We're so glad that you're interested! In fact, you need to know that there is not one single question that is "out of bounds!" We do everything we can to be open handed and transparent about money at Journey! The easiest way to break it down is to think of every contribution as $1. For every dollar that comes into Journey, here's where it goes:

$.25 goes to our facilities. It covers everything from paying the mortgage, utilities, upkeep, improvements to the cost to have the trash taken away not to mention the cleaning supplies, toilet paper and the staff to clean the building.

$.27 goes to our Family Ministries that include all of our Journey Kids and 412 Students. That portion covers everything from the staff people who lead well over 100 volunteers, the curriculum they use to the snacks they eat in the nursery and the meals that happen with Students on the 4th Wednesday every month. 

$.15 goes to our Disciple making efforts. We love helping people grow in their faith! Wether that's something as simple as assimilating new folks to our church family or providing resources to challenge their growth in men's and women's events or retreats. Around Journey, we believe that the most important step you'll ever take is your "next step" and we do whatever we can to help make that happen!

$.12 goes to our weekend Worship experience. The staff and volunteers who put in literally hundreds of man hours each week to make sure that our environments and planning are not a distraction to your efforts to Worship Jesus at Journey! I'd bet that you'd be surprised how much work goes into each weekend to make sure that our experiences are relevant, excellent and helpful to people moving forward!

$.06 goes to Marketing and Communication. That includes all of the graphics you see on the screens and online, the websites, managing our social media accounts, promotional efforts, print media and all of our merchandise like hats, t-shirts and stuff! It's all a part of helping communicate the mission and values of Journey Church in a visual and tangible way.

$.04 goes to Hospitality. That means making Journey a welcoming and hospitable place. It covers everything from the cost of coffee, cups and creamer to the supplies for Communion cups, juice and those terrible tasting crackers that we use each weekend. 

$.11 goes to Administration. When you put a prayer request in online or a new guest lets us know that they're here for the weekend, the administrative money allows us to enter and process that information. It also covers all of the software, office equipment, postage costs and the costs that come from online giving credit/debit card fees (by the way, you can help keep those costs down by using ACH for online giving - that doesn't cost us anything! You can get some more info about that here)

Now, if you're still reading this, you probably care enough to ask "But, where is the cost for the staff?" Each of our staff people (there are 10 now although only 5 of them are full-time) work to accomplish a particular part of the mission of Journey Church, so for the purposes of explanation, we've included their salary in the breakdown above (i.e. The "Family Ministry" area above includes the staff costs for Journey Kids and 412 Students). If you were to put all of the staff separate from their area of ministry focus, staffing accounts for 48% of our total income. As is always the case, if you have ANY questions about how money is used around Journey, you can talk to any of our staff, our Elders or you can send an email to [email protected] (and if you're worried about feeling like you're being picky or worrying, feel free to send the email anonymously)

We know that when people ask this question, it's not about not trusting our leaders or people. In fact, the reason that we put in boundaries and accountability around our finances isn't because of trust at all -- it's really about stewardship! We realize that when people give, it's an expression of faith and obedience to God and trust in the leadership at Journey and we want to do everything we can to build (and honor) that trust! For that reason, there are a number of things that we voluntarily do to provide accountability. Here are just a few of them:

We live on a budget. Every year, our staff and leaders compile a comprehensive budget that gives them room to accomplish the goals they have for their areas. Once all of the departments have finalized their budget, it's submitted to our Board of Elders for feedback and ultimately approval. Then every 4 weeks, our bookkeeper finalizes that month's books and sends out a "budget vs. actuals" report that each ministry leader (and their supervisors) see and can ask for a more detailed look at (our staff actually gets an even more detailed view of that report every 8 weeks). 

We outsource our bookkeeping. To make sure that there is consistent adherence to current bookkeeping standards, we have (since the very beginning) outsourced all of our bookkeeping to someone not directly connected with Journey, its staff or leadership. That way, if our autonomous bookkeeper were to see something of concern, they could immediately let someone in authority know.

We do our very best to not handle cash. We make it a point to handle cash transactions through a register (like the one in the lobby) to make sure that there is a strict record of income vs deposits. Also, when our offering is counted, there are always 2 people verifying the count to make sure that it is handled with the utmost care and accountability. As a strict rule, our Lead Pastor (and his wife) never handle cash of any kind and have no part in counting the offering each week.

Our Elders have full access to all financial dealings and transactions. At any point, any of our Elders could make a request to see as much of the detailed transaction history of our accounting directly with our outsourced bookkeeper. This allows them full, unfiltered access at any point they may deem necessary for any reason.

To us, those who choose to set up a recurring financial gift of any size are what we call "Generosity Rockstars." Those recurring gifts go a long way to help us plan for the future and remove some of the "guesswork" that naturally comes with times of the year when people are out of town a lot (ex: Summer or over Holidays)

The short answer is yes... and maybe no. 

If you choose to make an electronic gift from a credit or debit card, there is a charge to Journey (depending on the kind of card you use). So, yes it does cost us something to provide that convenience. For instance, if you gave $100 through a credit card, we would likely get about $97 when it gets deposited (the comany that handles those transactions for us just keeps a portion of that amount). There is a "workaround" for covering the costs of those gifts. If you want to give by credit card and want us to get the full amount of your donation, you can choose to leave the "cover the fees" checkbox filled in. When you see the amount of the $100 donation, it would be a total of around $103 which covers the cost of the transaction and leaves Journey with the whole $100.

Another option that you might consider is giving electronically through "ACH" (automated check handling). That option doesn't cost us anything at all. If you choose to give $100 via ACH, we get the whole $100 deposited and it doesn't cost you anything extra. Clearly, if you have the potential to use ACH, that is the very best situation for us! As of early 2025, we budget around $1,200/month to cover the fees associated with electronic giving (that's more than $14,000/year!).

We realized that giving or generosity is a journey and it's a journey of FAITH, not just FINANCES. Choosing to trust that God could do more with our financial resources in His control instead of our own is a huge step of faith - that's why we celebrate it in every step along the way! That's why Paul wrote this: "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

So, giving is a personal journey of faith - how much you're currently choosing to trust God financially is something that is entirely between you and God. We want to do everything we can to help you move toward a generous, obedient lifestyle (in every way, not just financially), but like every 'next step,' we don't pressure, expect or require anything from you -- we just want to be helpful and encouraging as you grow to trust and obey.

We want your giving to be as beneficial to you as even remotely possible! Sometimes people want to give in a way that isn't directly out of their regular income because it's easier for budgeting or tax purposes.

For that reason, we have ways set up to receive gifts from any number of other sources like vehicles, appreciated stocks, donor advised funds or even leaving part of your estate for Kingdom use after you pass away. All of these are helpful to helping people take their next step toward Jesus - they just play a different part. If you're interested in talking about a non-cash gift could help the mission of Journey Church move forward, please send an email to [email protected]

Yes! Journey Church is a 501(c)3 organization registered with the Internal Revenue Service. So, if you itemize your deductions, you can use every penny that you contribute to the mission of Journey Church as a deduction on your taxes. The only exception to that are the things that you pay to Journey for which you receive something in return (merch, registration costs, books, etc).

Each in early February, we send out annual giving statements via email. You'll receive a text message on your phone letting you know that you'll receive that email which will include a letter from our Lead Pastor about the last year at Journey and a link to download your personal giving statement. If you have any questions about your giving statement's accuracy (or you lost the email and need another copy), please reach out to our Generosity Team at [email protected]

Yes, there is! In fact, there are several ways. We will be sending you a quarterly statement of your year-to-date giving (April, July, October) and your annual total statement in February. In between those times, if you'd like a copy of your giving statement, you can just shoot an email to [email protected] and we'll be glad to get you a copy as quickly as possible!

The word "tithe" is a biblical term that simply means "tenth." In a number of places throughout the Bible, the word is used to point to choosing to trust God with the "first fruits" of our income. It's a recognition that everything we have comes directly from God and choosing to trust Him with the first 10% is an act of faith believing that 90% with His blessing is more than 100% without it. When we talk about tithing, we believe that it's a first goal of obedience - it's not the end of the generosity journey, it's just the starting point.

A steward is like a manager - they are someone who manages someone else's resources. That's what we believe we are -- we are stewards of God's resources. 1 Chronicles 29:11 says "Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all." - what that means for us is that we aren't giving God something that is ours, we're trusting Him with something that is already His.

Giving is simply any act of generosity where we begin to trust God with the resources that He has entrusted to us. For some people, their first steps of giving may seem insignificant but the simple ACT of giving is anything but insignificant! For others, it's choosing to stretch and give more. For still others, it's choosing to give in a recurring or regular way. For some, that's choosing to convert the "amount" of their giving to a "percentage" of their income and working to increase that to 10% and beyond!

Around Journey, we have people at every imaginable place on their generosity journey. Some are obedient with what might seem like a small amount -- others aren't as obedient, but their giving might "look" more significant. To us, generosity in any of its forms and expressions is a substantial act of faith and we celebrate it like crazy because "the most important step you'll ever take is your NEXT STEP!" (that's one of our codes around here)

Automated giving (sometimes we call it recurring giving) is just setting up an electronic gift that comes out when you want it to come out -- but it does it automatically. For some people, that's a weekly amount and others set it up every 2 weeks, or on the 1st and the 15th of the month -- or even monthly. The frequency and amount are entirely up to you (as is when to stop or start that recurring gift). You can stop it (or change the amount) any time. 

Some people choose to set up a recurring gift for a "base amount" of their giving and then choose to give beyond that as they get paid (usually people who don't make the same amount all of the time find this to be the easiest way to prioritize giving).