October 4, 2007

Innovative church relocates, makes fresh start Oct. 7

In an effort to offer a new approach to “church,” one of San Jose’s most innovative churches, The Journey, is hosting an Unconference at Pioneer High School on Sunday, Oct. 7 from 9 to 11 a.m.

The Journey Christian Church has been meeting at Santa Teresa High School for nearly six years. The school recently announced it would remodel the auditorium and The Journey would have to hold its services somewhere else.

The Journey’s move to Pioneer High School is more than just a relocation--it’s a fresh start for a church that has always been known for doing things “out of the box.” For example, members recently hauled a trampoline on stage so the pastor could do flips during the service and then he pulled church members onstage to join him. Recently the pastor was driven onto the stage in a Jeep, to get people charged up about the road trip from Santa Teresa High School’s auditorium to the new digs at Pioneer High School.

At the last service held at Santa Teresa, Principal John Duran presented The Journey’s lead Pastor Jeff Wenke with a certificate and thanked him and the congregation for all they had done for the school.

In addition to paying rent every Sunday, the church purchased a new $20,000 sound system for the school and often spent volunteer “Community Impact Days” pulling weeds, painting and hauling trash to spruce up the campus.

“We can’t thank Jeff and the members of The Journey enough for what they’ve done for Santa Teresa,” said Duran.

Wenke and his staff decided that the move was a good time to introduce what he calls Journey 2.0 and to hold the “Unconference,” which is aimed at taking the pulse of church members and the community. Their question to San Jose: What if you and your best friends could reinvent how church works?

“The Unconference will be the opposite of typical “sit and listen to a speaker” conferences,” said Wenke. “We want to get people’s input on what is and isn’t spiritually meaningful to them.”

Vanessa Lombera, The Journey’s worship director explained, “Our new Web site is www.talkinchurch.com because we want people to talk, discuss, ask questions and interact in church. We’re inviting people to share their ideas and join the conversation.”

The Unconference will be followed with extensive online discussions about topics people want to discuss. “We’re excited to get opinions and responses from people who don’t go to a church and hope the Web site forum will make that happen” said Frances Tuck, director of Spiritual Formation.

At Pioneer, worship experiences will continue to include music, Biblical teachings about life, and good coffee—but the primary goal will be the conversation, before, during and after Sunday services.

In that vein, the last line on The Journey’s new Web site reads, “If spiritually intrigues you, but religion turns you off, we want your help to recreate our community at our first ever Unconference.’

The Unconference begins Sunday, Oct. 7 at 8:45 a.m. with breakfast. Discussion sessions run from 9 to 11 a.m. Childcare will be provided onsite for infants through fifth graders. For more information call The Journey’s office at (408) 499-9790 or visit www.talkinchurch.com.