The Journey Church

I started attending the Journey Easter Sunday and continued every Sunday through June 5 when I was told I could not become a member because they thought I was gay. First of all, I am not gay and I have never been so disturbed and disheartened that a church preaching love and acceptance would deny membership to someone who is gay or presumed to be gay. If this small fact that they do a great job of hiding doesn’t bother you, then you should attend because aside from that I thoroughly enjoyed attending. I will continue to pray for Pastor Kerrick and the rest of the staff for their hearts to be opened and learn that God loves and accepts each and every one of us.

Do not go to this church. They say they are open and accepting but they are not. I had a great time attending this church with my son and wanted to become a member but today was asked by one of the pastors not to because he thought I was gay. Not only am I not gay but the fact that a church who says they’re open, loving and accepting at all would make a judgmental assumption about me and use that assumption to ask me not to become a member of the church is saddening.

Being raised in a structured Baptist environment with little personal spiritual growth, The Journey was perfect for me. It made me realize that I wanted Jesus in my life, and it was my first time regularly attending a non-​denominational church. My friend invited me, and I was sold from day one.
I’m now relocated, but I miss this church and the welcoming environment so much. Everyone is so friendly, Pastor Kerrick is fantastic, and it’s so easy to get involved. They always host events to keep you coming back. It’s hands down the best church I’ve ever been a part of. I love the wide range/​variety of growth groups. They make it easy for you to fit in with people who have similar interests as you. It’s especially great for people who are new to New York or college students/​20-​somethings.

The Journey Church is a great place for families and if you want to meet new people, Christ followers in the city.
I enjoy the teaching because is relevant and practical, but most important the messages are full of bible verses. My favorite thing is that every Sunday I am reminded that salvation depends on a close relationship with Christ.
The church has three locations (village, UWS and UES) all close to subway and buses stops. And with great times, check their site for more info.
And last, my second two favorite things are how welcoming the environment is and how easy you can connect with other people.

I first started attending Journey about a year ago. At the time, I was dealing with some personal problems. Journey was instrumental in helping me overcome my trials and tribulations. Lately, however, it seems like Journey is more concerned about how much people donate and how many new locations that they open than worshiping Jesus. Pastor Kerrick and his staff are very friendly. I like the easygoing ambiance of the church (though at times, it became a little too gimmicky like offering free movie tickets for attending church). Nevertheless, the church is heading in a direction that I don’t like.

If you are looking for a church to go to, you must try out the Journey!
I first attended a service in 2012 and was blown away by the friendly people, the upbeat music and the practical sermons. The atmosphere was relaxed and not stuffy — the pastors wore casual clothes and weren’t afraid to joke around with each other. What especially surprised me was how much I looked forward to church every week, especially the sermons (when does that ever happen?), as they are geared towards implementing Biblical principals in everyday NYC life.
Since then, I have joined Journey Growth Groups (kind of like book clubs), was baptized in the ocean at Jones Beach, and became a Journey member. Growth Groups were key to me making personal connections and making a pretty big church feel small. I have also come to appreciate the Journey staff — they are caring and super-​hard working.
There are 5 services each Sunday at Hotel Pennsylvania and 1 at PS 75 on the UWS, so it’s pretty easy to find a time that works.
I highly recommend checking out the Journey. In fact, I joined Unilocal to post this, my first review!

I have been attending The Journey Church for over a year now, and have loved it since day one. The people are so welcoming, the music is so upbeat, and the message given each Sunday is given from Gods word very clearly and easy to follow. The Journey takes the awkwardness out of finding a new church, and their Growth Groups makes it easy to get involved and meet new people in such a big city.

Very nice people, and upbeat atmosphere– definitely a good church for families. I noticed a lot of young kids jamming in the front to the worship music.
I thought the format was a little odd… there were two speakers who did kind of a tag team thing… not bad, just different.
Also, the worship felt a little bit forced and stagey to me due to the small crowd– they were acting like it was a rock concert. Probably just not to my taste, again, not bad.
Only one more note– DO NOT give them your phone number or you will be robo-​called frequently for the rest of your life.
If you are looking for a casual church where you can be yourself, I recommend checking it out. I have friends who attend and enjoy it– there are a lot of young people too, and I think they have social/​connect groups to make friends.

This is odd writing a review about a church. Well here goes nothing… I stopped going to church around my senior year in high school. When I came back home from college about 3 years later I knew that I wanted to find a church that I could call my church home. I was invited by a friend to this church for Easter and after that there was no turning back. I have never attended a church where I feel immediately welcomed, enjoyed the worship, and understood the message being taught. I am now a member of the church 1 year later. I always take the opportunity to tell people about how awesome this church is. If you’re thinking about it just come and check it out.

So I found out about the Journey through Unilocal so I felt like I need to return the favor. I went this past Sunday and had an awesome experience at the 6:30 service. The volunteers were super friendly and passed out little leaflets to accompany the sermon. The praise and worship could be improved but its a smaller church and everyone on stage looked like they were having an amazing time praising God so it was easy for me to join in.
I’ve tried out a few churches in the city in a desperate attempt to find a home church. I believe the Journey is what I’ve been looking for! My dad’s a pastor so I look for specific things when I visit a church. I want to make sure the congregation is young, friendly and ethinically diverse, check! And that offering is called for at the end of the service rather than the begining (this is more on principal, I tithe yes but I also want to sew my seed into a place that is feeding me spritually and you cant know that till the end of the service), check! Lastly, that the pastor preaches directly from the bible. Pastor Kerrick brought us back to specific versus to reinforce the points he made and presented us with a bible memory verse to end the service.
Now thats what I call the word!
Disclaimer: The pastor did individually reach out to me over email a couple days after the service which I liked. If you dont want to be contacted don’t give your information. Of course, they are going to email you and tell you about events or ask you to donate for specific things, its a church, it runs on congregation particpation and tithes and offerings.

I went to The Journey back in 2004. At that time I was still a poor college student where asking everyone to donate $ 40.00 during offering was like robbing a bank. However, they were a young church then, and as a member-​supported church, they had to do what they had to do. Well, it didn’t sit well with me at the time.
For some reason I returned to The Journey in January of this year. This church values Relevance. The way they teach messages in the bible are through our everyday life challenges, struggles, and questions. Providing a different perspective sits well with non-​believers… It worked for me, as a non-​believer then. It’s casual, but they are good at corresponding with attendees to make them feel welcomed. Contrary to the review below, this is one of the few churches in NYC where they actually stay in touch with you after attending their service, as you wish to do by providing your contact information. It doesn’t seem/​feel forced, as I now also serve at services. People are genuine. They are there for a reason, and they want to be there. It’s pretty cool.

Be careful! Visited the church once like two years ago and they are still harassing me. I didn’t think much of the church service with its cookie cutter sermon. However, I felt like the pastor was very focused on growing in numbers than growing spiritually. Every church is different so whatever rocks your boat is fine with me but constantly calling, emailing and mailing me junk e. g. Box of mint, pen, and etc almost every other week along with emails and pre– recorded phone calls made me feel like it was a cult. I asked them to leave me alone like ten times now but still getting emails from them.

This place is really different. As a life long Catholic who has felt unfulfilled with church as a whole has felt welcomed at the Journey. I have only been going here for a short time but in that period, i have felt God’s message loud and clear. The heart of this organization is fellowship in God and his word. It’s not about rituals and routines. The focus is on gaining a relationship with God and sharing his love with a spiritual family. There are many opportunities to serve others in this community and to be a part of something bigger and better than ourselves.
The Journey is as real as it gets and if you’ve found yourself longing for a relationship with God and his son Jesus Christ, it is worth your time to visit The Journey and find out what you’ve been missing.
BTW: New or non believers will learn a lot. No one is turned away and this church embraces the opportunity to embrace a new life in Christ.

The Journey from the times I have gone have met some great people. The Pastors Nelson and Jason are some of the nicest guys and everyone is very welcoming and friendly. I go off and on and I remember when they first started and only around 30 people were there. Seems like they have grown enormously and well deserved. I am not that big on religion but they have the right idea.

Ok I feel like I have to be more specific than my review below.
I love the Journey for many many reasons. I grew up catholic and in my struggles with religion I stopped going to church for a long time.
Last year I started looking for a place where I can enrich my faith without the pressure, the demands, the intrusion in your personal life, amongst other unpleasant situations that one faces with religious institutions. I wanted a place where I can grow closer to God, learn more about him and follow him at my pace. Journey was the answers to my prayers.
The Journey, a non-​denominational Christian church, is light, welcoming, friendly, low-​key, educational, young, entertaining, convenient and there is no pressure to do anything you are not ready to do. It was just the kind of environment I had been looking for.
I started going whenever I remembered but now I go every Sunday unless I have a good reason not to go. In fact, I miss being there when I don’t go.
Other great things about this church:
— Convenient locations at times for services: Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens
— Growth Groups: It’s like a book club. You meet with your group every week for about 1 – 1.5 hours for 6 weeks to discuss the book chosen. There’s groups are by interest so there is women’s groups, couples group, Arts group, etc:
— Play Groups: Meet with other church growers to see a Movie night, for dinner, to go bowling, etc.

(FOR JOURNEY CHURCH WEST VILLAGE EVENING SERVICE)
GLEE!!!
Going to Church is like going to the gym. Hard to actually get there, but once you’re done, you’re glad you went. Something good for your soul.
This place reminds me of an episode of Glee. A crowd of fresh young singing modern songs, with a full band (drums, bass, keyboards), the whole sha bang. This church is «light», no pressure, and entertaining. A church made for the young and ADD, which works perfectly for me as someone who hasn’t been to church in nearly two decades.
Church starts at 6:30 pm on Sunday evenings in the Village.
Opens with the band singing some modern non annoying songs
short sermon with video clips from movies (again good for those prone to ADD like me)
And before you know it, it’s over. It’s almost, fun.
I like that everyone seemed very casual and welcoming, but not stalking. People leave you alone here, and you can feel comfortable attending by yourself, or with friends. Although there are people of all ages, the spirit of this church is very young at heart. It’s a good one to check out for first timers.
Thanks, Kerrick. I learned something and had a good time.

If you are looking a superficial evangelizing Church that is more like a social club, then the Journey Church will welcome you with open arms. The Pastor reiterates several times that the need of quantitative growth is the meat and potato meaning of being Christian. However, just meeting neighbors in the congregation was lifeless. The Journey Church has me on the highway with my thumb out.