The Journey Church in NYC Serves Frontline Workers with Assistance from Saddleback
05/20/2020“Our city has been hit pretty hard,” shares Kerrick Thomas, Pastor of The Journey church in New York City. “It’s been crazy. I don’t even know what to compare it to.”
A Purpose Driven church located in the heart of Manhattan, the Journey has experienced what it looks like to live in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in America. To serve a city marked by overflowing hospitals and the emotional, physical, and relational strain, the Journey has stepped up to care for frontline workers and the vulnerable with the support of Saddleback Church.
“I want to thank you Saddleback for your investment in The Journey and in New York City,” says Kerrick. “We couldn’t have done it without your partnership. Because of you we've been able to provide well over 1,000 meals to doctors, nurses and medical staff in some of the hardest hit areas of the city. This includes Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx where one of our members has been running the COVID Command Center there. In Lincoln Hospital alone they had over 120 people on ventilators for almost a month. We’ve also served medical professionals in Brooklyn and Manhattan.”
The church seized upon these key opportunities by responding to the needs their members were facing. From there God began opening doors to reach more of the community. “We reached out to those within our church working on the frontlines and asked, ‘How can we bless you?’ One of the things we noticed is there is a lot of pressure put on the frontlines – those in the medical profession. That’s how these doors started to open up.”
As they’ve served, the Journey has handed out flyers that say, “Thank you from the Journey Church” and have the info for a prayer line they’ve established for this season. The church has seen over 100 people calling in to the prayer request line every week.
Medical professionals aren’t the only ones who have been struggling. “We have one man in our church who is a manager at the post office, and he’s been working 12-hour days, 6 days a week,” Kerrick reports, “So we began to serve postal workers in Queens as well.” They’ve also been reaching out to members on an individual basis as an attempt to assess their needs and battle the loneliness affecting so many in isolation.
In the midst of the quarantine when volunteer numbers have dwindled for existing programs that care for the poor, the Journey has mobilized their members to feed the needy and homeless on the Lower East Side and in the South Bronx. They’ve also responded to immediate needs, like paying the rent of a window and her son who both fell ill with COVID-19.
“We are so grateful for Saddleback. We've been able to show Jesus' love in a practical way these last three weeks in every NYC borough except Staten Island,” reports Kerrick, “And your gift helped make that possible. These hospitals keep inviting us back!”
God, we pray for all those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask you to heal the sick, comfort those who mourn, and protect the frontline workers serving the ill and vulnerable. Thank you for your servant-hearted followers at Journey Church, would you continue to equip them to be your hands and feet in NYC. Help us also shine your light into the darkness created by this pandemic and its effects. Amen.
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