The Journey is a Southern Baptist church located in St. Louis, Missouri. Services are offered at multiple locations in St. Louis, including University City, Tower Grove, West County, South County and Belleville, IL. The congregation has seen relatively rapid growth from a handful of attendees in 2002 to over 2,500 attending services at the multiple locations in 2019.
History
The Journey was founded in 2001 by former lead pastorDarrin Patrick and a group of 30 people began meeting in a south city basement with a heart and prayer to be used by God. Initial services were held in private residences and then community centers. As attendance increased, the church formed a relationship with Hanley Road Baptist Church of Clayton and began operating out of its offices and having services within their sanctuary. In 2012, the two churches merged. In 2006 the church bought the former Catholic church Holy Innocence on South Kingshighway in South St. Louis across from Tower Grove Park. This became their central campus. During this same time period, the church also began holding services in West St. Louis County at Missouri Baptist University. The Journey currently holds services at five locations in the St. Louis area. In February 2019, after seven years as a Journey location, The Journey Southern Illinois was equipped, resourced, and sent out to engage the community of southern Illinois as their own local church. As the congregation continues to grow, other pastors and elders are brought up from within the church. The full list of pastors, elders, and staff can be found on the church's website. https://www.thejourney.org
Church planting
The Journey is a part of the Acts 29 Network of church planters. Patrick formerly served as vice president for that network. The Journey has facilitated the establishment of several churches in the St. Louis area including The Refuge Church in St. Charles, Mo., the Church at Bevo in St. Louis, Trailhead Church in Edwardsville, Ill. The Journey has also started, supported or resourced churches outside the St. Louis area, including Christ City Church in Memphis, Tenn., Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City, Mercyview in Tulsa, Okla., and CrossPointe in Winter Park, Fla.
Theology at the Bottleworks
'Theology at the Bottleworks' is a monthly facilitated discussion group that is organized by members of The Journey through a group called Midrash. The group's function is to discuss the intersection between culture and theology outside a formal church setting. The controversial practice of meeting at The Schlafly Bottleworks and Tap Room locations made news through an article published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch titled "Beer and the Bible". The discussion groups have also gained national and world attention through articles in The New York Times and BBC.
