Who We Are

The Days met in 1966 at a church party in the home of mutual friends. Their mutual stories span five decades. But their beginnings were quite different. are quite different.
Jim was born in Evansville, Indiana, and became part of what would become a family of five siblings, six if counting the sister who died three years before Jim’s birth.
His mother’s family had several generations of German immigrants in Indiana, while his father’s family had originally immigrated from Wales, landing eventually in Kentucky.
Jim’s ancestors fought in the Revolutionary war, and later in the Civil war. He had uncles who served in World War II and a brother who served in Korea.
During his childhood, the Days intermittently made their home in Evansville, Indiana or in Oakland, California and Jim attended school in both states, graduating from Oakland High School in 1955.
He came to Christ through Trinity Baptist Church in Castro Valley in 1966.
Barbara was born near Insterburg, East Prussia near the end of World War II. Her hometown was invaded by Russia and Barbara’s mother, Erika Escaped when Barbara was only four weeks old. Her father, Alfred, had become a prisoner of war and was not reunited with Erika and did not see his baby until she was two years old.
Their Christian faith left them extremely disappointed in Germany and they could not return to their home which was now part of Russia, so after the war Alfred began making plans to take his little family to the United States. That dream was not realized until 1952.
They arrived in New York Harbor on Alfred’s
35th birthday, and within days boarded a
train headed for Oakland, California.
Everything was new and strange for the Winkler’s including language, but they settled in, went to work, learned the language and became citizens of this great land. They were never sorry for that decision.    

Barbara came to faith at Melrose Baptist Church in Oakland at the age of seven and has remained steadfast in her faith ever since. She graduated from San Lorenzo High School, attended Westmont Christian College one year and studied music at the San Francisco Conservatory of music, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree. She and Jim were married in 1968.
A few years after their marriage, Jim sensed a call to vocational ministry. He began his training at Briercrest Bible Institute in Caronport, Saskatchewan, Canada. Later studies took him to Christian Heritage College, the institute for Christian Research and back to Briercrest where he completed his Bachelor Degree. Then he enrolled at Grace Graduate School in Long Beach, California, where he earned a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling and certification as a secondary school administrator.
He has served as an associate Pastor, Single Staff Pastor, Senior Pastor and also was a Bible Teacher, counselor and vice principal at a Christian School where he worked for eight years.

Since “retiring” in 2014, Jim has served two churches as Transitional Senior Pastor for
over seven years, and this is the second time they have served The Journey Church.

​Jim and Barbara have been married 53 years, have four children, eleven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren and they continue to enjoy vocational ministry after 49 years.