Journey

Come Join Us

2010-02-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

A new Journey Group hosted by the Tiptons. We will be getting together on Wed Evening to enjoy each other, enjoy God and to enjoy His word. We invite you to arrive a few minutes early (6:30 ish) to grab a cup of coffee/tea and something to eat (all free). At 7:00 we start our study of Ephesians . At the end all are welcome to stay for more coffee and food. We also invite anyone who would like prayer for anything to stick around and receive prayer.

More info Call Steve @503 510-1613

Blessing Others

2009-10-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
This Friday at 10:45 we are going to bless the staff at Houck School with lunch. This is a great opportunity to connect with about 60 teachers and staff at the school! I will be there serving and could use some help if any one is up to it. Margi has to be out of town Friday so I need all the help I can get. (alright stop snickering ;-) ). We will have the food prepared but would love to see a good representation of Journey there. If you have never done something like this I can insure you that you will be blessed. I was at the school today working out the details and they are excited and thrilled that we would do something like this. Its not the feeding of the five thousand but it is a start! If you would like to participate email me or call at 503 510-1613.

Marriage Alpha

2009-10-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Marriage Alpha is in full swing with 13 couples attending. Imagine the scene, soft lights, each couple at their own private table, a candle light dinner and great teaching. Sponsored by Journey Church and lead by Tom and Carole Landon it is helping couples build strong and enduring marriages. It has been great to see people form different churches come together to serve.
Special thanks to:
Tom & Carole Landon from Life Church
Jamison & Stephenie Ulibarri from Silver Creek Fellowship
Gary & Mindy Breunle from Life Church
Steve & Margi Tipton from Journey

Party Time!!

2009-09-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Its Time to Party!! Journey has reached the 2 year mark! Looking back at the last two years we can see God's faithfulness as we set out to build a New Testament church in Salem. Sept 12 we are having a party at the Schoonovers to celebrate.

Celebration Northwest is here!

2009-08-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

Celebration Northwest is this weekend and looks to be a great time. Journey will not be holding services Aug 9 so that all can attend the Sunday morning meeting at George Fox University.
The Sunday service is at Bauman Auditorium at Aug, 9 at 9:30 am. John Lanferman will be speaking. John leads a team of leaders that oversees the work of Newfrontiers in the USA.
Journey Church is bringing our trailer and equipment in support of this event. The Tech team will be doing all the sound, video set up and support. Way to go Chris David, Gary Noland and Peter Puppo!!

It should be a great time Please consider joining us.

Journey Life

2009-06-17T11:18:00.001-07:00

Life, has been active at Journey the last few weeks. We just finished the Marriage Alpha Course, had a team out ministering and feeding the homeless and another team going in and serving the library staff at the school where we meet.

At the prayer meeting last Monday night Larry Purdy had a vision that we believe is significant and follows a theme of blessing and promise that prophetically has been spoken about Journey.

During the Journey Church prayer meeting on 06/15/2009, the Lord gave Larry the following vision/revelation:

When a family moves into a wilderness/frontier land to settle it, the first thing they do is dig a well. As they come together and begin to dig, the topsoil is dry and hard. As they continue to dig and press in to the well, they go deeper and deeper, and finally the soil begins to grow moist. As they continue, pressing in and digging, water begins to seep out of the soil and puddle on the floor of the well. As they continue, working together, digging and going deeper, the water begins to burst forth and flow freely, filling the well and bursting over the top, flowing out onto the dry land and providing life-giving water to all it touches. As other families see the life-giving water and the effect it has, they move into the area and join the pioneers as they also settle into the land that was once a wilderness.

This is Journey Church – As we join together as a family of believers, we are like the pioneers. We planted Journey Church in the spiritual wilderness of Salem, and joined together to dig the well. As we join in fellowship and press in to the Lord and dig deeper in the well, we go deeper into His presence. As we have continued to pray and press in to Him, we have reached the point that the soil is moist and the Spirit, the true life-giving water, has seeped through the soil and poured out upon us in small measure. As we continue to press in and dig deeper, we will see the Spirit begin to flow more and more. As we continue, working together, we will see the Spirit fill the well to overflowing, pouring out His life-giving Spirit beyond the constraints of the well and into the surrounding areas. Others will see what is happening and will be drawn to Journey Church to join in, settle with us, and take part in what is occurring.

“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good”!

Training Events in the NW

2009-06-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

Some events are coming up that everyone should know about.

August 7-9 - Celebration Northwest, Newfrontiers churches in the NW coming together for worship and teaching @ George Fox University. This is regional conference that bring the various Newfrontier Churches together. There is great worship and teaching , plus tons of time and activities to meet folks from other Newfrontier Churches. We say we are a family of churches together on a mission, no other event brings us together like Celebration NW. Register here.

September 4-6 - Cross-Cultural Training Conference (More info coming soon...) This conference is held in Tacoma and is helpful for anyone who may be interested in short term missions, or even reaching out cross culturally in our city. It is excellent training led by men who have been on the front lines of mission work.

NW Newfrontiers

2009-05-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Exciting things are happening here in the NW with the Newfrontiers family of churches. There was a meeting of leaders from various Newfrontiers churches in Tacoma, WA. It was exciting to hear John Lanferman , and Lee Yarbough share how other churches are becoming part of Newfrontiers. Also trilling was some of the ways in which we can work together. With Celebration NW coming up in August there was great expectation of how people of the various churches could get to know one another. For more information about Celebration Northwest (click here)

Off to Brazil

2009-05-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

We sent out Aimee Tipton to Brazil where she will serve with Salomo Cutrim in developing a ropes course in Curitiba Brazil. Aimee Tipton will serve as an instructor for the ropes course.
YWAM recently sent a team to build the course and already about 500 people have gone through. Journey provided some of the needed funds for the building of the course and Salomo is one of the missionaries Journey supports. The ropes course is an evangelistic endeavor by YWAM. As people go through the ropes course they learn to trust and overcome their fears. Many open up their lives to others for the first time. The ropes course serves young and old, professional and blue collar. It is also opening doors in to the world of law enforcement as well. We already miss her and look forward to hearing how God will use her.

2009-05-02T14:39:00.001-07:00

A group from Journey and the Year Team from Silver Creek Fellowship met and provided lunch to approximately 70 homeless man and women beneath the Center Street Bridge. It has been rewarding to see building friendships with these folks and to see a growing sense of community among them. A couple from YWAM came out and played music while our team set up tables and chairs and then served as waiters and waitress to the folks. Piping hot spaghetti and fresh hot coffee hit the spot. One fellow said "We were treated with dignity and respect, thank you", and he went on to say how he appreciated how people served him and his friends. When it was time to pack and clean up it was wonderful to see so many pitch in to help. After it was all done we realized that this would be the last time the Year Team would serve with us as their terms are ending and they will be returning home, home to England, France and Missouri. We all gathered for a group picture and then everyone was on his or her way. It was a great day to show the love of Jesus in a practical way.

Swine Flu and other Craziness

2009-05-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Over a 150 people dead, pandemic, millions going to die!!! There is no end to the hysteria at the moment. Consider 36,000 people die of the regular flu each year in the USA alone according CDC, yet fewer than 500 deaths worldwide from swine flu. Some thing is wrong here. I can’t help but feel that we are being manipulated some how. I believe the real pandemic is fear. Fear has always been one of the enemy’s greatest tools against mankind. Satan lies and distorts the facts. If he can stir up fear he can then make everyone suspect. The lady, who sneezes in line at the grocery store, is met with hostile glares. Mothers hauling their children to the emergency rooms at the first sign of runny nose use precious resources. Now I understand people don’t like to get sick, but lets not over react here. This will blow over like most man made panics soon. As Christians we are to live above the fear and hysteria that grips this world. Our life is in God’s hands. Let us be positive and helpful, not contributing to the hysteria but bringing life to those around us.

Don't farmers know the germs that are in a child's mouth!!!

Busy Weekend

2009-03-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wow what a busy weekend! Member of the Frontier Year Team and the Silver Creek Fellowship youth group came and distributed over 2000 door hangers on Friday. it is such an encouragement to have partners helping Journey grow.

On Saturday evening Journey hosted a worship concert at Houck Middle school, Mark Glass put together a super band made up of musicians from different churches and our own worship band. It was amazing to see the heart for unity and a joint effort to lift up the name of Jesus. A special thanks to Jim Moore and Salem House of Prayer, Don Finley at Life Church and Rob Barns of Silver Creek Fellowship for getting the word out. It was an amazing time of worship and a number of healings were reported. A prophetic word was given that a stake was driven into the Four Corners area that we could expect God to be moving in the area in the months ahead

A Call To Worship

2009-03-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

Mark Glass and the Journey Worship Band is working on hosting a worship night on March 28 at Houck Middle School. The idea birthed in one of our Monday night prayer meetings, came on the heels of a prophetic picture given by Larry Purdy. In it Larry say what was like an inverted bowel sitting over Houck School and the larger Four Corners area. As people gathered to worship and pray, there appeared cracks and breaks in the bowel. There was a number of impressions of what the bowel represented, yet we felt that the point was that the Spirit was directing us to lift up Jesus in a celebratory and faith filled way. Out of that “A Call To Worship” was conceived. As this unfolds we are inviting other churches to be involved and also collecting food for the Marion County Food Share. Please be praying for a powerful night of worship and honor to Christ and that the impact of the Spirit would grow in the Four Corners Area. You can also help by inviting folks.

Recent milestones.

2009-02-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

We have gotten a little behind on our blog as so much has happened since updates.

The Newfrontiers North West Men’s Conference was a great success with men from all over the NW coming together to worship and here great teaching. John Meek from Clark Fork City Church, from Missoula, MT, brought his music team and they rocked the place. Lee Yarbrough and Sam Poe brought messages that fit well with the theme of men on a mission together. (To hear the messages click here) Journeys tech team severed by brining our portable church set up and provided the infrastructure for the service. A big thanks to Chris David and Peter Puppo as they severed the NW Men’s Conference well.

Mission of Hope, Journey’s outreach to the poor went off with out a hitch with the help of the year team members from Silvercreek Fellowship. It is exciting to see our partnership with them being fruitful.

Church Pictures

2009-01-19T11:24:00.000-08:00

Tyler Glass is putting together a photo church directory. He will be taking family pictures after service the next few Sundays. This is your chance to get a great family photo as well as be included in the Journey Church directory.

Serving Others

2009-01-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

A big thanks to all who came and served at the school's Family Dinner. It is exciting to see the opportunities that are opening up in partnering with the school where we meet. Some of the staff has expressed how grateful they are that Journey has a heart to bless and serve. There has been some discussion of possibly holding a block party for the Four Corner neighborhood this coming August as well as serving on the third Thursday of the month family dinners. There is something powerful in showing the love of Jesus in simple yet powerful ways.

Changes in the new Year

2009-01-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

Well every thing is settling down to dull roar around Journey after the Holidays. The weather played havoc disrupting meetings and such, but some exciting things moved forward anyway. One is the launch of our new children’s program called ‘Kid Mo’. ‘Kid Mo’ is a high energy program that uses bright colors, theatrical staging, individual interaction, and team oriented challenges to capture the students’ attention and keep them fully involved in the learning process. It is an exciting, fun-filled program that we are confident our children will greatly enjoy while learning great biblical truths and foundations. Already it has been thrilling to hear reports from kids that have visited Journey saying that they loved it. Many thanks to Larry and Karen Purdy for leading this new endeavor, also special thanks to Katie Tipton who has put in hours and hours of hard work to see KidMo become a reality. Stop in and see the new set up, it looks great.

The New Year brings other changes as well. Chris David will now be leading the Tech Team taking over from Chris Tipton. Chris and Lyndsey feel like the Lord is moving them on to other pastures. We are extremely grateful for their efforts and work in getting Journey off the ground and wish them well. We will surly miss them. We are also thankful for Chris David who continues to serve Journey wherever needed. He truly models a disciple’s attitude in his service to the church.

The Tech teams are responsible for the set up and tear down of the church each Sunday. These men and women are real heroes. Be sure to tell them thank you for all they do, or better yet ask Chris David how you might be able to help.

In the Studio

2009-01-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

One of the most trilling things about Journey is our times of worship together. We are blessed with some very, very talented people. The Journey Music Team has been in the studio recording songs for a new section of our website. It has been fun to see some of musicians record in a real studio for the first time. Mark Glass is putting the finishing touches on the project in the next few weeks. I am excited to see this project come to fruition, as it will also be available on CD. The CD will have 4 songs on it and It will be a great tool for introducing people to Journey and I hope the beginning of many more projects like this.
A special thanks to Mark Glass and Terry Schneider for all their excellent work, also thanks are in order to Aimee Tipton, Glen Cardenas, Rick and Rhonda Kiersey, and Margi Tipton for their faithfulness to serve us by leading us in Worship each Sunday.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

We weren't able to meet on the 21st because of the snow and ice. Who would of thought it would last through Christmas!! Steve and Chris drove the streets Saturday night with hopes of meeting Sunday but the weather was to bad to ask people to risk driving. The sad thing was we didn't have the opportunity to wish every one a Merry Christmas in person. So here it is...

From everyone at Journey ...
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

2008-12-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

There are some exciting changes happening at Journey Church. Recently, Journey Church’s Leadership Team asked Larry & Karen Purdy to assume oversight of the Children’s Church program, and after much prayer, they agreed. The Purdy’s are excited to be working closely with Katie Tipton in launching a new Children’s program called Kid Mo.

“Kid Mo” is a high energy program that uses bright colors, theatrical staging, individual interaction, and team oriented challenges to capture the students’ attention and keep them fully involved in the learning process. It is an exciting, fun-filled program that we are confident our children will greatly enjoy while learning great biblical truths and foundations.

We are working hard on the preparations and are expecting to launch the program in the very near future. We hope that Journey Kids will become a valuable outreach tool for the church as a whole. We encourage you to invite families and children you may know to participate in Journey Church, and Journey Kids.

Blessing Others

2008-11-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

A team from Journey went out and distributed 18 complete Thanksgiving dinners to needy families from Houck Middle School. It was a joy to see the Lord use our church family to meet very real needs. Most of the families we visited would never ask for help. With the down turn in the economy many people truly need help. The Frontier Year Team members came over from Silver Creek and served as well. They shared how the Lord opened a door to pray with a family. John Avery and I visited one family who emigrated from the Ukraine just 9 months ago. They spoke very little English, yet they invited us in. As I looked around it was clear that these folks had very little yet there was no spirit of entitlement, just thankfulness. Another family stretched to the limit took in their young cousins because the mother was arrested for drug possession and they could not bear to see the kids in foster care. Martha Calderon from the school emailed us with this report..

"I got a call from two of the folks and they wanted me to express their gratitude to you all. They said they felt humble and blessed with the box. A single father asked me to tell you that his shyness and language barrier didn't allow him to express his deep gratitude.
Thank you! Journey Church folks for doing this for our families."

To all who helped and give to this endeavor thank you!! Showing Christ's love in a practical way touches lives in ways we can never know.

Thanksgiving Outreaches

2008-11-26T15:53:00.001-08:00

A bunch of Journey folks went and served the Four Corners community a thanks giving dinner.
Turkey with all the fixings was served to approximately150 people. Partnering with Houck Middle School and other businesses from the community was a great opportunity to meet folks from the community. We are grateful to Martha Calderon for the opportunity to serve.

New Heights!

2008-10-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

Journey Youth gathered some of their friends and went to the YWAM ropes course. A great time was had by all. Special thanks to Aimee and Kayla for putting it all together!

JC Celebration

2008-10-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

Journey just celebrated 1 year mark as a Church. To all of you who have served and made Journey Church a reality, Thank you!!! Our party was a great success with great food, incredible music by the Journey Church worship band great fellowship. The band rocked the house and had people dancing and celebrating God's faithfulness. Friends from Silver Creek Fellowship came and joined in the fun. Chris Tipton put together a great video highlighting the mission of Journey Church. It was a great time and we look forward to what God is going to do in the future.

Practical Love

2008-09-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that we are passing the one-year mark of Journey Church’s launch. It has been a remarkable journey with abundant evidence of God’s favor. Journey has been consistently out feeding the homeless, and reaching out to needy families. During one of our prayer times Jesus dropped idea of reaching out to the staff of the school we meet at. We then approached the head custodian and asked who at the school needed help.

He introduced us to the library staff that needed help numbering and stamping new textbooks. They were behind and did not have the staff to accomplish the task. So Margi gathered several Journey team members and served by stamping and numbering a thousand books for the library in just 5 hours. The library coordinator was near tears as she surveyed all that was done. They had had the books for over a month trying to accomplish the task, without the necessary staff. It is so much fun to show Christ's love in such a practical way. We have our sights set on the local fire station next!!!

2008-09-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

We as a church sent out the Cutrim's to go down to Brazil to establish a ropes course with YWAM. They had quite an adventure getting there. Please be praying for them.

Hi everyone, greetings from Brazil.
We finally made it. After a week on the road, we were able to get to Brazil. It was the longest trip I have ever made. We left Salem on Wednesday night, slept in Portland at the house of some friends to be closer to the airport. We boarded a plane from Portland to Atlanta on Thursday and got stuck at Atlanta because of hurricane Ike. Our friends in Houston had to evacuate and so we were not able to go there. We stayed in Atlanta in a Motel not far from the airport trying to get on a plane to Brazil. We were able to board the plane on Tuesday evening got to Sao Paulo on Wednesday morning and were in Curitiba Wednesday evening.
Now here is what happened for you to enjoy our adventure.
While in Atlanta all flight to Brazil were full. Our bags went straight to Houston and we could not get them back because of Ike. So we stayed in Atlanta all these days with one set of clothes. We would wear it during the day and during the night we would wash them (with water only) and let it dry during the night. We left for the airport on Tuesday around 11 Am because that was the time we had to check out. We got there and our bags were there waiting for us. We got them, checked them in and went to the gate and waited.
Our stand by ticket was valid for us to fly first class, but because in first class kids under 8 cannot fly, we had a problem with Rebeca who is 4. So I prayed and asked the Lord to give us favor with the people so that Loly and the other girls would be able to fly first class and I would gladly take care of Rebeca of economy class. I thought about talking to them, but then I decided not bother because I had already done that enough during that week. I said, Lord, I would love to bless Loly. You can give favor before these people and make them offer first class for them.
The plane was almost full and they had also 21 stand by people.
Well, when it was our time, the guy said, OK who will fly first class....and who will take care of the Baby? I said she and the older ones go on first and I will take care of the baby.
Well, I guess the Lord wanted to bless Loly. It was her first time flying first class and I knew she would enjoy it. Rebeca was with me far away and she was really good. did not cry and slept like a baby.

Now, when we got to Sao Paulo at 6 am, my plan was to catch the next plane to Curitiba that would leave at 10am. It is only 55 minutes flight. Now, when I went to buy the ticket, well...my credit card didn't work....It would not work. So i decided to connect to the Internet of the airport and guess what, my credit card would not work there either.....they would not accept it for the Internet of the airport. I tried to get some money of the bank and it did not work. So am there with kids hungry and tired, no money, not phone, not Internet and no body to call.
Time is passing and the time for the flight to leave is coming....we did missed that plane, but there would be another one at 2:30...so I try one more time the bank to see if it would give me some money and it gave me around 10 dollars and that was it...then it would not work anymore...at all. I managed to connect to the Internet tried to buy the ticket online and it would not work there either. Finally I bought a phone card and called a friend in Curitiba and asked him to call another friend in Sao Paulo asking him to come and rescue me. He came around 1:30 PM. He would give me the money to buy the ticket and to pay him later, but he did not know how much and did not bring enough...now the only thing was to go to his house, eat something and then move to another airport and try to catch a plane at 5:30 pm. .We bought the tickets and they made us pay more because we were over limit (weight). We paid 110 dollars for the rest of the bag....we had 8. and we could only take one each. Well, we did get on the plane and at 6:25 we were in Curitiba exhausted, sleepy, tired, boring, hungry and ... well... everything else.... but we got home. The only thing I could think during this trip was: "In everything God works for the good of those who love Him". Well, I can't say that I can see what he was doing.....no....but I do believe He was there. Maybe in the future I will see what he was doing during this time...well, it is by faith that we live anyways.

We do miss you guys....those we spent the last year and a half....the others too, but those we were living with in Salem are still really fresh.... I am now getting adjusted to the new battle we have ahead of us. Sometimes I think whether I will be able to do it...it is a new thing the Lord is putting in my hands and I will need of the support I can get. I need your prayers as well very much. The people here were expecting us so much that I was a little afraid they were not expecting too much from me.

After checking things around...ministry and the rest....we were even more convinced that we will need you guys....We are still in the process of adjusting and calculating things we will need to be able to minister...well....actually we already new that....so I decided to put here some of it for you guys to pray about it. I know this letter was supposed to be more about our adventurous trip, but I can't miss the chance to share with you...(smiles).
We still need lots of money for the ministry to be able to start it...at least 4 thousand dollars...please pray and if you can promote it for us, we really need your help on that.
We were not able to raise all the (monthly) support we needed. Our goal was to raise $1.500 and we were able to raise only $800. So you see how much we need of your prayers and support.

Well, this was not supposed to be about money, but about our adventure....so here it is.

Looking forward to hearing from all of you guys.
Sal and Loly

If you would like to support the Cutrim's work in Brazil , click here and contact us.

Off to the Principal's Office

2008-08-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today Margi and I had the privilege to drop by the office at Houck school where Journey meets and to drop off two huge gift baskets of goodies for the office staff and janitorial staff. It was to say thank you to the school staff for all their hard work and goodwill that they have shown Journey Church (to Curtis and his staff a big thank you for putting up wit our occasional messes) and the community at large. It was so much fun to see their faces light up, it caused quite a stir. It was great to meet the office staff and to see Principal Susan Rieke- Smith. We also got to meet Amy Trussell the new office manager. Please pray for the staff at Houck as they have a heart for the student body and thier families. Theirs is not an easy job. Next month I will be meeting with Martha Calderon, school outreach coordinator to discuss ways in which Journey and the school can work together to help families.

Celebration weekend

2008-08-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

It was great to see old friends and make new friends at this years Celebration Northwest. All of the Newfrontiers churches from the greater northwest were there. Terry Virgo spoke on Friday and Saturday and John Lanferman spoke on Sunday. The messages were powerful and encouraging. They reminded us that prayer and church-planting are large parts of God's plans for us as a group of churches. Record temperatures complemented the outdoor activities, and for thrills we had a minor lightning storm on Saturday night. All in all it was great fun and I look forward to next year; there truly is nothing that compares to attending the sunday morning service with pajamas and bedhead! :)

Christopher

2008-08-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Journey Church sent many of it youth to One Blaze and the following Newfrontiers Celebration 08. During One Blaze young people worked on different service projects to bless the greater Silverton area. There was also great times of worship, teaching and fellowship. Bo Nonan from New Community in Tacoma Washington spoke at some of the sessions as well as Sam Poe and our own Katie Tipton. Sal Cutrim brought a team out from the YWAM Ropes Course and did some amazing team building exercises.

Fiesta This Sunday!

2008-07-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

We are having a potluck on Sunday July 13 after our meeting. We will have great food, fellowship and laugher. it is going to be a Mexican theme with a pinata for the kids.

Fun in the Sun (and Son)

2008-06-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that we will be having our church picnic at Bush Park this next Sunday at 1:00 after service. It will be 'potluck' style with games and such. Frisbee any one, how about stick wacky? A request on behalf of the set up a team, " Would you consider helping packing up the cases after service." If everyoine helped it would make it possible for those who set up a 7:30 am to be there right when it starts. Many hands make light work!!

On another note many have asked me about how it is going with our churches in Kenya. Here is the latest report from Terry Virgo's Blog

June 13th, 2008
Crisis in Kenya

It is our joy to serve over 100 churches in Kenya among the Newfrontiers family. When serious unrest arose in December 2007 following thepresidential elections, Edward Buria, who leads the Newfrontiers churches, immediately launched 'Mission Rebuild Kenya' to help meet the immediate needs faced by some of the 350,000 people who were displaced from their
homes.

As a family of churches we have stood financially with our Kenyan brothers and sisters through the formation of a Crisis Fund. My friend and colleague, Nigel Ring, has just returned from a visit and reports…

'When our TVs reported the serious conflict many assumed this was a spontaneous response to unpopular election results. However, I soon learned that was far from the truth. The conflict, which is along tribal lines, had been under the surface for decades. The elections were merely the catalyst. Some groups had been preparing for this conflict for months or years.

"The school I owned and my house were burnt down and I lost everything" said Ann, who was single-handedly teaching 180 children in one camp set up for Internally Displaced People (IDPs). "Will you go home after the conflict?" I asked. "Why should I? We have nothing to return to and are hated by our neighbours. I am frightened to return. I will stay here (in a tent)."

'I encountered similar stories and reactions time and again. According to government statements most people have already returned willingly. The evidence on the ground tells a different story. Some 'returnees' are already back in the IDP camps with stories of their 'welcome' – one with a hand chopped off, others having had hate posters littered around their homes, or having received text messages of hatred with death threats.

Mercy Teams
'I was greatly encouraged by the eight teams set up by Edward across the Rift Valley to bring the compassion of Christ in such practical ways. They have distributed many tonnes of food, hundreds of blankets and mosquito nets, clothes and basics like soap and cooking oil. Post-trauma counseling has also been given where possible to both adults and children, who, when asked to describe their experiences on paper, drew burning buildings and people wielding weapons.

'As a result hundreds have been saved and baptised. They are now using their idle time in the camps to be discipled. In due course they will return to new locations as missionaries!

'But not all IDPs are in camps. Many sought relations in other villages or were taken by truck to safe areas where they were embraced and cared for by local churches. These, too, need help. Not many African families can absorb ten extra mouths to feed without help or are equipped to handle traumatized people. I was amazed to find one rural church of 80 who had cared for over
1100!

Naivasha
'In Naivasha, one of the real hotbeds of trouble, the Newfrontiers church was only two months old when the conflict erupted. They were overwhelmed by the need and a team travelled from Meru, four hours away, to assist. Over 600 children were added to the local primary school (normal school role of 2880) which was helped with food, exercise books and funding for 10 new pit
latrines. Many families have now been added to the church including a substantial group of deaf people.

'What about the children who have lost their parents, not knowing if they are even alive? Family tracing is an important part of such crisis intervention and working both with the Red Cross and as an independent network attempts are being made to bring families together once again.

The future?
'What of the future? The urgency is to get people settled more permanently, especially as the cold season is now starting. The government is seeking fresh land where people can settle and build new homes, a process which is painfully slow if you are living day to day in a tent. Compensation has been mentioned, although not at a level for building houses. Employment is also being sought locally for the IDPs who can travel daily from the camps. However, such opportunities may not exist. It may require a start up grant to begin a small business and these are being made available through the Crisis Fund.

'In many ways the future is bleak – is there worse to come? Tribal hatred runs deep and only the love of Christ will bring healing. Practically, Kenya is heading for severe food shortage. The Rift Valley is one of the main food production areas and many crops were destroyed in the conflict. Inflation is now in excess of 30%.

'As I travelled round the different locations I was deeply impacted. The horror so many had experienced will be seared on their memories for years to come. Many exhibited hopelessness – one day they could have been wealthy business people the next they had nothing. And yet I was also encouraged by the radiance on the faces of many of the Christians and found myself
reflecting if my faith would stand strong under such circumstances.

'Please pray for this situation. The work being carried out by the teams is immensely demanding and funds are running short. As I spoke on many occasions to groups of IDPs I found myself often quoting Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep". Let us be those who can stand with our brothers and sisters at such a time as this and
faithfully play our part as we seek to identify with them.'

Good Things Are Happening!!

2008-06-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

Whew !!
So much good has been happening at Journey. We have been seeing significant growth as people hear about Journey. We are in the wonderful position of having to put out more chairs and have changed the way we are setting up in the school. We are expanding our children's ministry to age 12. Mark Glass is now leading our worship team at Journey Church freeing Chris David to oversee Children's Ministry. If you haven't had a chance to get to know the Glass's yet introduce yourself. Mark and Theresa committed their lives to Christ during their youth. They grew up in the Midwest and met and were married in their church there. They have 3 teenage children. They have been involved in various ministries throughout the years and have served with Steve & Margi in the past. They are both excited to be a part of Journey Church and believe there are no limits to what God will do through lives that are fully committed to Him. There is a new class called Mission prep that explores the values of a New Testament Church. (There is a link on our home page) Also our first Church Picnic is coming up on June 29 at Bush Park.

Keep praying that new folks can feel at home at Journey, we are excited to see new friends!

Changes

2008-06-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Exciting changes are taking place at Journey; with the current growth of Journey we have felt it important to step it up in two areas of our church life together. One to see our community to grow in worshipping with freedom in the Spirit and to see the gifts of the Spirit released. It is our desire to create an environment that aids people in connecting with Christ. As a result we are adding Mark Glass to lead the worship ministries, Mark is an excellent musician with a passionate heart for seeing people connect with Christ in worship. Mark has served with Steve and Margi in different ministry contexts and we are convinced that he can contribute in many significant ways.

Children’s Ministry is the second area that we have seen the need for growth. With new families coming it has become apparent that we need to have classes for the older children. At the weekly prayer meeting Katie Tipton began to share her desire to see the children’s ministry expand, at the same time the Lord dropped the desire to see growth in this area in Chris David’s heart. We feel that Chris is the perfect one to come in and help develop this area of ministry, and Katie is thrilled to have Chris lead this area.

2008-05-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

ALPHA

Wow, what an amazing time our Alpha group had this season. This ten week class took a group of people and either turned them into friends, or deepened existing friendships. Eating dinner together, getting to know one another, and discussing the fundamentals of Christian faith truly made for a great class.

I look forward to our next ten week alpha and to "Good Food, Good friends, and Good Conversation!"

Be sure to check out Tucker's at the Mission Mill in downtown Salem. They did a wonderful job of hosting us, and they serve the best pie in town. They are open for lunch on weekdays.

Core Meeting Rescheduled

2008-04-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

Due to the Salem City Council meeting concerning the overturn of a decades old city ordinance that bans religious organizations from holding worship services in downtown Salem. Journey's leadership team rescheduled the CORE meeting to next Monday, April 14. Thank you to all who were coming.

Victory is in Sight

2008-04-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

Journey Church supports the mission of Salem House of Prayer in central Salem. The Salem House of Prayer is a city-wide, multi-denominational 24-hour worship and intercessory ministry to the body of Christ in Salem and the surrounding areas. We have been involved with their struggle to see a decades old city ordinance that bans religious organizations from holding worship services in downtown Salem. Under current city code for the central business district, religious organizations can hold worship services in only two historic buildings: the Elisnore Theatre and the Grand Theater. After months of prayer and Jim Moore of Salem House of Prayer meeting with different city council members, it seems that we are close to seeing this ban removed. Last night the city council directed city staff members to prepare a resolution that would make religious organizations an "outright permitted use" in the central business district. This is good news for Journey as we have an office at the Salem House of Prayer location and opens creates opportunity for us to hold Alpha and other outreaches in the heart of Salem.

Easter Outreach

2008-03-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Easter was a success. Jesus was lifted up! We saw 14 new guests and a number of folks expressed interest. There was great food , great fellowship and great service. The weather was a typical Oregon rainy day. We hosted a Easter egg hunt after service and everyone got wet. There was a clear sense that God was pleased with our efforts.

In the weeks leading to Easter we prayed, passed out door hangers, invited friends and and they came. It was clear from the start that there was going to be serious spiritual warfare against Journey Church's grand opening. Key people got sick, car accidents, and naysayers all tried to distract from the work. One family got the chicken pox twice!!! In spite of all the challenges everyone rallied to get done what needed to be done. To everyone that helped THANK YOU!!! Special thanks to Alicia, Margi, Rene', Chris T, and Katie.

Lets here your comments.

Big Splash

2008-03-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Easter is almost here and Journey Church's grand opening is soon to arrive. A a new church in the Salem area we have been working on laying the foundations for outreach. Learning to do church in a school, gathering a group and becoming a team. The next few weeks are "all hands on deck" as it is time to cast our nets. We are going to host a Easter breakfast and Easter egg hunt of the surrounding area. We will have a special service as well. In preparation the Newfrontiers Year Team, from Silver Creek Fellowship are come over to help distribute 2500 door hangers in the Four Corners area. Salem House of Prayer is joining with us on Fri the 14 for an evening of intercession for the city. If you would like to help call Steve (503 510-1613) or Margi Tipton. A special thanks to Alica for the idea and heading up the Easter egg hunt, to Margi & Peter for coordinating the breakfast and Chris Tipton and Chris David for working on the special service logistics. We are believing that God wants to add new friends to our ranks.

2008-03-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

Whew! What a weekend!

2008-02-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

We just got back from the NW Newfrontiers Men's Conference. It was a great time for men to get together, make new friends and here from God. Sam Poe and Lee Yarbough brought great teaching and the worship was passionate and uplifting. Our Tech team served the conference and did a great job. Chris Tipton and Gary Noland were a great help to the Newfrontiers leadership by the way they served. Great job guys!!! Peter Puppo kept the men a wake by making hundreds of pots of coffee. My thanks to all who helped with set up and tear down, you guys are awesome!

To my dearest Flibbertigibbet,

2008-02-09T17:34:00.001-08:00

The MAD LIB love-letter was quick to become the topic of discussion last night at the first installment of Journey Church's annual "Sweetheart Banquet." Eleven couples joined together for good pasta, good company, and good love. (It is Valentine's day isn't it?)

The couples began the evening by filling in the blanks to a love letter they had yet to see. Later, the husbands read them aloud to a chorus of laughter and a bit of blushing as well.

To some, Valentine's may be a greeting card holiday, but we grabbed the opportunity to celebrate marriage and the great fun it can be. Of the couples who attended, 3 have passed the thirty year mile-stone and one had been married just one week.

The climax of the evening was the "not-so-newly-wed" game, where husbands and wifes were challenged to see who knew their spouses the best. Of course, questions like "Who is the better driver, you or your spouse?" could have sparked some arguments, but the restaurant made sure that all the frying pans stayed in the kitchen. It seemed to me that the thirty year couples had quite an advantage, but in a surprise wild-card elimination the victory went to a young couple who had been invited by one of our regulars.

If you missed it, you might want to put in your reservation for next year. I guarantee it will be a time to remember.

Meeting with Jesus

2008-01-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

Worship was awesome today!! It was different right from the start. The idea of celebrating the goodness of God captured the music team right from the start. Chris David encouraged us to praise God with abandoned and a someone had a reading from Ps 149 that spoke of our standing with God and stirred our response with praise. At one moment in the song service the presence of the Lord became thick amidst the spontaneous free worship that lasted a long time. It was thrilling to sense God so powerfully.

Newfrontiers Leaders Prayer Meeting

2008-01-15T08:54:00.001-08:00

We had the opportunity to host the regional pray meeting for Newfrontiers leaders here in the NW. It was a significant time of seeking God and praying for the churches here in the NW. Sam Poe Lead the meeting and he set a significant time for the group to pray for Journey Church. There were prophetic words of encouragement and real appreciation for what our church family is accomplishing. It is encouraging to be in partnership with other churches here in the NW.
Some of the leaders that came were Sam Poe who is part of the apostolic team of Newfrontiers. then there was Glen Horn who is a personal friend of many of us. He spent a year working with our core team as he prepared to take the leadership of House of Prayer in Whidbey Island, WA. Rob Barns and members of his team from Silver Creek Fellowship in Silverton OR. It was also great to see Bo Noonan from New Community Church inTacoma, WA

Some of the things we are doing together are the NW Men's Conference, on Feb 15-16, 2008 and another exciting development is that there is forming plans for a 'Family Weekend' for the Newfrontiers family of churches here in the NW this summer. Mark your calendars for August 15-16.

Just walk accross the room.

2008-01-09T21:14:00.001-08:00

Tonight we had our first "just walk across the room" meeting, and I was impressed. I had heard good things, but I was still a little skeptical. In college I went to "how to share your faith and save the world from fiery death and hell in sixty seconds or less," needless to say, it has been 8 years and I have not been back to a "share your faith" class since. But this group was different; the longer the group went on the better I felt about my attempts to share Christ. I left the meeting feeling like I was doing pretty well; and encouraged to continue what I was doing and look for more opportunities!!

I will tell you what, it takes more than sixty seconds to share the love of Jesus. Pam and I have had many people come through our lives in the last ten years. Some we were able to minister to, and others we just showed some love to. It will be interesting to see what (and who) the next ten years bring.

Christopher

New Years Day Update.

2008-01-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

My neighbor was quite blessed by the wood that he was given. He brought his daughter over to my house later, and wanted to express how much he appreciated it. Keep them in your prayers as he is looking for work as a drywaller.

Christopher

Great New Years Day,

2008-01-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

Chris David's neighborer had lost his job and the only source of heat for his family was wood heat. Dave Raymond had shared an idea with Chris a few weeks earlier about men in the church working together to help families in need. That inspired Chris to pull a team of folks together.
So with Gary Noland and Chris David leading the charge, we left to cut wood. Katie showed that girls can keep up with the best of the men. Glen knows how to work and kept us all moving. Sal even came out and braved the cold. Gary is the strongest man I know. He split a tree trunk while still in the ground!!! A few hours later we had a cord of wood cut split and loaded up and delivered. Needles to say the family was touched by it all.

New Blog

2007-12-29T12:03:00.000-08:00

This blog is a way to keep every on up to date on whats happening around Journey. We Had a great Christmas Banquet with a great turn out. Far more than expected. There was panic in the kitchen as we had 15 to 20 more people than expected. There was enough food, great music and a adorable kids show. To all that helped thank you.