Sunday, June 15, 2008

Kentucky

Be the first to list your church. Simply post a comment with the following short info:

Name of church
City
Website
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?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Southeast Christian Church
Louisville, KY
(502) 253-8000
www.southeastchristian.org

Contemporary worship that is extremely professional. I'd like a little more edgy but it's a big church that's doing a good job of trying to meet a wide variety of needs. Other worship services exist, too. Try "The Post" on Tuesday nights.

Dave Stone is the pastor. Kyle Idleman is his associate. They share the preaching from week to week. Dave is more modern-traditional. Kyle is very modern. Kyle has "the chair". They're not scared of heavy issues, either: other religions, pornography, homosexuallity, depression, death, heaven and hell...Sermons can cut deep but Jesus is always the answer and that's made very clear.

Childcare will rock your world. It's like Fort Knox and nobody's getting your kid but you. I have kids in the programs and the teaching is very Biblical and very age appropriate. And FUN!

Favorite thing: Southern hospitality like you have never seen. (I think these people have sweet tea running through their veins.) I've never seen so many friendly, helpful people. And it's okay to show up broken; you'll be in good company. Next favorite thing is my weekend group (Sunday school class) called Foundations in FH 118 at 10:15. Excellent Biblical teaching, fellowship, and free doughnuts. TONS of secret bathrooms.

What would I change? Hard one. I'd change all the stigma associated with a church of this size, which is about 18,000 people. True, Southeast will not be the church for everyone, however, to write it off simply due to its size is a mistake. People love Jesus and it shows.I have never seen a church so intentional about presenting the Gospel. On a selfish note, I'd like to see more cow bell and triangle roaming worked into the service.

Yes, you can wear jeans. You can drink out of your Scripture Sipper. You can hang out with me and be ridiculous, talk about SCL, and ride the escelator. It's free no matter how many times you ride!!! Now that's worth a visit.

Anonymous said...

Bowling Green Christian
Bowling Green, Kentucky
http://www.bowlinggreenchristian.org/
worship: praise band, worship team, mostly comtemporary, words on power point with animation, occassional hyms with modern beat
presently looking for preacher, random speakers and styles at the moment
childcare: nursery all three services, children's church at second service
my favorite thing is the worship
what I'd change: it's hard to find out who's in charge of what. (ie If I really like to do landscaping, who do I contact to help out?)
You can definitely wear jeans - even on Sunday mornings

Anonymous said...

Highland Vineyard
1649 Cowling Ave
Louisville, KY 40204
www.churchdonedifferently.com

What's the worship music like?
Mostly contemporary

What's the speaking like?
culturally relevant

What's the childcare like?
Nursery and childcare during the service

What's your favorite thing?
It's an INCREDIBLY welcoming community, laid back feel, and we do alot to serve the community

What would you change?

Can I wear jeans?
Yes, and generally the pastor does too. :-)

J.L. Neyhart said...

I was going to talk about Southeast too but Stacy already beat me to it! Figures, we are a rather large church... but I totally agree with what she said! She said it better than I could have anyway :) I can vouch for the college age/twenty something ministry - The Post is on Tuesday nights and it really does rock - and the community aspect has really been growing as people truly are connecting with each other and with God.

Anonymous said...

Christ Centered Church
Lexington
Website under construction

Worship music: Our music is primarily Southern gospel, with an increasingly large number of contemporary Christian (i.e., Chris Tomlin, etc.) songs added in. Our pastor and some other folks have a gospel quartet that is excellent, and they perform most Sundays. The pastor is a music lover, so the music service is long, but moving and enthusiastic.

Speaking: Our pastor is kind of a toned-down old school Bible speaker. He doesn't yell or rant-- it's not his style, and he is somewhat into the culturally relevant references. He tackles even the toughest issues head-on, and doesn't pull any punches, but every message is filled with love, both his and God's. His messages are earnest and thoughtful, usually with a bit of comedy thrown in.

Childcare: We have children's church through 8th grade for our second service, as well as preschool class and nursery. We're a small church, so "crowd control" isn't really an issue.

My favorite thing: Our pastor and the people. This is the warmest, kindest group of people I could ever imagine meeting anywhere. My mom was in the hospital, in ICU, for five weeks a couple of years ago. At least one person from church came to sit with us every single day, and usually brought food with them. Even people who are there for the first time comment on the amount of love you feel there.

What I would change: We need more young people. A recent survey of our members noted that more than 50% of our congregation is over 50. The church can't continue to grow without some younger folks to help it along.

Can I wear jeans?: Absolutely! Sunday mornings bring folks in all kinds of dress, from three-piece suits and nice dresses to jeans, shorts, and sweats.

Adam said...

St. Michael Orthodox Church
Louisville, KY
http://stmichaelorthodoxchurch.com/

Music: Byzantine and Russian style chant, (all in English)

Speaking: 20-30 min sermon based on the scripture reading for the day.

Childcare: Children of all ages sit with there parents, children are an important part of the community. During the school year there is Sunday school for children and adults. VBS in the summer.

Favorite Thing: It is very Christ Centered. The music is really well done, the choir sounds like they are professionals. Most everyone is friendly and you can meet people from all over the world, like Eastern Europe, Greece, the Middle East and all over the states. Services everyday of the week. Very Family friendly. Engaged in evangelism.

Change: ? I'll have to get back to you.

Can I wear jeans: if you want to, some men wear a suit and tie some wear jeans and t-shirt.

There are services everyday:
Sunday: Morning Prayer 0930
Liturgy 1030
M,W,F: Morning Prayer 0700
T, TH,S: Evening Prayer 1800

The pastor is Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Atty, their are also a few assistant clergy. St Michael is a vibrant and growing Church of about 900. Their are programs of study for many interests, like Bible Study and Church History, ect. College ministry (Orthodox Christian Fellowship) at University of Louisville. This is not an ethnic parish. If you want to learn more about the Orthodox Church it is a great place do it, their is a seekers class. All people are welcome.

drew said...

Hope Community Church
Lawrenceburg/Frankfort, KY
www.hopecommunitychurch.net

What's the worship music like? "Contemporary, hymns, long, fast, and loud" could all be used, i guess. I'm the worship leader, so i don't know how to best describe my leading, but we do all sorts of styles. I guess we'd be described as contemporary; drums, electric guitars, etc... but things change from week to week.

What's the speaking like? (Old school Bible, culturally relevant, by video etc?) The speaking is usually done by our pastor, Jeff Eaton. He's very down-to-earth and likable. People often compare him to Ron White, but without the scotch and cigar and foul language. We podcast if you want a sample--look up hope church frankfort on itunes.

What's the childcare like? Fabulous. honestly, i think our children's ministry might be the strong suit of our church. Fun, active, and very creative. I've never heard a kid complain about it, and i ask them.

What's your favorite thing?
My favorite thing is the people. It's the most raw and authentic group of people i've ever been around. there's not a lot of spiritual facade; people just genuinely love people for who they are. (And there are rocking chairs on the front porch. We have been deemed the First Church of Cracker Barrel. Seriously, one of the kids in our church went with his grandfather to a cracker barrel, saw the rocking chairs and asked him if they were going to church.)

What would you change? We're a young (in the faith) community, so there's a lot still to change. What i'm praying will change, and i think is changing, is our desire to be active in the community on a grander scale. i'm praying our heart for missions here and everywhere grows and grows.

Can I wear jeans? most people do. you can wear what you want.

Cameron said...

Southland Christian Church
Lexington, KY
www.southlandchristian.org

At the 608 service for young adults and college age students, it's very contemporary and edgy, but still includes some hymns in a modern way. Lots of David Crowder, Redman, Tomlin, Stanfill, along with stuff written by the worship leaders along with some John Mayer & Coldplay sometimes. The Saturday night or Sunday morning services are a little more contemporary Christian, a little less edgy, but still not traditional.

The head pastor is usually the one who speaks - Jon Weece - he rarely uses notes and just speaks from the heart. It feels like he's speaking directly to you and while he definitely is convicted and passionate, he makes you feel like you can leave with something positive to offer or something tangible to do. You always leave with hope and a desire to be better. And he's hilarious and moving at the same time, which takes some talent.

I don't have kids, but from what I have heard the childcare is excellent. There is childcare offered at every service with more in-depth childcare, like Sunday School and things like that offered on Sunday mornings.

My favorite thing is hearing Jon Weece speak. Coming from a church that really put a bad taste in my mouth for religion in general, it's refreshing and inspiring to be involved in a church with a pastor who clearly wants his congregation to BE the church to the community. I just feel like I can be used when I am there.

I would definitely change the perceptions people have about big churches with lots of money. I had the same initial perceptions, but after going there you see that their hearts and focus are in the direction of reaching out to the community, the country and the world. They really use the money they have for some really amazing things.

You can definitely wear jeans. I showed up in sweatpants and a t-shirt one night when I wasn't feeling so hot and it was totally fine. It's very come-as-you-are.