2024 VISION
If you've ever sat in a service at Journey, you've no doubt heard us talk about how we donate $10 to different partnering ministries throughout the year on behalf of first-time guests who turn in a Connection Card after service.
In 2024, we had 1,354 guests who told us it was their first time at Journey. That included many first-time families, which means we also had almost 500 kids through our doors who were brand-new to Journey.
All in all, we were able to donate $13,540 to our 2024 giving partners thanks to guests who turned in completed Connection Cards. These giving partners included Lifesong for Orphans, school funding for our partner village of Zimudi in Uganda, and Mother’s Refuge.
As part of our 1% initiatives, we encouraged everyone in our church to surrender 1% more of their lives to Jesus for the purpose of Kingdom living. That included providing more Bible reading plans than our church has ever offered before.
From year-long plans, New Testament plans, seasonal plans, and beyond, we moved from offering two Bible reading plans in 2023 to offering nearly 10 unique plans throughout 2024, almost all of which were written in-house by members of our ministry team.
As part of our efforts to equip our congregation for spiritual growth throughout the year, we kicked off 2024 with our annual 21 Days of Prayer. Our area of emphasis for 2024 was Consecration, and throughout the first in-person week of prayer we saw hundreds of people of all ages come through our doors each morning to pray and spend time with Jesus, consecrating their lives to Him for the upcoming year.
FAITHFULNESS + COMMUNITY
Part of our 2024 Come & Surrender initiative included encouraging each of you to surrender 1% more of your week to spiritual community.
In 2024, we had 1,549 people engaged in nearly 200 discipleship groups between our spring and fall semesters. What's more, over 700 of group participants were in a group for the first time at Journey.
We were also able to expand our Care Group offerings to include support groups for widows and for women trying to heal from sexual abuse.
Each February, we use football's biggest game as a way to give back to our community by collecting non-perishable food items for the Journey Impact Center.
In 2024, we collected 2,100 pounds of food to help feed Kansas City!
Nov 09, 2017GENEROSITY
As part of our long-term vision to partner with communities on every populated continent, we expanded our global mission efforts to several new countries in 2024, including Peru. Here, we helped facilitate pastoral training for pastors of rural villages all along the Amazon River. Through these trainings, we were able to equip these pastors to be stronger and more confident in leading their local congregations.
Our Lent Bible reading plan was one of the new, seasonal plans our pastoral team created to help people new to Journey, or those who didn't engage in a year-long Bible reading plan, to start spending time daily in God's Word.
This Easter, we saw more than 5,000 in attendance and over 300 people making a spiritual decision. Of those, 59 people made a public profession of their faith in Jesus by being baptized in the Easter season.
We took a small team to Panama to support and encourage two of our missionary partners, Ashley and Emily. The team spent intentional time listening to their stories, offering encouragement, and praying with them. They also had the opportunity to experience aspects of their daily lives, visit their local church, and witness the incredible ministry they’ve been leading within their community. Additionally, the team heard powerful testimonies of how God is at work in Panama and how He is using Ashley and Emily to make a difference in the world.
A team from Journey traveled to Llano Verde, Guatemala to connect with one of our partner organizations, Esperanza de Vida (Hope of Life). During the trip, the team had the opportunity to visit our two Total Village Transformation partners, Las Sidras and Peña Blanca.
GENEROSITY
One of our core beliefs at Journey is in multiplication, because we are called to equip and produce reproducing disciples. Over the years, our intern program has become a significant part of those efforts. Through our internship program in 2024, Journey was able to invest in 26 next-generation ministry leaders. This year, $35,000 in scholarships were awarded to this year’s interns for them to continue pursuing high-level ministry degrees.
A group of our young adults traveled to Belfast, Ireland to partner with Crown Jesus Ministries to share the gospel with local college-aged students. After receiving evangelism training, they had the opportunity to put their skills into action at Summer Madness, a festival focused on reaching young adults. In addition to evangelizing, they helped set up and tear down for the event, participating in various activities designed to connect with attendees and share the message of Christ.
Nov 09, 2017Our first of two trips to Scotland, this one was focused on continuing our ongoing efforts to build infrastructure for our mission partner, Young Life Scotland. Through these projects, we are able to make a direct impact on the Young Life camp and will allow them to better serve local students in a more functional environment.
COMMUNITY
Our Kids Ministry team welcomed 727 kids to Journey over three days for Kids Camp 2024. We had over 300 volunteers serving during the week and saw 158 kids make a spiritual decision to follow Jesus during Camp. One aspect of Kids Camp that always gets the kids excited is our Generosity Challenge, where kids are invited to bring an offering one or all of the days during Kids Camp. This year’s Generosity Challenge raised over $2,000 to help build a school in Zumudi, Uganda, our partner village in Africa.
Our Summer in the Psalms Bible reading plan was another seasonal plan aimed at getting and keeping people engaged in Bible reading over the busy summer months. In just under three months, dozens of Journey folks walked through the entire book of Psalms.
Over the summer, a group of high school students from Journey traveled to Stirling, Scotland to visit one of our partners, Young Life International. While there, they participated in an event called Stirling Stampede, an after-school program held during Scotland’s last week of school. This event is designed to connect with middle and high school students from across Stirling. Our students engaged with them through fun activities and meaningful relationships while sharing the Gospel and Biblical truths each evening.
GENEROSITY
Another of our 1% more initiatives in 2024 was our Kids Ministry "36 in 24" challenge, where we challenged parents and grandparents to get their kids to church at least 36 Sundays out of the year. Studies have shown that most Christian families only make it to church once or twice a month, and yet additional studies show countless benefits of kids attending church every week.
As part of this initiative, our Kids Team hosted a 36 in 24 Party on two separate occasions to celebrate all the kids who were on track to meet that goal. July's party included foam machines, smoothies, ice cream, and so much fun! We were thrilled to celebrate 346 kids who met or exceeded the attendance challenge in 2024!
Total Community Transformation is a new initiative aimed at making a lasting impact in the Swope neighborhood of Kansas City. Each month, the Journey Mobile Impact Center will be present during Serve Saturdays, held on the first Saturday of the month. The center will provide food, clothing, and neighborhood cleanup while building meaningful relationships with residents. This initiative seeks to address both physical and spiritual needs, with the hope of fostering a strong, supportive community through consistent service and engagement.
In July, Journey sent 14 people to Luquillo, Puerto Rico to partner with Praying Pelican Missions. Throughout the week, the team helped host a Vacation Bible School with over 50 kids in attendance. The team also spent time going door-to-door praying with community residents, assisting families to clear out excess items and restore a clean and safe living environment.
COMMUNITY
Following our Summer in the Psalms Bible reading plan, we re-introduced our New Testament in 90 Days plan for anyone in our church who didn't get a chance to join a Bible plan earlier in the year or for those who needed a plan to get reengaged. We also encouraged all our students who attended Student Camp to follow and complete this plan as one of their spiritual next steps after attending Camp.
As with our winter 21 Days of Prayer, our summer Week of Prayer, themed Close to God, allowed us to welcome hundreds of people each morning to begin their days with reflection, prayer, and quiet time. It's always such a blessing for us to see our entire campus dotted with so many people giving more of their time to draw closer to God.
GENEROSITY
For the first time in five years, we launched the fall semester of our men's ministry with a gathering after church where men of all ages could enjoy community with one another, play some games, and of course, eat good food!
Nov 09, 2017We also kicked off our largest women's study for the fall semester with an incredibly special night of female-led worship, communion, prayer and spiritual care, and time to get to know one another. These community kickoffs for both men's and women's groups were a great opportunity to launch a new season of growing in connection with fellow Christians!
One of our newer Care Groups that had a greater impact in 2024 is Journey for Life, which was created to support young moms experiencing unplanned pregnancies who may otherwise have no support.
In order to accomplish their mission to love two lives at a time spiritually, physically, and emotionally, they host bi-monthly Care Nights, provide support and community, give out free supplies, and more.
In 2024, Journey for Life hosted 24 Care Nights where over 20 volunteers cared for 16 young mothers and their babies who otherwise may not have had anyone in their lives to care for them and invest in their emotional and spiritual well-being.
GENEROSITY
Nearly 450 people attended Growth Track in 2024 and discovered how a growing church can feel small when surrounded by a team of people who know their name, love and care for them, and encourage them in spiritual growth. Regardless of what steps they attended, they were able to engage in serving and discipleship groups knowing our mission and vision, our Core Beliefs and Leadership Values, how God created them, and what He created them to do.
Another of our 1% initiatives in 2024 included surrendering 1% more of our time to serving the ministry of Jesus’ Church. To help us all accomplish that, we hosted our first-ever Ministry Fair aimed at helping everyone in our church find an opportunity to serve the church that fit with their gifts, interests, and abilities.
During this month-long event, we had tables set up all over the building with different teams, roles, and serve positions that people could learn more about and sign up for. When it was all said and done, we saw 132 people get signed up to serve at Journey!
FAITHFULNESS
Each year, we host our annual Inspire Volunteer Gathering, where our staff is able to celebrate the amazing ministry our volunteers accomplished. In 2024, we celebrated with over 500 volunteers during a night of worship, prayer, and community. Nothing we do at Journey would happen without each and every volunteer on Team JCI!
We dedicated a weekend to reflect on and celebrate the incredible impact of our global partners and the ministry that was accomplished around the world in 2024, while also looking ahead to the opportunities awaiting in 2025. Cyrus Mad Bondo from World Help delivered an inspiring message, reminding us that each of us has a role in the Great Commission. He challenged us to actively participate with a call to action to pray, give, or go.
To kick off the Advent season, we created an Advent Bible reading plan for the second year in Journey's history. This reading plan allowed our entire church to engage with scripture specifically meant to prepare their hearts for the celebration of Christ's birth.
GENEROSITY
While the Impact Center is something we offer year-round, we celebrated a record year of giving and serving our community in 2024. Because of your generosity in both donating food, clothing, and hygiene items, and because of your willingness to serve, we were able to distribute 11,223 items of clothing and nearly 46,000 pounds of food to people in need right here in our community! With these donations, we were able to serve 1,548 kids and 1,483 adults who were in need of food and clothing.
Nov 09, 2017The final installment of our seasonal Bible reading plans was another one that was new to Journey. Our 12 Days of Christmas Bible reading plan was written as a resource for anyone to continue in their Bible reading during what's normally a lull between Christmas and the new year. Through this and our other seasonal Bible reading plans, we saw hundreds of people read the Bible more than they ever had before.
Throughout 2024, we continued to see our digital footprint increase exponentially, including in website traffic, app downloads, and live stream tune-ins.
Our website was accessed in over 150 different countries, accumulating over 80,000 new web users. What's more, 1,500 new users downloaded our JCI mobile app.
On our live stream (across app, web, and YouTube), we had almost 65,000 views throughout the year, with 80% of those views being unique users. That totaled 27,500 cumulative hours watched on our live stream, with people tuning in from all over the U.S. and across multiple different countries.
Every year, we release the annual report as a celebration of what God has done in the previous year. At Journey, our ministry team is deeply committed to financial stewardship and fully embraces our responsibility to apply every dollar in a purposeful manner, and with the highest integrity, to accomplish the vision (2 Cor. 8:20-21). What an incredible year of ministry it was at Journey in 2024!
Our team begins the process of financial stewardship every year by creating a ministry plan that allows the team to fund and execute the most important goals that align with the overall vision of the church (Matt. 6:33). This ministry plan is then supported by the development of a master budget that itemizes all the expenses necessary to accomplish ministry goals and objectives (Lk. 14:28). We then execute this plan by utilizing the proper financial systems and processes to track our expenses throughout the ministry year (Lk. 16:10, Prov. 22:3). This annual report is a celebration of the measurable things God accomplished through your generosity to Journey!
The financial information in this report represents our operating budget based on the general offering that was received in 2024. We break these into general categories that are necessary to accomplish the vision. Additionally, there is breakdown of the operations categories that provide a clearer representation of how those funds were used to support “mission critical” ministry.
In addition to our general offering that was received, we have also received what we would call Legacy Gifts that have come from a few individuals above and beyond their general offering. In 2024, we were able to use this money to pay off an additional $1 million in building loan principal, as well as fund additional global impact and multiplying ministry initiatives that are specific to developing and supporting the next generation of ministry leaders. Stay tuned for more details on this Legacy Giving ministry opportunity in years to come.
Thank you so much for your generosity and believing in the mission and vision of our church. We value every dollar that is entrusted to us and we steward it for maximum impact. If you have any questions regarding finances at Journey, I would be honored to talk to you and answer any question that you may have.
Scott Courtney | Executive Pastor of Administration
As part of our commitment to giving 1% more in 2024, we as a church decided to add 1% more to our missions giving, increasing it from 15% to 16%. With that 1% increase, we were able to regularly invest in our Foster & Adopt Ministry (FAM) partners, which include Care Portal, Lifesong for Orphans, and other organizations that support children in foster care, foster families, and at-risk families. Just by giving 1% more, we were able to invest $60,000 to foster care initiatives in 2024!
$6,087,000 given
Missions: $974,000 | Facility: $1,175,000 | Cash Reserves: $401,000 | Operations: $997,000 | Labor: $2,540,000
Investing the first 16% (increased by 1% from 2023) of our offering into local impact, global missions, and multiplying ministry initiatives
TOTAL INVESTED: $974,000
As part of our commitment to giving 1% more in 2024, we as a church decided to add 1% more to our missions giving, increasing it from 15% to 16%. With that 1% increase, we were able to regularly invest in our Foster & Adopt Ministry (FAM) partners, which include Care Portal, Lifesong for Orphans, and other organizations that support children in foster care, foster families, and at-risk families. Just by giving 1% more, we were able to invest $60,000 to foster care initiatives in 2024!
Volunteers: $111,000 | Weekend Worship Experience: $296,000 | Spiritual Growth/Leadership Development: $148,000 | Communication: $74,000 | Administration: $368,000
Volunteers
Volunteer Headquarters; Inspire & other volunteer appreciation events; Journey swag (t-shirts, hats, etc.)
Weekend Worship Experience
Audio & video technology; special Sundays (Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day, etc.); guest pastor expenses; digital streaming equipment
Spiritual Growth/Leadership Development
Small group curriculum; leader development coaching, training, and resources; prayer ministry (prayer guides, meals, etc.)
Communication
Printed materials; website & app updates/maintenance; marketing (mail, email, social media, etc.)
Administration
Church database software and management; risk insurance; professional services (lawn care, accounting, consulting, police officers, legal fees, etc.); office supplies
Notifications
