We are almost to our 10th Anniversary at The Journey. This past Sunday we began the celebration. The part I love is that we didn't celebrate buildings or pastors. We celebrated people taking action to follow Jesus and we celebrated lives that are changed and impact around the world. We shared 10 big things from the past ten years:
1) We made it 10 years. Over 70% of new church starts don't make it 5 years.
2) We launched a new site. We are One Church in Two Locations. Our dream is the 31 Initiative to have opportunities up & down US31 where people can experience relationships, not religion.
3) Community Impact - we have served 1000's of hours in the community go people might see God through our actions. It's God's love in action. We've worked with local organization and just helped other people in need. Networks has taken that to a whole new level in the past few years.
4) Local, Regional, Global Impact (Acts 1:8) - Not only was journeyers serve the community in West Michigan, but we've send teams around the country to help with disaster relief or help start churches. We've support Verve Church in Vegas and other regional church starts. We've sent teams to help kids in Kenya and provided funds for beds, cows, chickens, classrooms, a van, rain tanks, kitchens, water systems, micro lending projects and so much more for the House of Hope orphanage.
5) 65% - A major part of our mission is to help people explore and begin a relationship with Jesus. Over 65% of people who come to The Journey, were not going to church in the past years before coming to our church.
6) 1000+ Bibles - We've given away so many Bibles for free. It's God's words to help us find our best life.
7) Relationships Restored, Foundations Built. We've seen some many broken people & relationships find new life. We've help with counseling, resources, series, and we've seen marriages & families come back together. Each week we have 150 kids between the two sites learn more about God and His ways to build foundations for their best life ahead.
8) Giving & Financial Freedom - we are 10 years with two locations and we're debt free. Finances are always tight yet God provides and we try to give away 10% of our income through local networks, to other church starts, to projects for the kids in Kenya and to help people in need.
9) Looking Beyond Ourselves - we have a high % of people who volunteer, serve in Networks, help each other through life, invite their friends to explore God and there are so many great stories of how God is working in and through people at The Journey.
10) First & Next Steps with Jesus - we have seen people go for exploring Jesus full circle to playing important parts to help others find Jesus (see Heather & Ryan's story below). We've seen over 150 people get baptized and share their stories. It's awesome seeing lives changed by the grace of God.
We celebrated these things not to say "look at the good 'ole days". We celebrate these as markers of God's power, mercy and faithfulness. We celebrated them to remember God's faithfulness for the next ten years ahead.
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