‘Excited to shine bright:’ Church donation helps Seminole County elementary school renovate media center

Journey Church donated $30K in December 2021

ORLANDO, Fla. – Last year, News 6 took you to Journey Church on what the organization calls “Legacy Sunday.” That’s when the church’s pastor presented a local elementary school principal with a check for $30,000 to renovate the school’s outdated media center.

“When I stood on stage in December and really the tears were real because I never expected $30,000,” said Nancy Urban, the principal of English Estates Elementary School.

[TRENDING: Florida man accused of using fake deeds to take ownership of 2 homes | Hurricane center watching 2 tropical waves. Here’s what to know | Enter to win Kroger grocery gift card | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]

Urban explains the generosity of the church’s congregation allowed the school to update the media center with new furniture, paint, and laptops.

“It’s fresh, it’s renovated and we are just excited to shine bright as leaders at English Estates this year,” Urban said. “We have to compete against video games. That can be very hard and very challenging, but when they come in here and they see a nice bright space. A place they’re excited to come to. A space for coding. They see the furniture where they can relax after checking out a book.”

Journey Church pastor Jenny Boss leads the church’s outreach team.

“Our church is so generous, especially when they hear of a need in the community. Being able to give back like this is just so huge and I’m just so thankful that I have a church like this where the church is so giving. Our goal is to make Jesus accessible to anyone. I hope from this that people see we are here to help, we are here to just be giving to the community and we want to see people impacted and people’s lives changed in a positive way,” Boss said.

And Boss said this project is just the beginning for Journey Church.

“Our goal is that 10 years from now, this community knows Journey Church as the place that helps people and the place that has made a big difference in this area,” she said. “Now we know we get to do that through Jesus but if we could just have an ounce of that out in the community, by just showing them the love of Jesus, then we’re OK with that too.”

Urban estimates the total renovation cost closer to $45,000, with additional money coming from Seminole County Public School District as well as internal resources at the school.

Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:


About the Author

Julie Broughton's career in Central Florida has spanned more than 14 years, starting with News 6 as a meteorologist and now anchoring newscasts.

Recommended Videos