I knew when I walked in the doors that the presence of God resided in its congregation. Although…read moreit is growing larger every day, God has provided sound leadership to help us grow in the right direction Hope church doesnt only come alive on Sundays, it continues its missions into the community, and with fellowship groups all week long Hope may look too big at first but the congregation will welcome you and help you find your niche with small groups available.

I found this church from what only could have been a sign from God. I was struggling at the time…read moretrying to switch job fields to provide for my child as a single mother. One rainy morning, I was on the way to work, replaying my rusty job interview responses that did not result in a job offer. Suddenly, the car in front of me slammed on its brakes. To prevent from hydro planning, I swerved into a turn lane to avoid a collision. I had to turn into Hope's parking lot to reroute back onto Patterson to continue my morning commute to a dead end job. I strongly feel like in this moment, God was leading a lost soul back home. I attended that weekend, and the sermon was everything and more. It completely restructured where I placing my trust and faith with keeping a tight control on my life. I handed it over to him that day, and asked him to reveal his plan. Throughout that week, I heard several people repeat a line I had heard in the sermon the prior Sunday. Everything comes back in a fill circle, just like God's plan. This line kept coming back up in conversations with complete strangers. His plan will be revealed in his own time. It will come back in a full circle, but we will not know, while we are going through it. We just have to trust. One of these moments, occurred at my next job interview and I have been a member with Hope over the past 5 years. It has brought so many blessings since. Now I listen for him to guide me. In addition, they have a wonderful youth program for my son. I met my now spouse and we have a strong faith based relationship where God is the center. The music is amazing. The sermons are very scripture based and provide background context to explain why the bible is written in specific vernacular and the intentional meaning behind it. Things I never was taught growing up in my old church. I just love everything about Hope and agree, they meet you where you are. They are friendly, but not pushy. You can become as involved as you wish, and offer tons of classes and study groups. The pastors tend to rotate during each series. They do each have their own style of preaching and depth, but I recommend giving it 2-3 Sundays to feel it out if you are new, before judging a book by its cover. Not every sermon will hit you and be life changing, but they have a lot of very powerful sermons that have so much depth and leave you wanting more. The only thing is it is a pretty large congregation so it can be hard to get to know the pastors and new faces personally on busy Sundays. I recommend coming to a small group or class and get a chance to speak with them in a smaller setting where's its not as busy. Overall, I can't speak more highly of this home church. It's every thing I had been craving as a young and now older adult. I've grown so much in my faith and very thankful for Hope.

Christian Life does an awesome job of contemporary praise with practical messages on the life of…read morefaith! Central to the church are life groups which develop relationships that allow individuals to grow in Christ and with each other. The Pastoral staff geniuely care for people while encouraging people to trust in Christ for everything. So if you are tired of the stale and dry Christian Life is the place for you!

I was in the Fort Lee area for a month and needed to find a "church home" while I was in the area…read more I found Christian Life through yelp. I don't think it was by chance I decided on this church...I found the church to be welcoming and a great Christian atmosphere. My "soul" was fed during my time at Fort Lee. I was a bit thrown off by the loud upbeat worship team on my first visit and thought perhaps I stepped into the young adult service, but all services are the same. The worship team loudly, proudly, and full of energy sing their hearts out to Jesus! Great church!!!

Great church. Friendly people. Small church atmosphere. Everyone treats you like family.read more

St. Benedict's is a local catholic church, complete with a school, in the Museum district... it…read moregets a good amount of support from the community and having the school keeps it a very vibrant part of the neighborhood, but from the times I have been there it seems like a very conservative Catholic church, which can be intimidating. It's incredibly picturesque, as it was built in the early 1900s. It's got the traditional stain glass windows, and a balcony in the back on which a giant organ resides (and gets a lot of use during masses). If you are looking for a place to get married, this is a good choice. The front alter is colorful but traditional, and there are a few smaller alters on the sides that give a solemn feel to the inside of the church. The pews are all wood, in good condition, and it has a high loft-like ceiling with exposed rafters. The pictures don't do it justice... if you like architecture, this is probably a good building in Richmond to check out. They say a good portion of their masses in Latin... if you are a regular church-goer and know the words anyway, it's nice to hear them in such a melodious language... if you aren't familiar with the mass and can't speak latin, you may get a bit lost. When I was a member here (when I lived in Carytown) I found the lady working in the parish office to be really nice and helpful- I needed some paperwork for my upcoming marriage and she was awesome about getting it sent up to the parish in Philadelphia where the ceremony would be. She also told me about a class for engaged couples that wasn't a weekend retreat, which was inexpensive and whose schedule was very convenient (2x a week for 2 weeks). I couldn't find any information online, so she was a real lifesaver.

Father Tony is the pastor here. Ed Owens,who currently serves on the alter, is about to become a…read more deacon and we are so excited for him!!! Come see him get ordained this October 2018 at the Cathedral. Father Tony is a great confessor and is a wonderful man. His homilies are down to earth and very heart felt. Nothing here is watered down. Come to mass here if you want traditional mass. Less latin at 830 am mass and lots of singing and the choir at 11 am. We have mass on Saturdays too at 530 pm for those who prefer evening mass. We have no choir during the summer. Joel is our choirmaster. Hes funny and quirky and very loveable. Sang in the choir in 2007-2008 before I had kids and we had Jim Dorn as the choirmaster. He was great but was super hard to please. Joel gets frustrated with the choir too but gives us a break b/c we are a bunch of non- professionals. Very few of us who sings in the choir have music degrees. Anyhow, we have great fellowship, a moms group, do Endow classes, bible studies and some religion classes are offered at the church from time to time. Been coming here since 2006 and really can't say enough good about this church. ONE OF THE BEST CHURCHES IN THE CITY.

Great church with great people who love God and love missions! Very servant hearted people.read more

Third Street Bethel AME Church is a true treasure in historic Jackson Ward. Their 175th anniversary…read morecelebration was uplifting and beautifully done. The music was powerful, the sermon inspiring, and the hospitality warm and genuine. You could truly feel the history, faith, and sense of community that has carried this church forward for generations. A wonderful place of worship and a cornerstone of the community.

I thought I found my church home. Beautiful building, beautiful people and beautiful songs. Then…read morethe pastor started his sermon attacking black republicans. I'm a black republican. I had to walk out because I came to hear the word, be amongst my people but if that means being attacked this church and all it's rich history is not the church for me. The pastor went on to preach acceptance for the LBGT and abortion while saying terrible things about black republicans. I think church's should tell us if they are democrats or republicans because to be completely blindsided like I was today wasn't cool.

Very warm and friendly congregation. Great message from the pastor. I felt very comfortable and…read morewelcomed.

When you come to NBFM it's like visiting home the people are so friendly . The greeters make you…read morereally feel welcome. Pastor Robinson is great he is so down to earth and so is First Lady Robinson they are very approachable. He has some family members in the church as well and they are great as well. In this church unlike some churches there are no big I's and little you. He treats his immediate family no differently, than he treats any one else. He knows is members by name, he knows whose child belong to who, you are not just a number there. I am there every Sunday and I promise you if you come one time you will be hooked and you will be here every Sunday, as a matter of fact you will beat Pastor Robinson here. So come and be blessed.