Lead All People to Pursue Jesus and His Joy
O U R S T O R Y
Joy Church was born out of a simple conviction that our neighborhood deserves to encounter the real Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible, who is better than anything the world offers and worth every cost to follow.
We are trying to be a faithful church where ordinary people encounter the extraordinary grace of Jesus, becoming deep disciples, who’s lives are completely shaped by the Gospel.
Shirley is our neighborhood. Long Island is our horizon. We believe both deserve to see what the Gospel looks like in ordinary life.
M I S S I O N
Joy is not a mood. It’s a gift that Jesus gives.
W H Y J O Y
We were made to treasure Jesus.
01
We were not made for happiness — we were made for Jesus. And when you actually find Him, joy is what happens. Not because you tried hard enough, or felt the right things on a Sunday morning, but because He is genuinely worth it. Joy is the natural overflow of knowing the one thing worth having above all else.
God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.
02
A lot of us were taught that wanting things for yourself is the problem. That desire is the enemy of holiness. But the Bible tells a different story. God is not honored when His people are miserable and dutiful. He is honored when His people are genuinely, deeply satisfied in Him. When they love Him deeply. The pursuit of joy in God is not selfishness dressed up in religious language. It is what obedience actually looks like.
Joy is not the absence of suffering. It is stronger than it.
03
The biblical joy we pursue is not circumstantial happiness. It is the deep-rooted delight that strengthens endurance, fuels holiness, and propels mission. It sustains a single mother at 2am. It holds a man walking through addiction. It is precisely this kind of joy that Long Island needs; not optimism, but the real thing.
Joy laughs.
04
Real joy has a sound. It is the sound of people who have been forgiven much, who know what they were rescued from, and who find (sometimes in the middle of hard things) that Jesus is still good and they are still held. That kind of joy does not need to be performed or protected. It shows up. It breaks through. It even laughs.
All of Long Island enjoying Jesus.
Long Island is home to millions of people carrying weight they were never designed to carry alone. Shame. Broken relationships. The quiet suspicion that something is missing. We believe Jesus is the answer to all of it. Our vision is a Long Island where that answer is impossible to miss.
Families & Individuals
Marriages restored. Prodigals coming home. People who carried shame for years discovering they are fully forgiven, fully known, and fully loved. That is what happens when ordinary people encounter the real Jesus.
Churches Planted & Revitalized
Long Island's neighborhoods deserve vibrant, Spirit led churches within reach. Joy Church is building toward a future of plant and revitalizing churches.
Believers Equipped & Sent
The church was never meant to be a destination. It is a sending station. We are forming people to carry the Gospel into their workplaces, homes, and neighborhoods as a way of life.
The Hurting Seen & Served
The marginalized experiencing the imago Dei through real, tangible care. Being present is the kind of love that shows up before anyone asks.
Creativity & Hospitality
Beauty, generosity, and craft displaying the Kingdom of God in how we gather and how we live.
A Witness That Speaks
Every person on Long Island, believer or skeptic, being able to say: "I've seen the joy of God in His people." That is the goal. That is the witness.
T H E V I S I ON
You’re what’s missing from
our community.
Come this Sunday. 1368 William Floyd Pkwy, Shirley, NY.