We were new to the area last fall, and visited Life Church. The greeters were friendly and helpful. There is a coffee shop in the foyer, and the prices are reasonable. I'm afraid I cannot recommend the coffee--what I make at home is better. (Sorry, Life Church)
The music time, we quickly learned, is not a "worship" time. If you are looking for a church that will be singing the latest worship hits, don't look here. At a later service, it was stated that worship is much more than singing songs, and they take that very seriously there. We have come to the conclusion that the music time is meant to draw people in and perhaps give them some truth. If you think about it, some of contemporary worship songs can be pretty scary to people who haven't been to church before. Next time you hear a really passionate worship song"Take my Life, Take all of me..." try seeing it from the eyes of someone who has never set foot in church before.
After the music time, was the teaching time. And this is where it really gets good. The teaching was clear, direct, and biblically based. This was not some watered-down gospel that leaves out the difficult questions. This was very relevant teaching which pulls no punches. We visited at the beginning of a series, and I found myself thinking about it during the week, wondering what the pastor would say next Sunday. It was that good. I have been a Christian for 30+ years, and it's been a very long time since I've been so excited about going to church on a Sunday morning to hear the teaching.
In addition, they are reaching my teens. My teens LOVE this church. They have started attending the youth group, and have been growing there as well. They have fun, and they have been having some great conversations. They have been reading their bibles on their own. Awesome. I cannot speak for the children's program, but they introduced a new children's ministry leader, who seemed like a good choice for that job.
Another point. There are a LOT of new believers there, and seekers. There are also quite a few people who have been walking with God for a long time. It's a good mix, but this is not a sanitized church where you will see no "sinners." Of course, all churches have sinners, most of us are simply all cleaned up so you can't see our sin. This church appears to be a place where you can just be who you are, admitting your weaknesses and getting help for the journey They have a Celebrate Recovery Ministry, which is awesome, from what I've heard.
Whenever we move, we always give a church at least 3 Sundays unless there is something heretical in the teaching. (One church as an example, "Nobody here really believes the bible is literally true, do you?" Yeah, we didn't go back to that one...). This is one of those churches that needs more than one Sunday to get the full picture. read more