I attended Boundless Church on Palm Sunday (March 29th) with my wife and our four children, hoping…read moreto reconnect with my faith after years of feeling distant.
Years ago, this church was known as Family Church when Pastor Dave Ansell was leading. Back then, it truly felt like a family church in every sense of the word. Life took me in a different direction, and over time my faith drifted. Recently, I've been searching again, and that Sunday felt like it mattered. It felt like the day I was supposed to come back.
We arrived excited, as a family, ready to worship together.
As we walked in, I considered checking our kids in, but my younger children have never really been away from their mother and were not ready. Instead of forcing them, we made the decision to stay together as a family and attend service.
That's when things immediately felt off.
We were directed away from the main auditorium and told to go upstairs into a separate room to watch the service on a TV. It felt isolating and honestly like a punishment for having children. Worship is supposed to be about unity, not separation.
Trying to make the best of it, we went back downstairs to enter the main auditorium. That's when we were stopped. My wife explained that our children are well-behaved and would not cause a disruption. An older gentleman then stepped forward and said, "We don't allow kids in here."
We were turned away, in front of others, with our children standing there.
It was embarrassing, disheartening, and honestly shocking.
I couldn't help but think of Matthew 19:14, "Let the little children come to me... and do not hinder them." I also thought about the message every church promotes: "Come as you are" and "All are welcome."
That is not what we experienced.
We were redirected, restricted, and ultimately rejected.
This church once felt like a place where families belonged. When it was Family Church, it truly lived up to that name. Since then, it has been rebranded multiple times and is now called Boundless Church. Ironically, the first thing we experienced were boundaries.
This was a moment that mattered for me and my family. It could have been a turning point in reconnecting with faith and community. Instead, we left feeling like we did not belong.
Very disappointing experience.