In the summer of 2004, Rick Diamond had been an associate pastor at a large church in Austin for three years, and he and his wife, Leslie, left that church and were wondering what God had in mind. Some members of the church approached them and said, “Please stay in Austin and start a new church. The Northwest YMCA is open - let's meet there." And for a few Sundays a group met and worshiped together. Then they all took a week off to pray, asking, "What are we supposed to do, God?" And they all felt God saying, "Start something together, and I'Il be with you." And so, in July 2004, Journey Imperfect Faith Community was born.

Rick and Leslie Diamond held meetings in the homes of some of the community members to help them figure out what Journey should look like. They talked about, "What do you think God's dreams are for a faith community? What would that faith community look like?" They brainstormed and prayed, and some common ideas kept coming up: love, servanthood, openness, caring for others. The key scripture that seemed right was Jesus saying, "The most important commandment is this: 'Love the Lord your God will all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength,' and the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Since Jesus said everything was in that one commandment, Journey decided to make that its purpose. Love God. Love people.

Journeyers met on Sunday mornings at the Northwest YMCA in Austin for 2 ½ years. In time, some of the original folks left but new folks had come, and Journey continued to grow. The children had Sunday School in the Y's playrooms and the teenagers met in the hall by the swimming pool. Plus, groups of Journeyers began relationships with many Austin-area charitable organizations. Journey had, from its beginning, committed to set aside 10% of all of its income to be given away to those in need. Journey has always kept this commitment, even in tough financial times. Journeyers also formed teams to help with youth, children, finances, prayer, caring for Journeyers with needs and missions. Over time the teams became the Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength and Bones Ministries, reflecting the scriptures Jesus said mattered most.

Rick taught and Leslie led. More people came to Sunday gatherings. Journeyers got to the Y early to set up, and stayed late to make sure everything was put away by 1:00 when the Y opened. Journeyers led the music, read the scriptures, led the prayers, cared for the kids and the teenagers, learned and grew.

In September of 2005, Rev. David Gentiles, an Austin-area pastor, joined the staff as Co-Pastor. David was funny, sweet, and courageous, an experienced and wise man who had been in youth ministry for thirty years. At Journey, David took on many roles including worship leader and missions pastor.

In time, Journeyers felt that God might be leading them to move into a space of their own. They could meet during the week for activities and classes, as well as offering the space (without charge) to non-profit organizations and other groups that could use somewhere to meet. They looked at several different spaces over several months, until finding a warehouse on Industrial Terrace in the middle of a manufacturing district. The space was big and had lots of potential. It felt right. So the Journeyers prayed and prayed, and God said to make the commitment. And they saw it not as a permanent home, but as a tent - to be lived in for a time, with the intention to be ready to move when God said to.

In 2006, Stacie Baldwin joined Journey's staff as Office Manager, handling everything regarding finances, communications, events coordination, and more. it was perfect timing; we needed her gifts and intelligence as we moved ahead.

Also in 2006, Leslie Diamond, who had been at the heart of Journey from its beginning, was officially added to the staff as a Minister. That made official what Leslie had been doing all along: working to help Journey be fully what it is called to be, and especially in leading our Heart Ministry and in creating amazing women's groups and retreats.

Teams of Journeyers worked together on nights and weekends to renovate and retrofit the Warehouse. It took nine months and a huge willingness on everyone's part to help make it happen. We built walls, added restrooms, painted, decorated, and brought furniture from home. On Christmas Eve 2006, Journey held its first worship service in the Warehouse - a great celebration.

Journey continued to grow, and now we could have classes and groups meet there during the week, have vacation Bible School for the kids, hold youth retreats, and create special worship gatherings such as the annual Easter Prayer Vigil. There were weddings and baptisms and parties and memorial services. There were classes and support groups and men's groups and women's retreats. Journey began training and ordaining Journeyers for ministry in Journey and in the world.

Also, scores of groups and organizations met at the Warehouse all during the week, for recovery, fundraisers, parties, and workshops. Ten non-profit organizations were birthed by Journey, encouraged and supported by Journeyers. And Journey grew. And continued to find more and more ways to impact Austin and beyond with God's love - including trips to Mississippi and Louisiana to help Hurricane Katrina survivors, and in partnering with New Life for Haiti.

In December of 2009, David Gentiles died in a sudden accident. It was a terrible blow for Journeyers and for Journey overall. We'd lost a crucial part of our heart, and 2010 was a time of grieving and regrouping. But, too, Journey - as always - continued to follow Jesus and to live out its mission.

One way for us to respond to the growth and ongoing opportunities of Journey was to hire a Ministries Support Coordinator to help with Children, Youth, and Strength Ministries, as well as wrangling all of us and helping us help make Journey work. Bethany Paul was the first to bring her great energy and enthusiasm to this job. Vicki Hull took over from Bethany in late 2012. Vicki has been a vital part of our staff ever since, and is about to retire this year.

The Great Recession was also a challenge in 2010, and as the fall months came, Journeyers had some soul-searching to do. What was Journey's future? What were we being called to? We felt God telling us that our sojourn at the Warehouse had ended, and that it was time to move on. In the summer of 2011, we moved to Beverly Hall, part of the Rawson-Saunders School. We stayed there for just under four years, making new friends, and partnering with The Sanctuary, the church across the parking lot, to do occasional children's and worship events.

In 2013, Journey undertook a multi-month discernment process called "Journey Dreams." What were the dreams God was giving us for what to do next in our efforts to share what Journey is about with the world around us? After lots of prayer and sharing and listening, we felt God lead us to buy a building. We found a lovely church, built in 1953 in the Crestview neighborhood, where we could not only gather but also give our message and gifts away. We love it in Crestview, and our Woodrow home enables us to do many more Journey things for ourselves and others than ever before.

In 2016, after serving Journey since its beginning, Leslie Diamond left the Journey staff to work for a nonprofit in Austin. Her many gifts continue to be celebrated with gratitude, for her twelve years of service and leadership.

Throughout the years, Journey has ordained 13 Journeyers to all sorts of ministry opportunities. Some have gone on to work in non-profits, some have become Chaplains, some work in church ministry, some work in spiritual direction, and more. Journey ordains people into whatever work the ordination pilgrim feels called to.

Journey has also been able to support seminarians who have each served Journey as a Pastoral Intern. We have had three Interns, Gayle Evers, David Hackenbracht, and Jacob Naron. David also served as Ministry Associate from 2018-2019. Jacob and Gayle were eventually brought onto staff as Pastors.

Journey was hit like most faith communities when the world was struck with the Covid-19 Pandemic. Journey had to move online, and in this period we lost contact with a lot of Journeyers. For a community of people who loved being together, this distance was difficult. Journey moved to online service streamed via YouTube, but the community mourned the loss of in-person gatherings.

In January of 2021, Rick Diamond retired from his role as Senior Pastor of Journey. Rick’s guidance, leadership, charisma, and love helped shape Journey into the community it still is. After 17 years with Rick, Journey was now in a transition period. In this time, Gayle Evers stepped up and filled the role of Interim Pastor. Over a period of 20 weeks, Gayle led Journey through an Oasis Discernment process where the community was walked through Journey’s history. During this time, Jacob Naron was brought on as the Interim Worship Pastor to support Gayle with the Sunday Gatherings. The discernment process ended with a weekend retreat where Journey dreamed up what was next. In the list of possibilities, closing Journey’s doors was an option. However, after prayer and communal discernment, Journey felt called to continue on as an Imperfect Faith Community. By the end of the weekend, Journey had recommitted to its mission and started searching for a new Pastor.

Jacob and Gayle met and discussed the possibility of moving from Interim positions into Journey’s pastors. With the support from more community discernment, Jacob was hired on as the Lead Pastor, and Gayle as the Co-Pastor. Beginning in September of 2021, Jacob and Gayle served as our pastors, helping us start back over.

In October of 2022, our longtime Office Administrator, Stacie Baldwin died from cancer. This was also a great grief of our community, and we remember the love and support Stacie shared with us all of those years.

Gayle Evers retired from her role as Co-Pastor in the Spring of 2023 to care for her husband and enjoy her many hobbies. Gayle was a huge support in keeping Journey afloat in a tumultuous time. We are still so grateful for her leadership and attention to detail.

Journey looks as lot different than it did in the beginning. Our has has changed, we have new community members, we are much smaller, but we remain a close-knit family environment. Journey has been through a roller-coaster of events over the past several years, but Journey is still loving God and one another. Jacob announced at the end of 2025 that he will be moving closer to his family in Boerne. With that, we are now in search for a new Pastor to lead this flock of Imperfectionists. 22 years of Journeying has lead us here, and we are eager to see where God will lead us, and who God will bring us to continue on in this Journey.