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

Heather

Sowinski

Communications Director

Cliff

Goodacre

Youth Director

Mitch Danielle Journey Community Church in De Pere, WI

Mitch & Danielle Thyssen

Guest Services Directors

Chaz
Pelky

Associate Pastor

Sanet

Muller

Administrator

Micah Lydia Journey Community Church in De Pere, WI

Micah & Lydia Marshall

Worship Directors

Adam Rodewald

IT Director

Beth Rodewald

Journey Kids Dir.

Rane

Derpinghaus

Ministry Assistant

Josh

Scheer

Broadcast Engineer

Emily Schmechel

Young Adult Director

Katherine Jungwirth

Bookkeeper

Holly

Van Eyck

Womens Min. Dir.

Brett

Bond

Safety Team Director

ELDERS

Nathan Younkle

Elder

Dave Olson Journey Community Church in De Pere, WI

David Olson

Elder

Gregg Plinska

Elder

SERVANT MANAGEMENT TEAM

Kevin Lehto

Deacon of Facilities

Nate Sunstrom

Deacon of Grounds

Kim Helmila

Deacon of Finances

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.

Strength Journey Community Church in De Pere, WI

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

Trinity: God Is

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.

Revelation: God Speaks

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).

Creation: God Makes

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.

Image: God Loves

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.

Fall: God Judges

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.

Covenant: God Pursues

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.

Incarnation: God Comes

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.

Cross: God Dies

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.

Resurrection: God Saves

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.

Church: God Sends

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.

Worship: God Transforms

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.

Stewardship: God Gives

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.

Kingdom: God Reigns

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

Biblical Authority

God has spoken to us through the Bible and we recognize it as the final authority in our lives (2 Tim. 3:16).

Authentic Relationship

Accountability, belonging, care, and spiritual growth happen best within the context of authentic relationships (Acts 2:42-47).

Intentional Apprenticeship

We are responsible to pass along to others the knowledge, skills, and opportunities that have been entrusted to us (2 Tim. 2:2).

Missional Relevance

We must communicate the whole Gospel message to our mission field in a relevant and understandable way (1 Cor. 9:19-23).

Holistic Discipleship

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).

All People Matter to God

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).

Empowering Families

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).

Prayerful Dependence

We can do nothing apart from Christ and it is through His power that anything is accomplished for His purposes (Phil 4:6-7).

Spiritual Contributors

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).

Cooperative Multiplication

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