Trusting God – Big Time
This summer, one of Journey’s premiere ministries is taking on a God-sized project.
C3, which stands for Care and Compassion for our Community, is one way that Journey comes together to make our world a better place. Typically, we gather on the last Saturday of the month and head out into the community for a variety of projects. It’s not rocket science. Most of the projects are simple – cleaning up a recent widow’s yard, giving out hot chocolate to people on the street in the winter and making breakfast for families staying at the Ronald McDonald house. The point is not the projects. Yes, we’re glad that we get to help, but the point is that we’re called to make our world a better place. It’s a way to reach out to the community and let them know that we care. And when we say “community”, we mean the community – most of the people touched by C3 are not connected to Journey and may never come to Journey. Journey doesn’t exist to get more people to come to Journey – we’re here to help people find their way back to God, whether it’s at Journey or a church they were connected to previously.
OK, enough of the background…
In 2 weeks, we’re tackling the largest project we’ve ever attempted: an Extreme Home Makeover. No, Ty Pennington won’t be there and it won’t be televised (at least not in it’s own 1 hour show). Over the past few months, we solicited for names of deserving families who could use a home makeover. After reviewing the nominations, we selected a wonderful family living in downtown Grand Rapids. It’s a young family with both parents working, trying to get ahead. They bought their home a few years back knowing it would be a fixer=upper. Little did they know what they’ve gotten into! They’ve tried to fix things up, but the projects are too big and piling up too quick to get ahead.
Over 2 days, volunteers from Journey and the community will come together to replace a worn and leaking roof, repair a non-functioning bathroom, paint the exterior of the house and give the interior and landscaping a needed face lift. Donations and contributions are coming in and we’re extremely grateful, but we’re not there yet… This is a God-sized project and it’s going to take God-sized faith. Journey doesn’t really have the money for a project of this magnitude, but it’s going to happen. We’re taking a step of faith, knowing that God has provision we know not of. He will provide. He’s been working already through local companies and organizations who have provided discounts or even free materials to help the project happen.
You can be a part of this project too, even simply by praying for the project. Take a few moments over the next couple weeks and lift the project up in prayer. Or, perhaps you or someone you know owns a business who could help out either with a donation or discount on materials, let us know. Send an email to c3@journeywired.org to see how you could be involved. You never know how God might be planning to use you!