Andy R. attended a church back in June several times and had some mixed feelings about the experience. It appears that she very much enjoyed the worship program and its pastor, but had a hard time feeling motivated by the teaching pastor (I can think of a lot of church experiences where I felt this kind of dualism).
Check out Andy’s comments and let us know what you think!
Church Name - Heart of The Valley Community Church
Church Location - Reseda, California
Date Attended - June 18, 2006
Overall Rating -  1. Sad. I just left feeling sorry for them…  &Â
                      -  9. Transcendent! My life was changed!
Was the building easy to find? If you drove, was it hard to find parking? How about the exterior or interior signage? what would you do differently?
It’s a plain building that blends in with an ugly stretch of street. The website directions weren’t hard to follow. Parking was hard. The signs are weird. One is an old reader board and the big one on the corner has a changing electronic sign. They both look like budget bargains.
Did anyone approach you and speak to you before the service got underway? If so, how did you feel about that? Can you share their name(s)? Did you know them before your visit?
Never more than simple greetings. People were friendly on the surface, but I always felt like people were just doing their duty. I tried both of the morning services.
As you observe the people “doing their church thing,†what goes through your mind? Are you able to understand why they do what they do? Do they seem sincere?
Some people seemed like they were just there because they had to be. Others really got into the worship.
What do you think about the rituals (the liturgy or the program)?
It was ok. Certain parts were good, other things like the preaching were really boring.
Check out the church program/bulletin. Is there anything in it you find confusing or offensive? If this were your “business,†how would you improve this communication piece?
All their bulletins and printed information looks amateur and cluttered.
What did you think of the music? Did you enjoy any of it? Was it boring? Write down the feelings you had while watching or participating.
The music was awesome with lots of passion. The two guys leading the team on guitar and piano were great. I didn’t understand why sometimes some people weren’t participating. On Easter Sunday one of the guys said the same thing. It was cool to see a pastor be honest and put worship into perspective for all of us. The worship was exciting and got me excited about God. Too bad the worship pastor left. I stopped trying the church after that.
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NCxian brought up an important observation about ChurchRater and our focus that I’d like to address here…
The format of ChurchRater is somewhat based on the “attractional†model of outreach.
That model assumes that the major “entry point†to a church community is a visit to a worship service, including lots of folks who just make a “cold callâ€. Thus, our worship services need to be friendly to that first time visiting stranger.
I think the current conversation (and perhaps research) suggests that attracting people to a church service was a good plan when most of the US population was “churchyâ€â€“likely to wind up in a church some day, because we were all pretty much “ethnic Christiansâ€. And I am not suggesting that our Sunday morning services should not be open, friendly, understandable, and so forth.
What I am saying is, a lot of what we focus on here is going to be relevant as we try to reach the remaining folks who are “churchyâ€, but not so relevant to reaching “unreached people groups†in our community.
It would be nice if there was someway to church-rate based on a more wholistic view (although I can’t think of anything to offer).
Good stuff NCxian - I’ve got a lot of thoughts swirling in my mind now…
John S. filled out a review recently about his experiences at Rochester Worldwide Church of God. I was unfamiliar with the Worldwide Church of God denomination and checked it out online. I was surprised to hear they began right here in Oregon (my backyard)!
In this review, John is a guest speaker at the church, so it’s an interesting perspective to hear from someone in that position. Kind of like a review I did as the preacher: “Reviewing the Pew!“
Thanks John!
Church Name:
Rochester Worldwide Church of God
Rochester, MN
Date Attended:
November 5, 2006
Overall Rating:
8 -Â ”I took notes through the sermon. Great worship! Very exciting!”
Was the building easy to find? If you drove, was it hard to find parking? How about the exterior or interior signage what would you do differently?
The building was easy to find, but I didn’t know where to park until a member flagged me down and pointed the way. There was no sign to indicate there was a church meeting in the building. When I got into the building, there were no signs telling me where to go. I heard voices up a flight of stairs and followed them. That’s how I found the service. I had to ask someone where the bathroom was…
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Emily Bullock sent in this review last week. It’s always wonderful to hear from people who’ve had wonderful experiences like this. Thanks Emily!
Church Name - Ridge Point Church, Winter Haven, FL (click here)
Pastor - Timm Collins
Date Attended - October 29, 2006
Overall Rating - 7-8…
“Not bad. Some good jokes & points to remember.”Â
“IÂ took notes through the sermon. Great worship! Very exciting!”
Was the building easy to find? If you drove, was it hard to find parking? How about the exterior or interior signage – what would you do differently?
The directions offered on the website were very clear and easy. It was not hard to find at all. There was sufficent parking available. The only thing I would do differently is maybe put up signs for where the children’s worship area is. There are a lot of doors. Which scares me.
Did anyone approach you and speak to you before the service got underway? If so, how did you feel about that? Can you share their name(s)? Did you know them before your visit?
Many people came up to us and introduced themselves and said they were glad we came. They told us how much we would love the service, which made me look forward to it. I had only met them the day before at the Fall Festival, but they made me feel very welcome.
As you observe the people “doing their church thingâ€, what goes through your mind? Are you able to understand why they do what they do? Do they seem sincere? (more…)
Benjamin Ady III recently sent this thoughtful survey in…
Church Name - Grace Seattle
Church Website - www.GraceSeattle.org
Date Attended - October 15, 2006
Overall Rating - 5. Plain. Inoffensive.
Was the building easy to find? If you drove, was it hard to find parking? How about the exterior or interior signage? What would you do differently?
To be perfectly up front, I need to let you know that I’m currently in the process of officially unbecoming a member of this church - I used to attend, but haven’t been to a Sunday service in some 6 months, and haven’t attended regularly for longer than that. So it was totally easy for me to find. My dad actually came to the end of one of the services here to pick up my kids once, and he complained that there were no handicapped parking spots. My dad has limited mobility so this was annoying for him.
Did anyone approach you and speak to you before the service got underway? If so, how did you feel about that? Can you share their name(s)? Did you know them before your visit?
I spoke briefly to the person organizing the service because I was slated to read a scripture passage. Members get slated for a volunteer duty like this reading every couple months. I’ve actually gotten someone else to cover for me the last 3 times because I didn’t wanna go to the gathering. This time, however, when I got the email saying I was scheduled to do this reading, I thought I’d go because it would be interesting to do this survey. Another guy I know came up and shook my hand and we chatted for a moment. I felt fairly ok–like people were friendly but not pushy.
As you observe the people “doing their church thing,†what goes through your mind? Are you able to understand why they do what they do? Do they seem sincere?
This question touches on part of what has happened to me. I used to be a bit like these people. That is, I used to sit through Sunday morning church services and experience some kind of meaning. And this is no longer the case. It seems very strange to me. I spoke to a lady this morning, and I said “Why are you here?”
And she said: “That’s a Loaded question.”
“Oh, sorry-I didn’t mean to be offensive.”
“No, not at all. A while back I came home to find one of the boarders who stays in my boarding house, a 25 year old young man, dead on the floor. They did an autopsy and multiple tests and could find no reason for him to have died. This made me think that there must be something more. A friend of mine came to this church, and I started coming with her, and it worked for me.”
I know that feeling. There are things that work for me. Sunday morning church is no longer one of them. These people are sincere at some level, but I no longer get it.
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