This past weekend we continued our preparation for Discover Church. Most of our team traveled to Raleigh, NC to visit Journey Church. We left Saturday afternoon to arrive just in time for their evening service. After a great evening service, we were able to sit in their staff meeting concerning the service. We were able to hear how they wanted some things to change and heard encouragement for the things done well in the service. Afterward, they took us all out to eat and two of the staff members let us all stay in their homes overnight!
The next day we went back and forth between their two campuses to see how their church was structured. Journey Church is about 3 years old and they have just started another campus in a movie theater which we have not been able to see until now. There were some space issue with the children’s rooms but they did a great job with the space that was available! It is amazing to see how much strength and flexibility God gives them each week as they serve in different ways. I especially liked the children’s ministry and how it was structured! The hallways and rooms were painted in interesting ways and they utilized spaces well.
Church planting has opened my eyes to a brand new world of doing church and I am so thankful for the opportunities we have had as a team to see how others are doing it! Not only are they learning experiences—they are also an encouragement as we prepare ourselves and as we will be starting very soon!
Here are some pictures of their set up. I wish I would have taken more pictures (esp. of the theater) but here they are anyway!
This is where the adult services were held. They had great lighting and the stage area was set up well. They video recorded the Saturday night service and used it on Sunday morning for one of the campuses.
Here's the kids room where they came together as a large group. In the back they built an extra room and the orange and green doors spin so that they can go in and out of the backstage area.

