I took my children there years ago because I felt they needed religion and I grew up Catholic and had attended Christian churches before. First thing you get hit with walking in is the selling. Book shop, coffee shop, merch... Being lower income, I couldn't tithe much so I would care for the babies in the nursery and watch the service on the tv in there. I was asked to help with the toddlers once, and was very surprised to hear the woman running the toddler program ask these 2-3 yo children for offerings, and she then went on to explain to them the difference between tithes and offerings. They were barely able to articulate bathroom urges, but were expected to comprehend tithes and offerings. I once had to ask for help with a utility bill due to a shutoff notice and was told I wasn't tithing enough and was told I should include Food Stamp income in my tithing. During services, they were constantly asking the congregants for offerings. At the time I was there, it was to buy infrared cameras for the fire department. Not for the station next to the church here in Albuquerque, but the one in Rio Rancho, where the pastor lived at the time. They built a tiny, child-sized indoor town on their Albuquerque campus - complete with storefronts, sidewalks, streets and streetlights. It was at the back of the building. They also bought the Verizon call center across the street and opened a private school. City police are dealing with their traffic every Sunday on taxpayer dollars. Now for the sermons - very much not what Jesus taught. Very right wing mentality, anti-LGBTQ messages (ie: don't eat at McDonald's because their employees can get gender reassignment surgery through their insurance). The icing on the cake for me was this past February, at their annual dance for people on the DD waiver. It was held on the 13th. It started at 6pm. It was pouring rain. Disabled people who were supposed to be attending a "Special Needs Prom" were left standing out in the rain for at least an hour. Medically fragile people in wheelchairs were left to be out in the rain until the doors opened. The entire event was a logistical nightmare obviously planned by neurodivergent people who have no idea how to accommodate people with disabilities. The "red carpet" was soaked through. The name of the event had been changed from Night to Shine to Night of Dreams but no one had informed the woman making announcements at the main entrance, and they were still handing out Night to Shine merch, which maybe should have been given back to the Tim Tebow foundation. We were finally let in to a huge room with rows of tables (think Hogwarts) and had to hurry to eat so they could have more people come in, then we had to go outside and walk all the way around to the back of the building to pick up a name badge because you couldn't get in without it, so pre-registration did no one any favors really, then back through a long hallway where the line was held up because they decided to put a photo backdrop halfway through so we were in line forever. Finally got into the dance and it's like a nightclub (flashing lights, fog machine) which means seizure inducing and music so loud you couldn't have a conversation. No seats for caregivers/CCS providers to rest while keeping an eye on their clients. Then there was the security detail. Very TX MAGA good ol' boy looking guys with their uniforms of khakis, black polo shirts, Stetsons and boots. I kept expecting ICE to show up. Jesus would be flipping some tables at this church. read more