Embracing My City Purposes
THE JOURNEY EMBRACING MY CITY SPECIAL OFFERING
Now through January 31, 2008
The EMBRACING MY CITY Special Offering is a call to sacrificial giving with a goal of $250,000 for four ministry initiatives:
- To launch a new Journey location in Brooklyn
- To support Global and US Missions (new churches, HIV/AIDS, missionaries, etc.)
- To start The Journey Counseling Center to provide professional counseling services to our congregation
- To fund the 2008 Benevolence Ministry to support our fellow attenders at their time of greatest need
This special offering will be received through January 31, 2008.
Use the envelope in the program or mark your checks/online gifts with Embracing My City.”
THE PURPOSES OF THE OFFERING
To launch a new Journey location in Brooklyn
In order to truly be a church that “gives the people of metro New York City the best opportunity to become fully developing followers of Jesus” we have learned that we must provide Journey Worship locations within 30 minutes of every person in our city. Building on the on-going success of Journey - Manhattan and Journey - Jersey City, we anticipate launching Journey - Brooklyn on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2007. Because 10% of Journey members live in Brooklyn and because currently 20% of first time guests in Manhattan come from Brooklyn, we feel this is the best third location for a Journey service. Because of the population in Brooklyn and the need for a thriving
contemporary church we feel that there is great potential for the success of The Journey – Brooklyn.
To support Global and US Missions
We are a church ‘that starts churches’ and a church that supports missions. This focus will continue as we have a great opportunity to assist missionaries around the globe who are reaching out to every identified people group, especially those in highly unchurched countries. Through cooperative efforts with other mission-minded churches in New York City and North America we are designating a portion of the special offering to support 3000+ North American Missionaries and 5000+ International Missionaries. In addition, we will be supporting new churches in San Francisco (The Journey – San Francisco, led by Pastor Chris Brady), Las Vegas (Grace Ponte Church, led by Pastor Devin Hudson), South Africa (HIV/AIDS) and two other new churches to be determined. Plus we will continue our partnership with Graffiti Community Ministries, which ministers to the needs of lower income families in Manhattan.
To start The Journey Counseling Center
Over the last five years as a church, it has become clear that there is a need for a Journey Counseling Center to serve the needs of those in our church who require more than basic pastoral care. With the move to a new ministry office on W 44th Street and through strategic relationships with Christian Counselors in the area this dream will become a reality. The initial plan is to fund the first few years of the counseling center through annual offerings, with the intention to become self-supporting by 2009. Initially, the Counseling Center will offer basic Christian Counseling services with a focus on crisis, marriage and financial counseling. The goal is to provide first-rate counseling services on a sliding scale depending on family income.
To fund the 2008 Benevolence Ministry
Since 2005 our church has served hundreds of people at their time of greatest need. To date, we ave been able to approve all valid requests for benevolence funding due to your generous giving to our annual offerings. The Benevolence Ministry has allowed us to come along side of people in stress due to difficult financial times, a death in the family or a need for Christian counseling.
The EMBRACING MY CITY offering will ensure that we are able to continue to meet the needs of reaching new people, starting new churches, supporting global missions, relieving those with HIV/AIDS while caring or the people of our city through benevolence and counseling.