ABOUT US
Our Pastor - Brad Main
I have been in pastoral ministry since 1998. My first formal role as a pastor was serving as a Youth Pastor. It was in this place of working with students that I began to see real change in the lives of young people as they surrendered their lives to Christ. In serving these students – with the realities of life's ups and downs, moving forward and backward – I learned of God's grace and kindness. I saw His patience and His heart for people, like my students and me who stumble around in this journey of faith. It was in this season of ministry I figured out that the church is filled with people just like me and my students – moving forward, moving backward, stumbling, finding success, and wandering – all the while being recipients of God's love, grace and kindness! We are the ones who so desperately need a Savior! And, oh, the kindness and grace of our God who has given us Himself in Jesus!
At Journey Church, we are all in this process, this journey, of discovering the love of God. No one here has it figured out, but one thing we are becoming convinced of is this, we are the beloved of God, we are His dearly loved daughters and sons. And as we lean into His love and His grace and His kindness we are experiencing real life, life with meaning and purpose and most importantly life with God.
If you are interested in an authentic pursuit of God, come join us. Journey is not about distributing a ‘professional faith.’ We are a growing community dedicated to connecting people to Jesus Christ. Because when you are connected to Him, you are connected to life!
Join us Sunday at 9:09am!
Our mission
Our passion is to see people become all that God made them to be and we believe a relationship with Jesus Christ is vital. As such, our mission is to be a growing community dedicated to connecting people to Jesus Christ.
We seek to follow Jesus and grow in our understanding of the heart of God and His Word. We are intentional about building a family of faith where we do life together – learning from each other how to live a life that honors God and growing in love, grace and trust along the way. We are dedicated to connecting people to Jesus Christ because we know a relationship with the Savior of the world will have a life changing and eternal impact.
We are devoted to seeking the lost, restoring the prodigals and equipping the followers so that Jesus Christ may be the passion of every heart.
Our Vision
Our vision at Journey Church comes in part from a couple of stories in the New Testament book of Luke, chapter 15. In each account, Jesus is conversing with the religious people gathered around him and provides an example of God’s reckless pursuit of our hearts!
THE LOST COIN
A woman has a weeks’ worth of cash in her house and loses one of ten coins. She searches her home, turns up all the lights and sweeps under everything looking for that one coin. When she finds it, she rejoices with her friends and neighbors. Jesus tells us this story represents how God seeks to find lost people – those living apart from the hope He offers to us. What does “lost” look like in our world? It can look like a lot of different things – depression, addiction, bitterness, anger, pride, religiousness, apathy and the list goes on. Ultimately, God is seeking to find people like us!
THE LOST SON
Another story Jesus shared was that of a father and son. The son believed he was independent and ready to do life apart from a relationship with his father. He said, “Dad, give me my stuff. I am leaving home.” He soon learned that life apart from his father was nasty and hard – he longed to be back home. When the son finally heads home, his father is waiting for him with open arms. We often try to do life on our own, choosing to disregard God and His heart for us. When we are ready to restore this relationship, God is waiting for us! The Father longs for His kids to come home!
Journey Church is a place for human beings to return home to the Father’s heart! Life can be hard at times, but we believe the church is called to function as a body – offering support, encouragement and love to one another. We desire to see people grow in trust and relationship with Jesus, that He would truly become the passion of all our hearts. We are always invited to learn to trust the One who loves us most and often see some of the amazing things as a result!
When you come to Journey Church, it doesn’t matter where you are in your relationship with God. Come as you are, encounter Jesus and never be the same!
our story
The story of Journey Church goes back to 2007, when a gathering of regional pastors began praying for an opportunity to plant a new church in the Merrill community. In a community the size of Merrill (around 10,000 people), statistics say that around 4,500 people report that they seldom or never attend church. Church planting is an effective way to connect unchurched people to Jesus in our culture.
In January 2010, Pastor Brad Main was called by Converge Great Lakes to lead this new church plant in Merrill. At that time, the vision, mission and identity of Journey Church came into focus. Over the next nine months – through conversations with people in coffee shops, homes and churches – God gathered a group of people that wanted to be involved in the foundation of t(His) church. This group began renting space at OTT'S Garage Youth Center in October 2010, gathering on Tuesday nights to pray, connect, and prepare to launch God's church.
Journey Church celebrated her grand opening launch on the second Sunday in September of 2011 at Kate Goodrich Elementary School. For the next three years, Journey Church met on Sunday mornings at 10am to worship and build a community of faith. In August 2014, thirty-six people became founding members. In October 2014, Journey Church was officially welcomed by Converge Great Lakes as an independent church.
The church made an offer to purchase a building that could be their permanent home at the end of September in 2014 – they desired to have a facility that would allow ministry opportunities outside of Sunday and Tuesdays, as well as a place "to plant flowers" and signify permanent roots in the Merrill community. After running into a speed bump with zoning of the property, Journey Church purchased 1212 S Center Ave, Merrill, WI on December 12, 2014 and held worship there the following Sunday.
Since Journey Church launched, we have seen God graciously draw people to Himself and transform lives! Many times, those who attend Sunday morning worship will invite friends and family to join them.