December 28, 2006

FOCUS ON FAITH

Journey Church raises $20,000 for African AIDS relief kits

By Julie Davis Berry
Executive Editor

The spirit of giving was in the air on December 17 when hundreds of members of the Journey Church gathered with family and friends to attend the first annual AIDS Relief Benefit Breakfast at the Saint Claire Hotel in downtown San Jose.

“Collective Call” attendees donated $16,000 the day of the event and pledged $4,000 more in January.

The goal of the fundraiser breakfast was to raise enough money to produce 500 Care Giver Kits for people who work with World Vision to care for people in Africa dying of AIDS. That goal was reached as 334 breakfast attendees worked together, table-by-table, to assemble the 500 caregiver kits and an impressive $20,000 was raised to finance the venture. Attendees donated $16,000 the day of the event and pledged $4,000 more in January.

The idea stemmed from the Journey’s December series "Christmas Manifesto" and the concept of Christmas being about giving life and being a ‘mission,’ according to Journey Worship Director Vanessa Lombero, who led the
Journey band in song at the event.

“God gave us life by sending his son, and we wanted to have some action this Christmas,” said Lombero. “We chose to do the caregiver kits because we had assembled them in a previous Community Impact Day and the project was well organized and we felt like it made an impact in a tangible way for our members. And, we also didn't just want to do a fundraiser breakfast. We wanted people to get their hands on something and feel like they were participating as well as donating to AIDS relief. It was a huge success.”

Journey Lead Pastor Jeff Wenke (pictured) and Journey member Jason Jones will be representing the Journey when they leave for Africa for 10 days on April 24, 2007 to participate in World Vision's C2C program. Photos by Philip Rocca

In addition to the participants physically packing boxes with the various supplies such as flashlights, Latex gloves and pads of paper and pens, each participant (including children) was encouraged to write a personal note of encouragement to the people receiving the gifts. “It was a wonderful way for my children to feel like they were reaching out to these caregivers across the world and lending them a helping hand,” said Nancy Yeager.

Journey Lead Pastor Jeff Wenke and Journey member Jason Jones will be representing the church when they leave for Africa for 10 days on April 24, 2007. “We will be participating in World Vision's C2C program which is a World Vision program that connects churches in the U.S. to African children, communities, and churches on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa,” said Jones. “We will be in Johannesburg, South Africa for orientation and training, and then we will go and visit a specific community that The Journey will begin to partner with over the next three years. We do not know where that community is yet. It could be in one of five countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, or Zimbabwe.”

Wenke said he is very excited to be embarking on this venture and feels the December 17 event was a good indication of the Journey’s compassion and commitment to reach out to AIDS victims, and their caregivers, in Africa.

The Journey Christian Church meets at the Santa Teresa High School auditorium for two services every Sunday. For more information visit the Journey’s Web site at www.takethejourney.org For more information on World Vision visit www.worldvision.org.