The Journey church

The Journey is a nondenominational church located in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] The church is theologically conservative and culturally liberal. Services are offered at multiple locations in St. Louis, including Clayton, Tower Grove, West County, South County, Metro East and Southern Illinois. The congregation has seen relatively rapid growth from a handful of attendees in 2002 to over 3,000 attending services at the multiple locations in 2013. It is a member of the Acts 29 network of churches and serves as a church planting institution.

History

The Journey was founded in 2002 by former lead pastor Darrin Patrick. Initial services were held in private residences and then community centers. As attendance increased, the church formed a relationship with Hanley Road Baptist Church of Clayton and began operating out of its offices and having services within their sanctuary. In 2012, the two churches merged.

In 2006 the church bought the former Catholic church Holy Innocence on South Kingshighway in South St. Louis across from Tower Grove Park. This became their central campus. During this same time period, the church also began holding services in West St. Louis County at Missouri Baptist University. The Journey currently holds services at six locations in the St. Louis and Southern Illinois areas.

As the congregation continues to grow, other pastors and elders are brought up from within the church. The full list of pastors, elders, and staff can be found on the church's website.

Church planting

The Journey is a part of the Acts 29 Network of church planters. Patrick formerly served as vice president for that network. The Journey has facilitated the establishment of several churches in the St. Louis area including The Refuge Church in St. Charles, Mo., the Church at Bevo in St. Louis, Trailhead Church in Edwardsville, Ill. The Journey has also started, supported or resourced churches outside the St. Louis area, including Christ City Church in Memphis, Tenn., Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City, Mercyview in Tulsa, Okla., and CrossPointe in Winter Park, Fla.

Theology at the Bottleworks

'Theology at the Bottleworks' is a monthly facilitated discussion group that is organized by members of The Journey through a group called Midrash. The group's function is to discuss the intersection between culture and theology outside a formal church setting.

The controversial practice of meeting at The Schlafly Bottleworks and Tap Room locations made news through an article published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch titled "Beer and the Bible". The discussion groups have also gained national and world attention through articles in The New York Times and BBC.

References

[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

  1. ↑ http://www.sbc.net/churchsearch/results.asp?query=The+Journey+Fellowship
  2. ↑ http://www.thejourney.org/
  3. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/us/01evangelical.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=The%20Journey%20church&st=cse
  4. ↑ http://midrashstl.com/
  5. ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/D2534E721D77BE42862574E6000E1B1C? OpenDocument
  6. ↑ http://theresurgence.com/profile_darrin_patrick
  7. ↑ http://www.acts29network.org/
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