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What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?)
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?)
What's the childcare like?
What's your favorite thing?
What would you change?
Can I wear jeans?
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26 comments:
Name of church: Christian Fellowship
City: Crystal Lake
Website: http://www.christianfellowship.us/
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): Contemporary, loud, long. We spend at least 45 minutes on worship and allow, even encourage people to dance, come up to the stage, wave flags, pray, prophesy.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?): There are 5 pastors so it depends. It tends to be biblical with some cultural relevance. They don't do many fill-in-the-blank powerpoint stuff. I'd call it biblical but casual.
What's the childcare like? Great children's program and they encourage children to participate in worship. So we have kids running around and dancing while we sing praises. It's actually really cool.
What's your favorite thing? The worship, and the fact that they're interested in relating to each other first, not as an afterthought. Those 2 things characterize the church. Unfettered worship, and relationships amongs people.
What would you change? Well, some pastors are better than others at speaking.
Can I wear jeans? Absolutely.
Community Church of God
Danville
dccog.com
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?) Contemporary, loud, but every now and then to keep people on their toes it will change up. We do everything from Martin Luther to Matt Redman to Newsboys. We are very free. 1st service seems to be a little quieter than 2nd.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?) It is culturally relevant, but definately Bible based. We use video and power point every week.
What's the childcare like? It is great, just been revamped. The kids are in service until the sermon, so they dance and twirl with the music. It is cool.
What's your favorite thing? I love how our church relates to each other. I love sitting outside after service and seeing the church be family. And the worship. Love the worship.
What would you change? More people being involved in ministry.
Can I wear jeans? Absolutely.
Name of church: Holy Family Catholic Church
City: Granite City
Website: http://www.HolyFamilyGC.org
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): A mix of all of the above, depending on the Mass.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?): Old school bible (Old Testament reading + Psalm + New Testament reading + Gospel, all of which tie together each week) meets culturally relevant homily.
What's the childcare like?: Bring your own. ;-) Tons of education throughout the week, though, in our school and parish school of religion.
What's your favorite thing?: The Eucharist. After that, the friendly people and the fellowship.
What would you change?: Nothing, really.
Can I wear jeans?: Definitely.
Name of Church: Willow Creek CHICAGO
City: Chicago
Website: http://www.willowchicago.org
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): Our worship music is a blend of contemporary as well as gospel with an occasional hymn -- all beautifully orchestrated around the message topic. We have a talented team of vocalists and musicians who are energetic about what they are doing. Many in our congregation is new to lifting their hands in church, but our pastor encourages people to get into the aisles and dance and sing. There is definitely a diversity of background influences and styles in our music. The official start time of the service is 10am, but for those who want more worship, we invite people to come at 9:46 for 14 extra minutes of worship.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?): We have culturally relevant messages (called "Talks") that are centered on the bible and how to mature in the faith, and sharing in community. While all of our music and dramas are live, about 50% of our teaching is High-Def video from the Main Willow Campus in Barrington - shown on a huge projection screen. Our campus pastor and special guests do the teaching when it's live. At present we do more live teaching than the other Willow campuses.
What's the childcare like?: We have an excellently structured child care program called Promiseland. It accommodates infants through grade school children through the entire service. Our services are held in the Auditorium theater so "classrooms" are created with these wonderfully colorful and imaginative dividers in various parts of the lobby. We can from time to time hear the children's laughter during service. (it's never overpowering though.
What's your favorite thing?
Just ONE favorite thing? I love that Willow Chicago is a unique church -- the "Big Willow" is great, but Willow Chicago has it's own unique 'Chicago Style' flavor. It's a growing and vibrant church where (surprisingly) it's VERY easy to get connected in community and be known. I also love the diversity. There are people from all kinds of backgrounds - at one prayer service we had someone praying in sign language, Spanish, Chinese, Romanian, and a blind person praying! Just as Chicago is a diverse city, Willow Chicago is working to reach that diversity. That's true economically as well -- from the affluent to the homeless -- everyone is part of our church.
What would you change? We don't have our own building (we're only about a year and a half old) and we currently rent the Auditorium Theater - and while it's a beautiful place, we are at times constrained with limited space on the stage or having to hurry out of the building because of an afternoon matinee.
It's very easy to get to our location by Public Transportation (the way I go) but parking in downtown Chicago has a cost. We have a special discounted rate but $5 can be taxing for some week after week.
Lastly it's known that we would all love more live teaching. The teaching from the Main Campus is EXCELLENT but we all love the LIVE experience more. :-) Don't get me wrong - in a theater that size, you'd probably be watching the monitor most of the time anyway, but people do from time to time complain when we have video rather than live teaching.
Can I wear jeans? Certainly! You'll be cool in Jeans, Khakis, Slacks, Shorts, Sweats, whatever suits you best!
Name of church: Life on the Vine (LOV)
City: Long Grove
Website: www.lifeonthevine.org
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): A mix of contemporary music, hymns, and orignial songs that are all doctrinally sound and generally pretty deep lyrically. We usually sing one or two songs near the beginning of the service and then about four more in response to the message. In terms of style, the worship is pretty bluegrass-esque.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?) Always very biblically based, and rather than giving application points, they're focused on submitting to the formative work of the word of God. The sermon isn't the bulk of the service, but all the pieces of the service: silence, worship in song, speaking, prayer, readings, and testimonies fit together to comprise a worship service in which you are a participant rather than an observer.
What's the childcare like? From what I can tell, It's very good, but I don't have kids, so I'm not the most informed. I can tell you how kids are treated in the church. The community of the church includes the children as people, not as "future members." They are valued and included by the members and the leadership.
What's your favorite thing? I relaly love how focused LOV is on being the church and bearing the image of Christ well. I came to LOV being pretty disappointed and hurt by my experiences with churches, and it has been so refreshing to be a part of a community that loves God and cares about the world and one another.
What would you change? Every sunday, we "pray for our church, our community, and the world" 'as-you-feel-led' style, which can get awkward when you have the six people you meet in a prayer circle. (Only, our prayers are "1-2sentences because God knows our need before we ask." So the rambler doesn't show up very much) I don't mind it too much, in fact, I generally like it, but it does get a little long sometimes.
Can I wear jeans? Yup.
Name of church: Fox Valley Church (evangelical free church denomination)
City: Dundee, IL (Chicago
Area - Northwest Suburbs))
Website: http://www.foxvalleychurch.org
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?):
20-25 minutes, band includes guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, worship leader and 3 backup singers - the songs are contemporary praise music (whatever's in vogue at the moment) with one hymn per service (sometimes to a traditional tune, sometimes changed up with a contemporary tune)
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?):
Pastor has his PhD and strikes a good balance of theological, in-depth bible study (85% of sermons are based on studying a passage of Scripture vs. something topical), and practical application for both life and one's perspective about God. Theological bent is Piper-esque and somewhat Reformed.
What's the childcare like?:
Official name is "Journeyland - Kidventures with Jesus" and covers nursery through 5th grade during each service (9am and 10:45am). Parents can keep their children in the service with them if they prefer. All volunteers undergo a background check and training, there is a requirement of 2 adults per classroom, all classrooms have windows and there are 1-2 Children's Ed Coordinators who are on duty in the hall way and at the entrance of the Children's Ed wing during the entire service (can you tell I have a focus on wanting good child-protection policies in place...) Kids come home with a project and paper about the lesson with follow-up questions. I've been pretty happy with the program and feel comfortable having my child there - they are very nurturing and supportive of parents and I feel they have good standards in place.
What's your favorite thing?
I like that there are two services, and there is a fellowship area/coffee bar for mingling after the service.
My favorite thing is the church's Parent's Day Out program - it is awesome (obviously not on Sunday mornings, but a program of the church). We also are involved with some outreach and community service organizations and have a focus on missions which I appreciate.
What would you change?
I wish there was an evening service because I am not a morning person. I am liturgically minded and would love if we occasionally said the creeds and followed the traditional church calendar (we do Holy Week and Advent but there's so much more).
Can I wear jeans?
Of course. You can even wear shorts ; ). It's very 'come as you are' and people are welcome in casual and dress clothes.
Name of Church: Christ Church, PCA
Website: http://www.christchurchpca.org
What's the worship music like?: Pretty standard, but not afraid to try new things. Worship is a little right of the midpoint between old-school and modern. We're definately not afraid to pursue true worship.
What's the speaking like? Hard-core exposition. We move through books of the bible and try to determine God's message of love and grace for us. It's the 'can you eat the 24oz steak? If you can, your meal is free' preaching :).
What's the childcare like? Our son has always felt loved and care is taken with children to ensure that. There's children's church for 3-5 and nursery provided.
What's your favorite thing? The community. We have a beautiful assortment of people that come from a variety of backgrounds. It's alot like my college parachurch fellowship in 'feel'.
What would you change? Not much! :)
Can I wear jeans? As long as they're girl jeans (lol). Seriously, for sure. Shorts too! (but not in January, it's a bit cold...)
Name of church: The Church of Rock Run
City: Joliet, moving soon to Channahon, check the website this fall
Website: http://www.churchofrockrun.com/pwsite/
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): Contemporary, loud-length depends on the Sunday and what works for the whole service.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?)Culturally relevant, very solid.
What's the childcare like?: Awesome! High energy and excellent, with video, music, and small groups led by committed adults who serve every Sunday and put a lot of time into preparation.
What's your favorite thing? I love that people are meeting Jesus here and that's what's making us grow. In general, I love watching people take their next step, even when it's risky and out of their comfort zone.
What would you change? Honestly, not anything big. I love how Rock Run does church and life together.
Can I wear jeans? Absolutely!
Name of church: Eastview Christian Church
City: Normal
Website: www.eastviewchurch.net
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): Contemporary, usually three songs done live by a full rock band. It's so awesome.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?): Speaking is contemporary. Everything is taught out of the Bible. One of our pasters made a great comment last week. "We don't teach into the Bible, we teach out of the Bible."
What's the childcare like? Amazing. It's called KidsView and they have programs from newborn through college. I was told that if your child starts as a newborn and goes through college, they will go through the Bible, start to finish, SIX times.
What's your favorite thing? That the church wants all of it's members to be "Passionately engaged" in spreading the Word. They want every one to help out in the community and do what they can to spread the Word of Jesus.
Also, it's a big chruch (at least for central IL standards) and they do a good job trying to make it feel personal.
What would you change? Nothing really. I was saved by them, I was brought to Jesus by my wife, a member of this church and they have changed my life forever.
Can I wear jeans? You bet, and in the summer, most guys wear shorts!
Name of church: Church of the Resurrection
City: Wheaton, IL
Website: www.churchrez.org
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?) We call it "blended." It is a mix of contemporary and traditional. Hymns and taize all the way up to Chris Tomlin and Hillsong.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?)
Speakers are really good. They are biblically based, but do not necessarily exegete verse by verse. Strong emphasis on connecting God's word to the person in the pew.
What's the childcare like?
Growing! There is Sunday School for kids up until 5th grade. The children will join parents for communion.
What's your favorite thing?
Three streams: Evangelical, Charismatic and Sacramental!
What would you change?
We don't have our own building. Plans are in the works, but still a number of years away.
Can I wear jeans?
Definitely. We have people in suits worshiping next to people in shorts and t-shirts.
Name of church: Church in the Word
City: Elgin
Website:http://churchintheword.com
What's the worship music like?: Contemporary. Couple upbeat songs and a couple slower songs led by a full (and really, pretty awesome) band.
What's the speaking like?: Pastor Hoban is an Irishman (which means the congregation gets a kick out of hearing him say, "Psalm"). He was raised Catholic, came to Christ as a young man during the Charismatic renewal in Ireland, and has traveled much of the world as an evangelist. He speaks straight from the Bible with awesome insight and the experience to preach boldly.
What's the childcare like?: We don't have childcare; we do children's ministry (or so I'm told, I've never actually been in there). I do know that after the services all the kids run around the lobby really pumped up. The ministry is growing faster than we can provide space for.
What's your favorite thing?: The family atmosphere. Worship is intimate and the message is conversational. After the service our benevolence ministry opens their free grocery store in the back. We don't have a hip cafe or lounge furniture in the lobby, but people hang out after the service.
I also really like the spontaneity of the time. Sometimes worship goes longer if the presence of God is thick. Sometimes the pastor will do an altar call if he feels people need it. Sometimes someone will come forward with a prophecy. Leadership is dependent on the Holy Spirit and it's refreshing.
What would you change?: I'd like to see more multi-media used maybe.
Can I wear jeans? Of course.
Name of church :Calvary Church
City: Naperville IL
Website: http://www.calvarynaperville.org/templates/cuscalvary06/default.asp?id=22090
What's the worship music like?
We have a little bit of everything contemporary, hymns with choir and orchestra. Drums, electric guitar...we have it all even a harp! is about 30-45 minutes long
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?)
Is old School from the bible but at times with some visial aids from videos and drama teams and a joke here and there from Pastor.
What's the childcare like?
AWESOME!! Tons of stuff for all ages and also a room for nursing moms who wish to see and listen to the sermon.
What's your favorite thing?
We have the most honest down to earth pastor!
What would you change? I would add Sunday night service! :)
Can I wear jeans? Of course!
Name of church: church of wrigleyville
City: chicago
Website: www.cowrigleyville.com
What's the worship music like? loud rearranged hymns + plus new stuff
What's the speaking like? no sermon notes or bulletins here; currently spending a year on the book of matthew.
What's the childcare like? stories, snacks, and play-doh for 9 and under
What's your favorite thing? the community
What would you change? parking is impossible if you don't live in the neighborhood. (particularly on cubs home game days.)
Can I wear jeans? yes -- but if you want to dress up, you won't stick out either -- anything goes.
Name of church: Trinity Christian Center
City: Zion
Website: www.realpurpose.net
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): Contemporary - a cross between Brooklyn Tabernacle and Chris Tomlin (leaning more toward the Tomlin side, but they do try!).
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?): relevant and practical without being "watered down." We're A/G - not afraid to let the Holy Spirit direct the service - but also excellent at keeping order according to Paul's instructions in I Corinthians!!
What's the childcare like? Well, I'm the children's pastor, so I'm a bit biased :o). Very high-energy and fast-paced; we believe that kids' church is REAL church - just done at a different level of learning. We have a blast! All of our volunteers in the nursery, preschool, and kids' church are thoroughly screened and background-checked. We love kids at our church and it shows in all areas of ministry (including our Wednesday night programs!).
What's your favorite thing? Our church is very multicultural, with more than 20 nations represented among the congregation. Our senior pastor and his wife (his co-pastor) are "out of this world" amazing - they maintain a degree of excellence and professionalism and still manage to be warm and loving toward everyone who walks in the doors!
What would you change? The kids' ministry would have their own space instead of having to share with the youth ministry...but that day's coming!!!
Can I wear jeans? Of course.
Name of Church: Shale Harbor
City: Lemont
Website: www.shaleharbor.com
Worship Music: none. We worship creatively through art, listening, sacrifice, video,etc. We don't like to sing.
Teaching: All video teaching from the best teachers across the United States. We have a teaching team of 15-20 teachers that is constantly changing.
Childcare: We pretty much have a group of people play with the kids for an hour so the adults can meet. It's the parents responsibility to train their kids up in the ways of the Lord.
Favorite thing: We all eat breakfast together every Sunday. Authentic relationships. The good, bad, ugly is shared. We are a safe place to change. Sunday's are never the same week to week.
What would I change? Nothing
Can I wear jeans? Most everyone wears shorts and t-shirts. You can wear jeans if you want.
Name of church: Hope Covenant Church -we are part of the Evangelical Covenant Church of America
City: Crystal Lake
Website: hope-covenant.net
What's the worship music like? It's "blended" but definitely 3 parts contemporary, 1 part traditional. I will say that we have an inordinately large amount of musical talent in our church. I think that we should trade a couple guitar players for some youth ministry volunteer prospects and some draft picks to be named later.
What's the speaking like? Tends to be topical series based. We just finished the “Walk Across the Room” series. Some PowerPoint, some expository preaching. Our senior pastor isn’t afraid to try new things.
What's the childcare like? Nursery for both services, children’s church, Sunday school between services (all ages). All secure and background checked.
What's your favorite thing? We have awesome sound guys. That’s is an odd thing to appreciate but they are on their game. We really have a good family church. Attendance is around 200 so we are not tiny, but still very close. Solid worship and a good focus on our mission of serving Christ.
What would you change? Recently our volunteerism has been low. It has been a church wide push. It probably stems from doing to many programs, but still we are in a crunch.
Can I wear jeans? Sure. We also have a small but very dedicated Hawaiian shirt contingent.
Name of church: Crosspoint Community Church
City: Eureka, IL
Website: www.crosspointcc.org
What's the worship music like?: Live band, contemporary, authentic
What's the speaking like?: Bible-based, applicable to life, authentic
What's the childcare like? Childcare offered for ages birth-6th grade. The ministry is called SonChasers, and I think it rocks!
What's your favorite thing?: The emphasis on building relationships, with God, with one another, and with the world around us.
What would you change?: We're a growing church, so keeping up with that growth causes us to change and adapt constantly to meet needs. I love the challenge of that!
Can I wear jeans? You bet. Nearly everyone does.
Name of church: Evangical Free Church, Naperville (EFCN)
City: Naperville, IL
Website: www.efcn.org
What's the worship music like?
3 different options
1)Traditional – Sunday 9:30am
There is no organ and we don’t have hymn books. The music is “contemporary light.” There is a full orchestra and choir (both made up of church volunteers). Songs are a mix of contemporary, upbeat hymns and gospel.
2)Contemporary – Sunday 11:00am & Saturday 6:30pm
These services are high energy and a little edgier. Expect drums, electric guitars, keyboard, full percussion and the occasional “other” instrument mixed in. The praise team is usually a handful of great singers. Oh yea, there are moving lights and fog machines too.
3)Sacramental – Saturday 5:00pm
I’ve never been to this service, but our website says, “[It’s] an experience that blends together the God honoring forms of ancient liturgy with relevant worship and teaching. Holy Communion is celebrated at the Sacramental service each Saturday. [Expect] inspiring worship that includes responsive readings, a sense of community with your fellow worshipers and moments of quiet contemplation and reflection.
What's the speaking like?
Pastor Dale has a solid theological background. He can take the bible and relevantly apply it to every day life. He doesn’t look down at notes. You can tell he’s preaching from his heart. Plus he’s not afraid to use props.
What's the childcare like?
I don’t have kids, so I’m not sure. There’s a whole wing dedicated to children. I’m sure it’s great.
What's your favorite thing?
The church feels alive when you walk in. We picked EFCN not only for the great pastor and worship experience, but also because they have a great young couple’s ministry.
What would you change? Nothing.
Can I wear jeans? Absolutely. Wear jean shorts if you want.
Name of church: Cornerstone Church
City: Marion
Website: www.cornerstonesi.org
What's the worship music like? very contemporary, lots of Third Day, Chris Tomlin, Lincoln Brewster, etc. with an occasional updated hymn thrown in; can get a bit loud but very worshipful
What's the speaking like? always relevant, but strongly grounded in Scripture; great use of video, object lessons, and the like
What's the childcare like? excellent! Kids on the Rock is children's church for older elementary age students, there is also a junior children's church for the preschool set; no "holding pen" type mentality; kids love it! The children's ministry is one of our church's greatest strengths!
What's your favorite thing? You will never catch us doing something simply because it is "tradition." It must be relevant and grounded in scripture. We are very much a "discipling" church and not geared toward "seeker friendly," but visitors always feel welcome and there are lots of opportunities to ask questions for those who are not familiar with "christianeze."
What would you change? Nothing other than a bigger building. We're going to run out of room in the near future. . .
Can I wear jeans? Absolutely! And shorts too. Well, maybe not in the winter. You might look pretty funny. :-)
Name of church: The Orchard (Orchard Valley Community Church)
City: Aurora, IL
Website: www.orchardvalleyonline.com
What's the worship music like?
We love good music at The Orchard. Worship is contemporary and is lead by a great team. It's usually pretty upbeat with worship from groups like Hillsong United. Our worship leader, Mike Jones is a Goatee Guy. :) Sometimes they'll cover secular songs that go along with whatever the service is about that weekend.
What's the speaking like?
Our lead pastor, Scott Hodge, is the primary speaker, and he is incredibly culturally relevant with his talks. Whether he is addressing faith or parenting, the talk is engaging and challenging, wherever you are in your spiritual journey. Scott sometimes uses video or other culturally relevant forms of communication to supplement the message he's trying to get across.
What's the childcare like?
Childcare at The Orchard is designed to help kids grow in their own relationships with Jesus and to help the parents by giving them tools to help their children grow. On sunday mornings there is childcare ranging from infant through fifth grade. Elementary schoolers (K-5) go to Wahabu land, where they have a large group meeting with worship, video, and a talk that is relevant to them, and then small group meetings that reinforce whatever virtue their learning about. Middle school and high school have separate meetings during the week.
What's your favorite thing?
My favorite thing about The Orchard is the great welcoming environments that they create. From the moment you walk in the door, there is a friendly face and the smell of coffee. Even though it's a big, growing church, it's possible to connect and be welcomed right away, no matter where you are in life.
What would you change?
I wish that our worship time was a little longer. They usually play about three songs, which always leaves me wanting more.
Can I wear jeans?
Definitely. Wear whatever you want.
Name of church Calvary UMC
City Normal IL
Website www.cumcnormal.org
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?)Yes. We have traditianal and contemporary services.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?) Traditional, bible focused. Same Sermon at all 3 services.
What's the childcare like? Great we have Nursery thru Highschool groups every week (even in the summer) I'm not too familliar with it because we don't have kids, but I've heard good things.
What's your favorite thing? We have something to fit everyone. Casual at 8, traditianal at 9:30 and contemporary at 11.
What would you change? I'd like to see the contemporary keep even more so! but we need more forward thinking members of the congregation to get there. It's still a fairly young service (only 3-4 years)
Can I wear jeans? At 8 and 11 absolutly. 9"30 is still REALLY traditional.
Name of church: Antioch Bible Church
City: Wheeling
Website: http://antiochyouth.net/Home.html
This is the Youth website. our church only recently started an adult english ministry.
What's the worship music like? THe korean adult service sings both contemporary and hymns. The Youth Group is the same, but it's mostly contemporary. Usually, it's just someone up front with a mic and a guitar. The adult english ministry(EM) does not have a worship service. Instead, the youth and EM join together on Sunday.
What's the speaking like? Culturally relevant and soundly based on the Word.
What's the childcare like? The Children's ministry is good and the main leader for that ministry has quite a lot of experience under her belt.
What's your favorite thing?
Saturday night Discussions with the EM. They are at 7 pm. We cook together, discuss relevant topics, and then just hang out together. That and the fact that our leaders and pastor are just very honest and open.
What would you change?
... um... ::toss hair:: we're perfect! haha. I'm kidding. But I don't think at the moment i would want to change anything. Maybe getting a few more leaders or more people for the EM.
Can I wear jeans?
Of course.
Name of church: Carpenters House Community Church
City: Carpentersville
Website: www.carpentershouse.net (the website is still under construction!)
What's the worship music like?
(Contemporary, hymns, long, fast,
loud etc?): Worship is contemporary. We do a lot of hillsong, Kari Jobe, and Chris Tomlin. Worship can go really, really long. We have a more open, charismatic style, so if God is moving, we go with the flow. Worship is amazing, and it never falls flat or seems like we're just going through the motions.
What's the speaking like? The speaking is very biblical. The pastor has a somewhat traditional preaching style. Even so, it relates to every day life and always touches the heart. He isn't afraid to touch the sticky subjects.
What's the childcare like? Children stay with the parents during worship. During the rest of the service, there is nursery for infants- 2 years, longer if the child isn't quite ready to move up. Children are formally dismissed after worship, and new parents can bring there children downstairs to get checked in. There is junior youth for ages 10-12 during the service. They play games, right now they are doing something called "The Amazing Verse" but I'm not quite sure what it is, but it seems fun!
What's your favorite thing? I love that it's small and that everyone pretty much feels like family. Though it may seem very close knit to newcomers, we are very welcoming. I became a part of the bunch after just a few weeks. I like that there are small groups, youth groups, and wednesday night services. I like that we're not afraid to let God move. But, overall, my favorite thing is that going to this church has caused me to grow tremendously in my faith.
What would you change? It's pretty small at the moment- only about 75 people. I would like for it to get a little bigger- maybe 200 or 300 people, and for there to be more youth. Right now, it is mainly families with children, and actually a fair amount of young adults (20-25), but few youth.
Can I wear jeans? Absolutely. About half the people dress up a bit, and the other half come in jeans, or shorts, or whatever.
Name of church: Parkview Christian Church
City: Orland Park Il
Website: www.parkviewchurch.com
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?): contemporary, full band.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?): "seeker friendly" as a mega church, it's the standard "culturally relevant" teaching you'd find anywhere else. Lots and i do mean lots, of video clips.
What's the childcare like?; From what i know of it, great. Dedicated volenteers and great programs. Student Ministries well developed as well.
What's your favorite thing? The emphasis on invovlement. Small groups are large part of the parkview community.
What would you change? It's a mega church, parkview does "mega church-y" things that sometims feel dumbed down or salsey.
Can I wear jeans? yes. the church had a billboard once with a pair of jeans and a tagline reading "we're a relaxed fit." In sort, definately.
Name of church: Covenant Fellowship Church
City: Champaign/Urbana, IL
Website: http://cfchome.org/
What's the worship music like? (Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, loud etc?)
Our praise team is definitely very musically talented. We sing contemporary worship songs (think Hillsong, etc) and during retreats and lock-ins the music can sometimes go long. On Friday large groups, we usually have two male and female singers, drums, bassist, piano, electric and acoustic guitar. Sundays are formal service so the music is more toned down.
What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?)
The head pastor, Rev Min Chung, preaches on Fridays and Sundays. The preaching style is Biblical exposition – it can take a bit to get used to, but I think it’s good because the Word goes straight from the Bible to the congregation. There’s less twisting or splicing random verses together to support the pastor’s own interpretation. Everything is presented in context and on sound theological doctrines. On Sundays there are two services – one at 9:30 am and one at 12:30 pm.
What's the childcare like?
There are many families in the church. Childcare is offered, as well as Sunday School. The church also provides a live feed of the service in a separate room so that parents with small children can stay with their kids and still listen to the sermon.
What's your favorite thing?
I love how there are so many opportunities to meet God and grow. CFC offers so many options for growth and prayer and many people take advantage of the abundance. There’s morning prayer 5 days a week for people to start their work days with God, there’s Wednesday night prayer meeting for personal prayer, Thursday night prayer meeting for corporate prayer, Sunday evening missions prayer meeting for those convicted to pray for missions. CFC also holds several “classes” throughout the year that cover a variety of topics – from Understanding the Bible to Systematic Theology to Heart Motives. I also love the small group community – so many good relationships develop from small groups.
What would you change?
I would say the church culture but I’m not sure how one would ever be able to change that in a church that is of this size.
Can I wear jeans?
Yes on Fridays and any other meeting. On Sundays, services are formal so we try to dress nicer as respect to God.
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