This Christmas let’s give BIG to our church and community!

Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive.” We want to put that into practice this holiday season by sharing our two greatest resources: our time and our money. From now until the end of the year, we want to BUILD our church and BLESS our community together by…

Giving Goal: $40,000

The funds from the BIG GIVE offering will help to bless our community through: Funding outreach events (Thanksgiving baskets, Special Egg & Special Santa Events, VBS, etc.),supporting the Urbandale Food Pantry, reaching at-risk kids through the Dream Kids program, and looking for additional ways to help people in the Des Moines metro take their next step toward Christ.

They will also help us to build our church by providing resources to purchase needed computers and other equipment, expand our ministries to kids, students, and families, and develop digital resources for discipleship and outreach.

2024 Projects Include:

1. $10,000 to Kosovo Youth Project – Bringing 5-6 Kosovar youth and a couple of adult leaders to Iowa next summer to attend summer camp with our students. Costs will be their flights and camp registrations.

2. $10,000 to Open Bible Movement – Movement is an emphasis for Open Bible to discover, develop, and deploy the next generation of leaders in Open Bible. This is specifically targeted toward post-high school to early thirty-year-olds. Churches and individuals across the country are investing in Movement. We will make an investment in this initiative, and use funds to help young adult leaders from Journey attend the Movement United event in 2025.

3. $10,000 to Love Our City Partnerships – We want to support ministries and organizations in our community that are making a difference in the lives of people and meeting needs. The Urbandale Food Pantry, Starts Right Here, and other organizations will receive funds from the BIG GIVE.

4. $10,000 to our Vision fund - We want to set aside funds that we can use to pursue new ministry opportunities in our church or community. We don’t know everything that 2025 will hold, but if God opens a door we want to have the resources to walk through it.

Any other Big Give money will stay in our general account to help us end the year on a strong note and put our budget in a good place for the second half of the fiscal year.

You can give online here (please make sure to put BIG GIVE in the memo line) or you can mail your gift to: Journey Church / 4409 121st Street / Urbandale, IA 50323

Serving Our Community in 4 Ways

We have four outreach opportunities planned for this holiday season as we take the love of God to our community in a tangible way. Our goal is that every person who is connected to Journey Church would get involved in at least one of these opportunities. They are:

Thanksgiving Baskets / November 24 & 25

We are working with ANAWIM, Journeymen, and our Dream Kids families to provide turkeys and Thanksgiving baskets to households in our community who need a little help this Thanksgiving. We will be collating and packing the bags on Sunday, November 24, right after church. On Monday, November 25, we will be taking turkeys and bags to ANAWIM (daytime) and delivering turkeys and bags in the evening to Deer Ridge apartments and area homes. Click HERE to register to volunteer.

Special Santa Event / December 7 @ 1 pm

Special Santa Event is an opportunity for children with special needs and their families to experience the joy of a visit with Santa. Families can spend time in our Santa’s Workshop with crafts and snacks, then their family will have a scheduled appointment with Santa, including a signing Santa for children who are deaf or hearing impaired. We need Santas, elves, and other helpers for this special event. Click HERE to register to volunteer.

Dream Kids Stocking Party & Christmas Store / December 14 @ 2 pm

Dream Kids is a sidewalk Sunday School program for children who live in low-income housing developments in our city. We serve the kids at Deer Ridge apartment complex throughout the year. This Christmas we will be taking them stockings full of candy and gifts and we will be providing a Christmas Store, where the kids can purchase gifts for their families using “Christmas Cash” we provide. We will need lots of help to run the store, help kids, and wrap presents. Click HERE to register to volunteer.

WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA / December 14 @ 11:00 AM

The mission of Wreaths Across America is, “Remember the fallen, Honor those who served, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom. Our volunteers are the beating heart of the program and work year-round to share this important mission and inspire others to join.” Every year, volunteers hang wreaths on the headstones of America’s veterans. We will be volunteering at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery (34024 Veterans Memorial Dr [Van Meter Exit] Adel, IA 50003). This is a great volunteer opportunity for families to volunteer together. Click HERE to register to volunteer.