ABOUT US
ABOUT US
At Journey, we believe everyone is on a spiritual journey. That's where the tag line: "Real People on a Real Journey" came from. We truly believe it. Our goal is for each of us to take steps along the way in our journey and begin to really follow Jesus. So whether you have given up on God or the church in the past, or you are a committed follower of Jesus, we all have steps to take. We believe that once we start our journey with God, our lives begin to change for the better (not that it's always easier, but it is better because we have Jesus).
So as you consider coming to JCC, we want you to know you are welcome. And you don't have to have it all figured out or have it all together. There is something about just coming as we are, experiencing God's love, and discovering how incredibly awesome God is. It is so freeing! Then together we all take steps on our journey as we discover new things about God from the Bible.
Thank you for checking us out. We hope to see you this Sunday!
STAFF
Mark Schmechel
Lead Pastor/Elder
Sanet
Muller
Administrator
Cliff
Goodacre
Youth Director
Brett
Bond
Safety Team Director
Chaz
Pelky
Associate Pastor
Micah & Lydia Marshall
Worship Directors
Adam Rodewald
IT Director
Mitch & Danielle Thyssen
Guest Services Directors
Beth Rodewald
Journey Kids Dir.
Rane
Derpinghaus
Ministry Assistant
Josh
Scheer
Broadcast Engineer
Emily Schmechel
Young Adult Director
OUR VISION
START
If you’re still seeking answers or you’ve just started your journey with Christ, we’re here to encourage you to take the next step, as quickly or as slowly as you prefer. This is a journey and people go at different speeds. Some places to start may be: attending our services regularly, a Welcome Party, our Starting Point class, or coming to an event.
STRENGTHEN
We strengthen our journeys in community. Some ways to do that may be joining a Growth Group and digging into Scripture, attending our Journey 101 Class, getting involved in a ministry, or following Christ in baptism. Your choice at your speed when you’re ready to take that next step.
SHARE
Everyone has a story and sharing our stories helps other people. God never wastes a hurt. We offer opportunities for you to discover your story and learn how to share it in a way that helps and encourages others who are where you were. It’s amazing what God can do with our stories! You can also use your leadership gifts by apprenticing in a ministry to share the greatest story of all…the story of Jesus Christ!
OUR BELIEFS
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, the Father, Son, and Spirit. These three Persons are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
We believe that God primarily speaks to us through the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. He also reveals Himself through General Revelation (creation, common grace, conscience) and Special Revelation (God’s Words addressed to specific people, such as Moses on Mt. Sinai or Jesus at His baptism).
We believe that God is our Creator, and He created us to love us and reflect His glory. Creation tells us a lot about God (He is the only God, living, independent, transcendent, immanent, personal, powerful, beautiful, holy, gracious, and sovereign). The doctrine of creation sets the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ, who came to connect heaven to earth and be the Mediator between God and man.
We believe that God made man in His image. Originally, He made us without sin. Yet even as sinful people saved by grace, we are called to be His image bearers. He created humans male and female equal, yet distinct. As His image bearers, we are under God and over creation. There are attributes of God that we share in part with Him, such as: holiness, love, truth, righteousness, and mercy. There are attributes of God that we do not share with Him, such as: omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, immutability, eternality, and sovereignty.
We believe, that ever since the Fall when sin entered the world, that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation. All people are totally depraved and marred by sin. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Where the first Adam failed, the second Adam (Jesus), succeeded.
We believe God continues to pursue His people by establishing covenants. In a covenant, we come to God on His terms. God established covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. The new covenant came through Jesus Christ. In the new covenant, God comes to be with each of His people so we can worship Him and make His Name great.
We believe in the incarnation of Jesus, that God took on flesh and came into our world. People knew God would come because He revealed to them who would come, where He would come, when He would come, and why He would come. Jesus was born of a virgin, was sinless, fully God and fully man.
We believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross as our substitutionary atonement for our sins. His death substituted His life for the life of every believer. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament points to the truth that someone or something has to die for sins. Jesus diverts the wrath of God that people deserve for their sins onto Himself.
We believe that after Jesus Christ died on the cross, and on the third day, He literally rose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is proof that His teaching was and is truth and that we can trust Him. If Jesus rose from the dead, He will raise believers from the dead to be with Him forever.
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible confession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.
We believe worship is not an aspect of our being but the essence of our being as God’s image bearers. We are not created to worship, but rather we are created worshipping. Non-believers are not able to worship. When believers sin, their worship is directed away from the Creator and toward created things. Repentance is the act of turning from sin and returning to God by trusting Jesus Christ. For believers, every decision is an act of worship.
We believe that God gave His very best in sending His Son. As God is a giver, He asks us to also be givers. There are over 800 verses in Scripture on the subject of giving. Money and wealth are among the greatest idols in our culture. If we love money, we use God and people. If we love God, we are free to use money to love God and people.
We believe God’s Kingdom is the result of God’s mission to rescue and renew His sin-marred creation through Jesus as our King. The Kingdom is both a journey and a destination: a journey because upon our new birth, we get to experience a taste of His kingdom, a destination because the Lord will visibly return to earth and establish His kingdom forever.
OUR VALUES
God has spoken to us through the Bible and we recognize it as the final authority in our lives (2 Tim. 3:16).
Accountability, belonging, care, and spiritual growth happen best within the context of authentic relationships (Acts 2:42-47).
We are responsible to pass along to others the knowledge, skills, and opportunities that have been entrusted to us (2 Tim. 2:2).
We must communicate the whole Gospel message to our mission field in a relevant and understandable way (1 Cor. 9:19-23).
Discipleship is a process not a program. We want to learn to intimately connect with God personally and allow Him access to our entire being (2 Cor. 5:17).
We will create a grace-giving, come as you are, environment for all people to explore Christ in their spiritual journey. We’re here for those that aren’t yet here (Eph. 2:8-9).
Parents are the most influential people in the lives of their kids. Therefore, we partner with the parents for the greatest spiritual impact (Deu. 6:5-9).
We can do nothing apart from Christ and it is through His power that anything is accomplished for His purposes (Phil 4:6-7).
Followers of Jesus are contributors, not consumers. Our church is most effective when each believer is using his or her gifts, talents, and resources to advance God’s kingdom (Eph. 2:10).
We are here to build God’s kingdom, not our own kingdom. We believe we can do more to advance God’s kingdom through partnering with others to reach the world (Acts 13:1-3).
HELPING PEOPLE FOLLOW JESUS