And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7 NLT)
We’re surrounded by people who often feel like life is harder than it should be…that life is against them.
- Never have people in our cities been so connected yet so alone.
- Never have people in our cities been so rich yet so poor.
- Never have they had so much access to information but felt more personally lost
- Never have families looked more together and been in more pain.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Cambridge and the surrounding area don’t know the hope of Jesus Christ. They struggle to battle as if life is against them.
Every day your friends and neighbours feel like life is against them, and in some cases God is against them.
We need to jump into action and do something about this!
We believe that…
People won’t know Jesus is FOR them if they don’t know that we are FOR them.
What if our church was known as being FOR people? What if we were known as being FOR our city?
HOW CAN I MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
From the very start, Journey has been designed to be a community of people who share the hope of Jesus with others as we “gather and go”.
We need you to demonstrate passion and urgency around sharing the hope of Jesus with people as we gather on Sundays and as we go into our communities each week. We need to be FOR our city!
FOR the CITY 2017:
Our mission is to grow in love for our city and its people, to grow personally and as a church in evangelism, and to welcome 400-600 first time guests to our Sunday worship experience this year.
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE FOR ME?
Over the next 12 months we want you to join us in committing to being FOR our city in the following ways…
1) Pray FOR the city
We want you to commit to praying FOR our city and its people.
We believe nothing happens without prayer. As much as this is an outward push into our city, it is also an inward emphasis on prayer. We believe the deeper we go, the wider we will reach, and that this spirit-led endeavor must be undergirded and fueled by prayer.
Action: Pray daily for our city, its people, and your “four”
2) Be FOR 4 people or families in our city
We want you to make your kitchen table an extension of Journey as you spiritually stand in the gap for these families in prayer and support, all with a passion that they would see Jesus is FOR them. This isn’t about making people into projects, but changing the posture of your heart.
Share your “4forFOR” names with us so we can pray with you!
Action: Invite them around your kitchen table and invite them to church sometime this year!
3) Be FOR our city partners
We need you to help deepen our commitment to our city partners. We want to be FOR as many people in our city as possible. Our partners make an incredible difference and have experience working with individuals and families who are the most vulnerable. We desire everyone to help us get behind them with our time and resources.
Action: We will be asking you to help us get behind our partners, the Salvation Army Cambridge and Amirah with your prayers and your time.
4) Be a part of 4 outreaches FOR the city
Throughout the year we will have plenty of opportunities to reach out to our city to serve people in love. There will be bimonthly outreaches as well as opportunities to help our city partners.
Action: Join us FOR 4 outreaches this year.
5) Be FOR One Another
Jesus said if we love one another the way He loved us, the whole world would know we follow Him (John 13:34-35). The way we love one another at Journey Church really matters. When we do that well, Jesus love goes viral.
Action: Be a consistent part of a Life Group in 2017.
LET’S IMAGINE
Ultimately this is about God being FOR people, and our passion and commitment to introduce them to the hope of Jesus no matter what it takes – by helping people experience the transforming love of Jesus and then give it away.
Imagine if our church became known as being FOR Cambridge, Boston and the surrounding communities?
What if everyone in our city knew that the people of Journey are FOR them every day of the week – wherever and whenever?
What if people knew that when they need someone in their corner, that they can walk through our doors on Sunday and there are people who are FOR them?
What if people knew Journey as a church that was known as being FOR our city as we partner with those working to help the vulnerable in our city who need?
People in our cities will know that Jesus is FOR them when they know that we are FOR them.
WE ARE FOR THE CITY
