IN FOCUS: THE JOURNEY | HANLEY ROAD
THE JOURNEY HANLEY ROAD LOCATION: St. Louis, Missouri
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In every edition of the Midwestern Magazine, we seek to highlight faithful churches. For this issue, we are glad to highlight a church across the state—The Journey Hanley Road—pastored by Midwestern Ph.D. student, Carlos Smith. With five locations across the St. Louis metro area, The Journey is a gospel-centered church whose vision reads, “We are a diverse community centered on Jesus Christ, seeking to wholly enjoy His grace, faithfully embody His love for one another, and boldly engage our culture with His truth, from our neighborhoods to the nations.”
RONNI KURTZ Tell us a bit of the story of The Journey Hanley Road. When did the church start, and how did you get there? CARLOS SMITH Thanks for the opportunity to share about The Journey Hanley Road. The Journey is a multisite congregation comprised of five churches across the Metro St. Louis area, and it began about 18 years ago in the founder’s basement. The congregation that I lead is actually the original Journey location and was formed when
the newly planted Journey merged with Hanley Road Baptist Church. Hanley Road Baptist, under the leadership of Pastor Slade Johnson, had long been a beacon in the Clayton area. They saw the merger with The Journey as a way to continue the mission of the church to impact the Clayton area. Today, The Journey Hanley Road is located in University City, just a few minutes from Washington University. Another cool thing about Hanley Road is that we changed locations two years ago, moving further north in St. Louis in an effort to reach a more diverse demographic. We were able to make this move by swapping buildings with a local synagogue. We actually still share space with the synagogue as they renovate our old building. This has led to some awesome fellowship and witnessing opportunities! I came to The Journey Hanley Road just 18 months ago. Prior to serving at The Journey, I served at First Baptist Church of Chesterfield, Mo., as the associate pastor of Christian Life & Student Ministries. I actually got connected to The Journey by doing some teaching with Midwestern’s Three Fourteen Institute. Through that connection, I learned of the awesome work that the Lord was doing at Hanley Road and felt drawn to it.
RK Has there been anything in ministry that has surprised you since you became the lead pastor at Hanley Road? CS One surprise for me in ministry has been the prevalence of anxiety and depression amongst Christians. My congregation is a
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