During the month of August I wanted to take some time to state 4 major hopes that we have for The Journey Church of Marietta.  These 4 hopes are not in any order of importance.  They are just hopes that we see as part of the vision of this church in this area at this point in time. 

     Like any Bible-believing church should, we believe in the Great Commission and Great Commandment of Jesus Christ as the heartbeat of what we're trying to do.

     [18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

     [37] And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
(Matthew 22:37-39 ESV)

     It doesn't get any better than the Great Commission and Commandment of Jesus.  You read these verses and you want to "do" church and see lives changed forever!

     We have specific hopes at The Journey as we honor the Great Commission and Commandment of Jesus.  These 4 hopes (though they're certainly not the only hopes) have been in our thoughts during our pre-launch phase and are what we long to see as we launch this church.

#1 - We hope The Journey is a place where nobody walks alone.

     Deep in the heart of everyone exists a desire for community.  We all crave to be wanted, loved, and accepted.  We want to be a part of something that's bigger than ourselves.  Nobody enjoys doing life all alone, yet so many people feel like they are.  I hope we can see a church body of individuals that feel like they have a congregation of people who care about them.  I'm talking about a sense of genuine camaradarie that pushes one to pull for others.  I hope this mindset spreads way beyond our Sunday morning service.  When we see our church family out and about we want our partners to think, "hey, that's one of us!"

     We want a family of believers who are willing to PARTNER together for the sake of gospel and glory of Jesus!  To me, partnering together means that my family will be locking arms with other families to seek Christ and truly live life together for His purposes.  This means when a Journey family hurts, we'll hurt with them.  When a Journey family struggles, we'll lend a hand.  When a Journey family celebrates, we'll laugh and be at the party with them.  We want to rightfully see each other as brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons in Christ.  You go the extra mile for your family and yet that's how we're called to behave as a church.

"You go the extra mile for your family and yet that's how we're called to behave as a church."

     We desire for this family to grow.  I feel like some people in church feel like if they don't hang out with the same people every week then that means their friendship is slipping away.  That friendship mentality leads to cliques that trap believers in a bubble of comfort.  You don't think this way with family right?  You can go months without seeing a family member and then pick-up where you left off and never feeling insecure about that relationship.  Why? Because it's family. 

     We're building this family to bring glory and praise to Jesus.  For that sake, it's worth stretching yourself out of your comfort zone and opening your home to people who need a relationship with our Savior.  We want people to feel like they can come as they are.  I'm not referring to how we dress either, we're way past that.  I'm saying that no matter where one happens to be in life, this is a place where they can put their guard down and be themselves.  With that said, we desire for everyone (including us) to change.  The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we are all broken and messed up.  Therefore, we all have a lot of changing to do.  The difference is that we want to strive to identify those changes and needs in our life through the scope of God's word, not by our culture or what we speculate about God.  I've heard some say it like this, "Come as you are, just don't stay the same."

"Come as you are,
just don't stay the same."

     Not to mention, very seldom is someone ever too far gone for a family to give up on, right?  Most everyone in this neck of the woods has had some experience or time in their life in which they went to church.  Yet I would wager that many non-church goers feel down-and-out or simply misplaced without a church to feel like their welcome.  To be fair, some of these people stereotype church as a place that you have to get your "act" together before you can participate.  For a lot of people, whether it be because of a bad experience or a series of self-inflicted bad choices, church is something they've just given up on being a part of.  But as the father rejoiced in the return of the prodigal son, I hope we can rejoice in people coming back to church in the Mid-Ohio Valley!

     I'll be honest, I've really felt this family vibe from our Journey launch team during our pre-launch phase and couldn't be happier about it.  Speaking as an individual from the launch team, I feel like I really have a group of people in my corner and I'm in theirs.  We've laughed, cried, worried, stressed, celebrated, prayed, worshiped, and lived life together.  I've come to a place where I feel like I'm not alone in this! 

[26] If one member suffers, all suffer together;
if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 
(1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV)

     I can't tell you how much this family mentality means to me.  I have people who care about my life, my kids, my wife, our future, and my relationship with Christ.  That's HUGE!  I can honestly say that I feel the same love and degree of care for them too.  For me, it's not "every man for himself" in life.  And do you know what the amazing part about this church family is?  We've been gathered together for the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ!  These relationships don't just exist for the sake of our family, though I am truly thankful for that.  These relationships exist because of Jesus!

"These relationships exist
because of Jesus!"

     The gospel is how our hearts can beat together as a church body.  I am a sinful and broken person who can't live life good enough to ever be acceptable to God.  Yet, I know through God's word that I'm saved not as a result of the good deeds in my life, but by grace through faith in Jesus.

     [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—[6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
(Ephesians 2:4-9 ESV)

     I hope our family grows so that others can feel the satisfaction, security, love, acceptance, and hope that I have with my church family.  But even more importantly, I hope it grows for the sake of the gospel and it's proclamation.  The gospel gives us reason to grow and expand this family.  The gospel gives us reason to try to plant a church and love others. The gospel gives us everything we need so that NOBODY has to walk alone.

I'm counting the minutes until September!

Cody Parman
Lead Pastor
The Journey Church of Marietta