Sharon S. lives in the conroe area not New jersey. I give this place a 1 star only because I have to put something. In my opinion I would steer clear of this church. They preach church discipline and although you believe you may never be disciplined you are being disciplined all the time and you don't even know it. They usually get people on gossip and being divisive. It's a convenient way of getting rid of those who question their authority. They can't defend their position scripturally so they have to use gossip and divisiveness. People who report to the elders are always watching what you say and what you do. If you don't heed their suggestions or instructions then they deal with you and it will not get to the entire church until they (elders)decided you are not going to fall in line. This is my opinion based on my time there in what I have seen personally. It's very subtle at first but once your talked to by an elder then you feel cornered and your not sure what to do then it's like you have been hood winked. Also the counseling ministry well might want to stay clear of that or run. Everything you say is not confidential look at the application in full before you even think about signing. They even tell you the information you share is not always kept between you and your counselor. If something go's wrong in counseling LBC is protected against you from suing them. You also give permission for them to share information with each other which in turn they have been known to share with their spouses. The covenant application you fill out or church application DON'T SIGN it is a legally binding contract and it protects LBC , the Elders, and not YOU! There's nothing here that i'm saying which isn't true. If you are under discipline know that you will at some point BE SHUNNED!!! People you have known for years will all of a sudden not call, not communicate with you. It's done in a very subtle but backhanded way. You won't know it has happened until you realize those friends who were normally speaking to you or in your life just all of a sudden stop!!! They will never tell you to your face that you are going to be or are being shunned. It's a shock when it happens and it is incredibly wicked. This is what the pastor is teaching and because these members are so enthralled by him they will do it. Some of them want his favor others want position in this church. I am putting this out there because it's terrible and I would if I were you stay with any like minded church to this one, meaning a John MacArthur sister church. One where the leadership went to the Master's Seminary. They all are the same and work together like a tightly oiled machine. If you are ex communicated , disciplined and not brought back into the flock you can consider all your close relationships with members to be broken off even before it is final. Also he will send the church to confront you along with cutting off any business if you have one. They are capable of hurting your livelihood. Also if you ever move or leave they tell you that they will assist you in finding another church. Do you know that this is only partially true. You will not be able to attend another church outside of a MacArthur trained church. If you go against that then they try to convince you that you are not being biblical and then if you still resist then you fall under discipline because again you signed the application and agreed to their crap bylaws. Think about it if you go to another MacArthur church they keep the money within the family meaning your tithes and offerings and free volunteers to do work they should be paying for. I'm not saying you shouldn't volunteer but it sure makes it nice for them to keep your tithes and get free labor! This is a tightly oiled machine where the theology controls you along with the leadership. Also try to question their theology and see what happens. Try to question them at this church in anything and all of a sudden it becomes about you or your marriage and they deviate from the real issue at hand meaning your questions. People have tried it and they were put under discipline or left quietly and lost friendships. Also how can anyone follow a theology where they say God picks those He chooses for heaven and those he created just to damn to hell?????? This would mean that God sends children, babies, and mentally disabled to go to hell if they don't understand and accept their doctrine. In fact it's already been chosen by him. There is no free will in their teachings, or true repentance. There's not even true evangelism because they call it easy believism. All the people chosen in leadership in this church are either young and can be groomed sent off to The Master's Seminary or are men and women of means (live very well ) You never see a 30,000 a year family as an elder, deacon, or in that type of leadership. I have not seen it maybe i'm wrong though. read more

I am the mother of the child who was sexually abused by another member of this church. Whoever is monitoring google they must be reporting my comments and getting them removed. As they may not want new people coming in or members who don't know the story to know what happened the pastor of this church blaming the victim for their own abuse. In my opinion after our experience here I don't believe this is a safe place for any child, woman, or man to worship. We were discarded by the pastor/elders my childs perpatrator was given refuge and care while my child suffered in silence because of the pastor in this church. As you can see we did not keep silent nor will we remain silent as long as the pastor continues to sweep this under the rug , provide refuge for abusers, and hides the fact that there are registered sex offenders in this church. Although they may be reformed I as a parent would like to know who is around my children if the leadership has knowledge of such things. My biggest concern is what do they do when sexual abuse occurs on a child? In my experience they 1. Silence the parent(me) 2. shame the victim and blame, 3. they bring the rapist back into the church unbeknownst to the victim and members4. the pastor go's to bat for the perpatrator in court behind victims back, 5. Pastor uses his pulpit to shame the victim by claiming the victim participated in their own abuse, 6. Pastor /Elders place victim and family under church discipline for reporting the abuse and persuing justice legally for child, 7. said pastor abolishes all relationships personal/business from the victim and parent in order to get them back into submission and to punish for not shutting up! If you ever experience sexual or spiritual abuse in this church of any kind expect these things to occur. It is my opinion based on our experience and what we have learned from other former members. My childs story is documented online at a major blog who support and provide care to child sex abuse victims. Just google Ken Ramey /Teen Rape and it will come up on the top of google search under the acronym TWW. the Wartburg Watch blog. My childs story is there from the perpatrators confession through his plea deal(which is an actual court document) , my childs medical records reflecting the sexual assault the night it occurred to include the rape exam, the medical bill from my child being transported by ambulance to the hospital, to the emails exchanged between me and this pastor (him telling us to move on, get over it!) , to being placed under church discipline, to the pastor sending out a mass email accusing victim of being responsible for their rape! Again it is my opinion based on being a former member there for over five years that this is not a safe place. Our treatment to this day is terrible as the pastor along with the church has shunned us and destroyed business relationships which took food off our table literally. If you would like to contact me directly please feel free to contact the wartburg watch those who do the blog. They will get you in direct contact with me or you can comment there and we can get connected if you have any questions that might clear up any misinformation you may have been fed. Do not I repeat do not get sucked into this place. We were sucked in for years and I can tell you after meeting with many many former members I wish they had said something sooner or I wish I had known all the stuff going on here which I believe makes it unsafe for any family or at the very least abusive! read more

Jeanna Cummings, ya this lady has it rough. For one her daughter's husband is the music minister at lakeside. So they lived in an upity area in california while their daughter Kristin DeAgula attended ken ramey's youth group! Now she's married to the music "Pastor" at lakeside bible church making a hefty income. She's not a single mother nor has she ever been. In addition to this its funny how the church provides food, transportation, and other needs to members who make great money have a savings but hey if they are in a certain status and fall on any hard times rest assured the church will cover it. However if your a single dad, mom, or just not making enough money, good luck! These people man it's funny how fake reviews will pop up from members nitched into this church. Everyone should ask what income does the pastors make? I guarantee you they make a hell of a lot more than most hard working Americans. He will never tell you oh and I would ask about the pastors retirement, medical, and savings packages. The church collects over a million plus a year in tithes and offerings. We added it up on the bulletins they give us every sunday. If you take that plush the families on the church directory everyone would have to give 450+ a month to equal what they collect and this includes children. I never give that much a month so how can I be added to that, this means less than 200 out of the 200 families don't give 450 + a month. This church is a sham and they are making awesome money off of it's members and then getting free labor disguising it as serving in the church. So they get free labor and over a mil a year in tax free donations. I wonder if Jeanna C. and her husband benefit because I know her daughter and son in law do! read more

Isn't this the place that covered up the rape of a child and basically blamed the victims? Read for yourself https://thewartburgwatch.com/tww2/2016/03/03/ken-ramey-and-lakeside-bible-church-elders-cause-pain-for-a-young-rape-victim-and-his-mother/ read more

This church has some ok points to it. This of course is if you are a Staunch Calvinist and believe god sends babies to hell.