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Community Impact Day has impact!
The Journey Church held a Community Impact Day where a team of people passionate about serving others organize 15 projects a year. Projects target population groups in their community--such as the elderly and people with mental disabilities...
Sheppard Middle School in San Jose, Calif. is one of the poorest public schools in this urban district. Because the school receives little funding or parent support, the communal areas for teachers and students had deteriorated, and were in dire need of major work.
“The teacher’s lounge was beyond disgusting,” said Kelly McPhail. “You didn’t even feel comfortable sitting in it.”
Seeing this need, Kelly, the Director of The Journey Church’s Community Impact Day, brought more than 200 people together to give sagging middle school a makeover. So on Community Impact Day in March of 2007, church members cleaned, painted, organized and emptied junk out of the school.
“It was a big, big project, but it was so much fun,” she said.
The Sheppard Middle School makeover was done with the same heart and conviction that has made the church’s service in the community “part of The Journey’s DNA.”
The Journey is a church of about 275 people who have been meeting for almost six years. When The Journey’s doors first opened, pastors wanted to have a direct impact on the community they were in, and serve as Jesus did. They soon created Community Impact Day, setting aside two Sundays each year in which they cancelled their services and served in their communities instead. Interest in Community Impact Day and people’s responses inspired the church to organize a third annual Community Impact Day.
“It’s fun to get out and practice faith on a Sunday morning rather then sit in a room and learn about it,” said Jason Jones, a church member and project leader. “It is a great way to get out and serve as Christ did.”
To plan for the three Community Impact Days each year, the church puts aside 10 percent of the congregation’s offerings.
“It’s like our offering,” Kelly said. “We give the first 10 percent off the top to our community.”
For each Community Impact Day, Kelly gathers a core team of people passionate about serving others to brainstorm projects they would like to see in the community. She said that through the roughly 15 projects they organize, they try to have one project for each population of people in their community--such as the elderly and people with mental disabilities.
“I get to say [to different organizations] ‘Hey, I have 250 volunteers, I have three and a half hours, I have money. What do you need? What would help you do your job better?’” Kelly said. “Most people are shocked and speechless.”
Kelly said the church’s outreach has become known enough that now she and her team get calls for help from local organizations in need.
“As a program tries to meet the needs of a specific population its really hard to find assistance that doesn’t cost a lot of money,” she said. “A lot of programs get their funding to do the work for the people, but don’t necessarily have the funding to maintain the building. It’s important [for The Journey] to be a resource where there are no strings attached.”
Kelly said through Community Impact Day people are able to serve in ways they had always wanted, but never quite knew how to begin. She said it is also an opportunity for people who are passionate about making a difference to find a way to help bring about change, and it gives volunteers the support they need to do the work.
“It’s a way to channel your frustrations for society’s lost and forgotten people into something that makes a difference for them,” she said. “It’s a unique experience for all those involved.”
Kelly and Jason agree that Community Impact Day is major magnet for people to attend The Journey. Jason said that people see that The Journey is a church that does something to reach out to their neighbors which makes it stand out among other churches.
For Kelly, that is very true.
“It [Community Impact Day] drew me to The Journey and it is what keeps me,” Kelly said.
Church Information:
The Journey Church
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