I’ve been attending the Journey for over 7 years. I very much enjoy the services whether I attend in person or virtually via Facebook Live. Here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
The preaching is very academic, often with a PowerPoint to go with it....
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I’ve been attending the Journey for over 7 years. I very much enjoy the services whether I attend in person or virtually via Facebook Live. Here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
The preaching is very academic, often with a PowerPoint to go with it. The main pastor will have his PhD in Practical Ministries in Theology by next May, while the others who preach under him are very educated and gifted in their own ways.
Now that the pandemic is coming to a close (fingers crossed), we will resume our cell groups. These cell groups are when the church breaks into smaller groups, each managed by a minister or “Timothy,” and we meet in each other’s homes. At this point, we’re able to discuss the word from the previous Sunday’s teaching but in greater depth with scripture always being the reference.
During the Sunday services (both English at 9AM and Spanish at 11AM), children ages 5-9 years attend a class where activities related to the service are enjoyed.
Wednesday evenings are Youth Night. This time allows children and teenagers to understand the scriptures and how the Word of God has the answers to all of life’s questions and worries.
Tithing and Offerings: You can give your tithes through cash, check, or text. Very convenient. I personally like to text my tithes one per month; I just text the amount and what it’s for, and it’s done. (ex. 20 monthly contribution, or 160 tithes).
Finally, when you go to other churches, you see a lot of uniformity. Everyone looks or dresses the same, but the reality is that we are all different, and we all have our own style and personality. This is where the Journey comes in. Everyone is in a different part of their Journey with God. Some people constantly struggle with God’s principles while some people seem to have a more passionate relationship with God. I’m not one to jump around and scream and cry during service but others may be and that’s fine. Everyone receives God’s message their own way, and everyone expresses their connection and appreciation their own way. Understanding and embracing this diversity is key to our relationships among our Christian Family.
Con:
As you can see, there is only one Con. Everyone knows that pros and cons are subjective to the writer’s feeling. My purpose here is simply provide information, or better yet, my opinion to someone who may be interested in coming to the Journey. As I mentioned in my last Pro, among our diversity of members, our members also each have their way of presenting. I very much enjoy the calmer lecture or even an enthusiastic preaching. However, when the preaching involves a much stronger expression of feelings, it is difficult to really get into the message. The thing is, I don’t want to miss out on a good preaching, simply because the presentation style is not to my preference so I make sure to attend. The truth is that all the presenters have their own style of presenting, similarly, all attendees have their own preference for receiving the word.
To conclude, attending in person or virtually, and regardless of presentation style, the word of God is there. If the presentation style for one particular Sunday doesn’t work for you, take the challenge and learn to make it work, or you risk missing out on a very important message. As I’m thinking of our diverse community, I’ll conclude my review with this scripture, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2,3