This was my first time visiting the Fishers campus and my first time attending an in-person service…read morein years. The experience was very pleasant and low-pressure in regard to being visitors and the offering. Some churches can make it a bit uncomfortable for visitors, requiring them to stand and speak. In the past, I've also gone to churches that base the service around the collection of tithes and offerings. There was none of that here. Pastor Jeffrey Johnson Sr. delivered an amazing sermon, entitled "Get Ready" and the choir lead us in some beautiful praise and worship. The church offers lots of opportunities to connect with your church community through different groups and ministries. We will definitely be back.

I know there are many churches but this is the perfect church for me. The word is preached and…read moreexplained and the choir is unbelievable. The prayers are touching and they go out of your way to make you feel welcome. The ushers, the greeters, and everyone there go out of your way to make you feel welcome and they all seem very sincere. I both enjoy and look forward to returning and continue my spiritual journey with my eastern star church family.

Such a welcoming church! We love how friendly everyone is and we instantly felt at home when we…read morewalk inside. We love the children's ministries and always feel completely comfortable leaving our kids there, knowing they are being loved and cared for.

Very welcoming church! My wife and I were glad to see such a great focus on children's ministries…read morehere at ZPC. I liked the Pastor's communication and enjoyed his messages; more topical but challenging sermons and easy relating to daily life from week to week. This church has a library and lots of space to stop and chat, grab coffee. Music is more instrumental, very conducive to a worshipful setting. Highly recommended!

I'm here for Catholic Youth Organization sports. Tonight it's wrestling. Very nice gym facility in…read morethe school building. It accommodates the hundred or so participants and spectators this evening. I loved their reminder on the gym bulletin board to "be the nice kid."

I had a quiet evening on tap and decided it would be a good night to visit a new church in the…read moreIndianapolis area. While I've been on my journey for a while and have been visiting one church semi-regularly, I remain intrigued by Catholicism and decided to visit a new parish. St. Pius is located on Indy's Northeastside near 71st & Keystone in a mostly residential area. The parish includes an elementary school within its community and is set well enough off the road that you really kind of have to look for it a bit before you realize it's there. Part of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, St. Pius is pastored by Father James Farrell with Father David Bunyar as associate pastor. With over 1600 families belonging to the parish, St. Pius has grown quite a bit in its 60 years of existence. St. Pius can be accessed via two different entrances off of East 71st Street, though if you need the accessible parking in the center lot you're best pulling in off of what I believe is actually Sarto Drive. The parking lot is a tad confusing and gets quite busy after a Mass is held, plus the parking lot is one way where the accessible parking is and you can't really access it easily from what looked like the main entrance. As seems to be true of most Catholic parishes, attempts have been made to make the church accessible including accessible parking with curb cuts (at least 3), at least one automatic door closest to the accessible parking, and audio devices to help those with hearing impairments. I could not tell if the altar area was accessible - it wasn't from the front, but it may have been from the back. This is pretty common in Catholic churches, though I have seen some that haven't made this area accessible. The sanctuary reminded me of St. Matthew's - somewhat contemporary with wooden pews and the expected Catholic features. A multi-person worship band led mostly traditional hymns off to the side led a female singer who also played guitar. I realized a little too late that one entrance had the bulletins, while the entrance I used did not. As someone who is inexperienced with Catholicism, this meant I spent most of the Mass rather confused. About halfway through, however, they did start announcing the hymns. There was a guest speaker from a Grenada-based mission - I seem to have a knack for visiting Catholic churches when they have guest speakers. He was quite personable, though the message itself didn't give me a strong feel for the parish. As is usual for Catholic churches, Communion is done toward the end of the Mass and is not open to those outside the Catholic faith. I appreciated that one of the ushers asked if I wanted Communion brought to me, though I obviously respectfully declined. There's a "passing of the peace" type moment during the service, which practically guarantees that as a stranger your presence will at least be acknowledged. I have some friends who appreciate you can go into a Catholic church and just blend in and be left alone, while I've had others bothered by the fact that you could easily attend week after week without ever really encountering people. As a person in a wheelchair, I tend to at least get acknowledged. I would say that St. Pius was on the low end of actual hospitality, though. This was somewhat surprising as I saw multiple people with disabilities, mostly intellectual/developmental, and it would seem the congregation is comfortable with disability. I also noted that they have at least some ministry outreach to Indy's large Burmese population. Overall, this was a middle-of-the-road experience for me. I didn't really feel welcome, though I also didn't really feel ignored or rejected. The congregation is definitely mostly older and my sense was they probably skewed conservative. My sense was that if I appeared regularly that I would likely eventually be greeted. I did really like a sense of welcome for the kids - I'm always a bit bothered when fidgety kids are sent outside. I think it's important for kids to be in the service and I felt like a couple of fidgety toddlers were embraced. As evidenced by the fact that a 60-year-old congregation didn't even have a Yelp page, St. Pius's older population and more traditional service would likely not resonate as deeply with those seeking a more contemporary experience but I found it somewhat soothing. The auditorium had plenty of space in the back for wheelchairs, though I didn't see any other identified places and I would note that during the standing portions of the service it was difficult to see and fully participate. While I doubt I'll return for a second experience, for those seeking a more traditional Catholic experience with mostly, but not exclusively, older congregants St. Pius offers a wonderful option.

Not a very christian church. Turned away my son for preschool, because he was special needs!…read more Find another church

Me and my husband went there for about 8 months and no one ever talked to us. Deff mega church…read moreenvironment

It is a nice church, and people seem to be very warm and welcoming. I understand this isn't…read morenecessarily their fault, but: A small contingent of the parishioners are parents whom seem to thing it is completely acceptable to let their children talk out loud during mass without taking the appropriate steps to either 1)attempt to silence them or 2)excuse themselves and go into the narthex with their child, and as such, makes for a somewhat disruptive worshipping experience. I like going here, but their are times when I feel like I am more in the play area of a Chuck E. Cheese then at mass. Perhaps the church should take formidable steps to address this.

As I continue my journey through Central Indiana churches, I can't help but notice that it seems…read morelike the farther I go away from my actual home the less satisfying my actual experience. I had high hopes for St. Louis Demontfort Catholic Church, a Catholic parish in Fishers right at 114th and Hague Road not too far down the road from Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve. While it's a little bit of a drive for me, it's actually pretty reasonable and I happened to be in the area this afternoon and in the mood for a church service. Established as a parish in 1978 due to the growth of Hamilton County, St. Louis Demontfort includes the main church, a highly respected school, and even a Perpetual Adoration chapel (I'm pretending I actually know what that means). They also have a memorial garden that serves as a prayer labyrinth - if you know me, you know that makes me happy. Father Patrick Glick is the pastor, while Father Travis Stephens is the associate pastor. The church is definitely on the more contemporary end of Catholic churches in the area. Technically, it's in a "neighborhood" but I would have no problem saying it's also set apart. The church is in the front of their large parking lot, while the Perpetual Adoration Chapel (No, seriously. What is that?) is at the back of the building and further back is the school. As you enter off Hague Road, there's two accessible parking spaces to the right of the building that are ADA compliant. The sidewalk is level to the ground, though there's a modest incline up the sidewalk into the church. In 2011, a new altar was designed and built under the direction of the previous pastor. I did notice they have a wheelchair lift up to the altar. Overall, the church seems fairly accessible but I did note that the aisles are fairly narrow and one person sitting in the middle had their walker taken to the back - my guess was so it would not block the aisle. I sat toward the back along a less populated side. Being a Lenten service today, much of the Mass was quite traditional. My guess is if you're more familiar with Catholicism it would have had greater significance. For someone like me, a visitor with a few masses under my belt, it was rather confusing and a little difficult to follow. The music appears to all be traditional hymns. There was a female vocalist who led the music - her voice was beautiful and worked quite nicely with the building's acoustics. I would likely say that those attending were modestly friendly. I was asked about Communion by someone noticing I wasn't going up, while I was casually greeted by a couple folks in the "pass the peace" part of the service. No one, however, actually "introduced" themselves. So, I wouldn't quite call it hospitality. I had a difficult time hearing Father Patrick, though I could hear Father Travis fairly well and I could hear the scripture readers fine. As the message primarily consisted of a dramatic reading, I was familiar with the story but the lack of being able to hear the pastor was definitely distracting. If I return, I would definitely sit closer to the front. My overall experience was sort of middle-of-the-road. The church is contemporary yet quite serene and beautiful. They do have outside security cameras - this may be true of all parishes, but I've not really noticed it before. However, in this day and age it's understandable. The parish seems to be largely white, though there's some diversity present and I noticed a nice mixture of younger and older. The disability representation seemed to be primarily among the older population. The difference between a 3 and 4-star for me is frequently "Will I go back?" My gut feeling is I won't. Of course, that's reasonable given I likely pass several parishes on the way from my Lawrence home. However, mostly it's because I've simply had more welcoming, spiritually fulfilling experiences in other parishes. There's no question there's much to love here and there's a TON of ministries that run out of this very active community parish. Ultimately, I'm glad I visited and can easily say that for those of the Catholic faith this is likely a wonderful church home for those within the parish's geographical boundaries.

I love this church. It has a great sense of community once you get involved. And the school is…read moregreat if you have kids. It's one of the more conservative Catholic churches in the area. There are lots of masses throughout the week, so you should be able to find a time that suits your schedule. The interior is in need of upkeep, but they just started renovations, so that should change soon.

Great place for a coffee and quiet time. Unique environment with options for meetings and one on…read moreone sessions.

I sort of accidentally visited the Binford Campus of Northview Christian Church today for their…read more11am service. I'd originally gone to another church that I've been visiting recently, but in wheeling across the street after this weekend's snow storm found myself stuck and tossing myself out of the wheelchair. Rather than go in soaked, I opted to return home to change clothing. However, I was really in the mood for a church service and after doing some quick checks realized that Northview had an 11am service. So, off I went. Northview Christian Church is likely what would be called a "mega-church," a multi-campus non-denominational church with seven "campuses" including Binford, Carmel, Fishers, Anderson, Greater Lafayette, Kokomo, and Westfield. They also have a couple of "community" locations inside senior living centers along with a "God Behind Bars" ministry. The Binford campus is relatively new, in fact currently undergoing fairly significant construction, and located in what used to be a long vacant medical complex on Binford Boulevard. So, if you look on their website and see "campus pastor" that means the pastor is essentially the pastor of that particular campus/location. As seems to be the new trend in evangelical churches, there's a huge parking lot with volunteers outside to guide you in. If you're visiting, you're supposed to flash your lights so they know to park you toward the front in identified visitor parking. While I was visiting, I knew I was seeking accessible parking and opted to go my own way. They have several accessible parking spots in their front row - they were nicely cleared for the most part post-storm, though perhaps a bit more clearing between space and sidewalk would be appropriate. Still, I was impressed. Their front door is automatic, a nice accessibility feature, and I saw two other adults in wheelchairs. They have a defined Special Needs ministry that goes through high school (if I recall correctly, it started at elementary age). I knew that the main campus, which I believe is the one in Carmel, had Special Needs Ministry (that I believe includes adults) and I was pleased to see that taking place here for the children/youth. The kids area seems very well developed. The temporary auditorium holds about 220, though the new auditorium will be much larger. On the day after a major snowstorm in Indy, my guess is the 11am service was about 1/3 full but it could have been a bit more. Worship is contemporary with guitar, electric guitar, drums, and two female vocalists - the worship leader, whose name I never caught, was a dynamic young woman with a dynamite voice. I wasn't familiar with any of the songs used and the overall vibe seemed fairly low energy today within the congregation. The campus pastor, Garrett Edwards at Binford, leads a fairly brief intro before all eyes are turned on video screens where the Northview senior pastor, Steve Poe, delivers a message that is broadcast to every campus. It's an interesting approach - it creates a consistency of message, which I like, but as a speaker myself I will admit the lack of a personal presence makes it feel like something's missing. However, it seems to work for the good majority of folks present. I was greeted at the door - the actual welcome person had stepped away, but I was impressed that someone else stepped in when it was obvious I was new. She handed me some information and showed me the auditorium. I sat alone for the most part, greeted by one person, Steve, who sat one row up. While I probably gave off a loner vibe, I will admit the lack of human contact surprised me a bit. Overall, my visit today helped me understand why Northview has grown so immensely. The vibe is positive and the energy contagious. Yet, if I'm being honest I just didn't feel comfortable. While that's not totally strange on a first visit, it was a bit disappointing. I love the openness to disability, obviously an important issue to me, and I enjoyed the worship music even if it was unfamiliar to me.They definitely make a strong effort to connect people to smaller groups, important in a big church, but it's still important to build those initial connections on Sunday and, as much as I hate to say it, I just didn't feel particularly welcome. I didn't feel "unwelcome," but that sense of hospitality didn't seem to flow. Was I part of that? Probably. I was nervous about visiting a mega-church and that probably showed in my naturally introverted personality. Again, it feels weird to "rate" a church. However, Northview Church, not to be confused with Northview Church of the Brethren 2-3 miles away, was a place where I understood the appeal but it didn't seem like the right faith community for me.

My wife and I have attended Cornerstone for nearly two years now and feel very fortunate to have…read morefound this church family. There is a feeling of great community within this church, and the relationships we have already built have made us feel like we've belonged for much longer. From community outreach to international mission trips to home groups and Bible-based teaching, this church is doing great things. I would recommend it to anyone seeking a church family and being more than just a face in the crowd of a megachurch.

I am not currently a member but I have been looking for a new church home! I am ready to commit to…read moreCornerstone! Everyone is so friendly, the minister has very relevant sermons that are easy to connect with. I heard the youth pastor preach today and he is very passionate as well! Great sermons! I can't wait to come back every week!