another local high school until Cornerstone Church in Escondido voted to give their 4+ acre property to Orchard. We began meeting at our new property in 2022 and have been developing it since.