Post Category: Staff Blog

Where's Matt?...

Focus for the New Year...

Part of our Hope Christmas Project in 2015 was to help support the start of some new churches in Northern India....

For our 2015 Christmas project we looked to bring hope locally, regionally, nationally, and globally....

In West Michigan, summer is so great! There are so many ways to have fun, relax, and enjoy the weather....

RUNNING PARTNER MINI-GROUPSAt The Journey, we talk about relationships, not religion. Our Running Partner Mini Groups provide a way to consistently and intentionally take steps with a few other people from The Journey. It's better to learn about and follow God with a few other people, rather than trying to figure it all out by ourselves. FOLLOW UP QUESTIONSEach week we ...

How do you think a child would feel if on the first day of school everyone else shows up on the first day of school with their school supplies, and they don't have any because of the home situation they live in? What challenges does that also bring to our teachers who sometimes spend their own money to buy supplies for those kids? How does not having supplies affect a chil...

Above all else...

Here's a recap of the Love Can Christmas Project...

Here's a recap of LOVE WEEK....

Here's a couple quick thoughts and encouragement...

Today is the first day of December. The countdown to Christmas has begun. He's someways to add some meaningful moments in this holiday season....

Happy Halloween from your Journey Staff Guys...

Inviting to church can be hard. We want everyone to experience their best life and find hope and healing in their life but what will they think if I invite? These cues can help you see who is seeking and give you an "in" on inviting....

Did you know that many kids in our community will show up the first day of school and won't have the supplies they need to begin their education for the year?...

Here's some insight into what the future holds at The Journey...

My birthday was two days ago. Which means that all of facebook knew it was my special day. I got well wishes from all over the United States and from all different seasons of my life. I was grateful for each one. In Proverbs 18:21 it says that "the tongue (our words) has the power of life or death". If...

Our family recently went to Disney. It was 3 years of saving and planning....

We did it! This past year, starting in August 2013, we set out a goal to make an impact in our community. We wanted to serve people......

Let's help Ben & Esther make a difference in Kenya....

Too many people pray like they are playing the lottery...

People often feel they are good enough yet to get baptized, or believe they aren't smart enough yet to help others in their relationship with Jesus, or think they aren't at the spiritual level that so many others are...

How is your spiritual "pumpatude"? B90x can pump (clap) you up...

At The Journey I get the opportunity to have lots of conversations with people...a wide variety of people. Many people weren't in church before, some were. I talk to people who are married, single, students, older, younger, etc. People who have great jobs, and people who hate their job. But something I have been finding in common with most people is how they see themselves...

People matter to God, and so people matter to us as well. We want every person who walks through the door of The Journey to......

Yes, summer will eventually arrive. And when it does, be ready. What I mean is that we have unique opportunties......

Volunteering, especially for the first time, can be a bit intimidating. It's easy to think of excuses or reasons not to volunteer. So why do it? We offer volunteer opportunities through our four Journey Networks and even at our church sites as a step in who we are becoming in relationships not religion. Volunteering is a way to Look Beyond Ourselves, Live Generously, and D...

Often times when people think about their relationship with God, they think about what they need to "do" so they can "be" the person God wants them to be. But too often it's about the next program, it's about following a set of spiritual disciplines that becomes more legalistic gymnastics than anything....

On this week leading up to Easter Sunday, take some time to reflect...

This past Christmas you gave to bring hope to our kids, Kenya, Vegas and locally...

Invest & Inviting is a core essential that will help YOU experience your best life. It will change who you are becoming...

Following God isn't about acting moral or a PROCEDURE of good behavior. It's a new PERSPECTIVE found through faith....

We showed a few clips from this video at the Pontaluna Exit Site yesterday. Here's a few of the Seattle Seahawks...

We want to build a foundation for your kids best life ahead...

IF: keep it going...

Here's a post from Matt's blog about financial freedom...

For unto us a child is born...

Here's some short readings you can do each day leading up to Christmas...

Here's something to think about before you bust the doors on black friday...

Do you want more insight & financial wisdom? Check out...

Blessed Life as seen on Duck Dynasty...

If you walk in God's ways, you will always be in His will...

What on earth am I here for? Isn't there something more to life?...

Who are you and what are you living for?...

Where do we look to find purpose?...

This past Sunday, we talked about 10 steps to take in the next 10 years towards your best life...

10 Things That Define The Journey, 10 Dreams for the Next 10 Years...

Here's a post from Matt's blog from 10 years ago with the dream for The Journey...

So, let me take you back to the beginning. The Journey was birthed in our hearts as a dream to create a space where people could come and connect and take steps with Jesus no matter what their spiritual background was...

When U of M doctors can't explain it, you know God is at work....

In the Summer Blockbuster series, we've been looking at flipping the script to live our best life. What's the script of your life? Are you living a good story? Would you watch a movie about...

Matt Lewis and I (and our families and a small group of other Jesus-followers) started The Journey almost 10 years ago....

Julie and Adam started attending The Journey a number of years ago and they both worked as teachers in our public schools. Julie has her Master's Degree, and took a big pay cut to come join The Journey staff (kind of a theme around here). ...

So we provide a fun, relevant, meaningful, safe environment for people no matter where they are with God. This series is a great one to invite someone......

Selena first came to The Journey because their son was asking questions about God and she and her husband, Greg, weren't really sure how to answer! I love that she has a very unique perspective on children's ministry......

Aaron is our youngest staff member. I don't know if he has an official title, but lets just call him our Worship Pastor. You might not know but Aaron used to tour in a band called Second Hand......

Shanna Retzlaff, our Office Administrator extraordinaire. Before I get to what Shanna does at The Journey, let me give you a little backstory. Because Shanna is the exact reason we launched The Journey......

Matt & Stephani & Jennifer & I launched The Journey (a long with a small group of crazy Jesus-followers) 10 years ago. Matt left a very successful youth ministry. We both had a dream to create a church that was about relationships, not religion and where people who were disconnected with Jesus would experience life connected to Him.... ...

This post is copied from Paul's blog. For more information, check it out at http://paulurban.blogs.com/paul_urban/ Mark Rhodes is our Pastor of Connections at The Journey.Mark I have known each other since college and I love his heart for people that don't know Jesus, his passion for his family, and the character with which he lives his life. He's from a farm in Illinois...