I few weeks ago my friend and I went in search of bibles for our Bible study group of young women…read more Many of them are in the first stages of their journey with surrendering their lives to God. Our home church has switch over to mainly digital resources and did offer to purchase our bibles for our group but we decided to ask other churches in hopes they would have a few and we could reserve those resources for someone else who might need it more. This was the first church we stopped by, and it was almost the last one we stopped at. I had a great experience here when I was a part of the great banquet so that is why I thought of this church first. It broke our hearts to be treated like we were dangerous people who simple came to the door, politely waited, and explained our group and the intentions to give our girls their first Bible. The woman who answered didn't know her inner-com was still in and profiled us thinking we could not hear her. She stated she didn't think she should let "people who looked like that" inside the building. It was an off day at work we had on t shirts and shorts. She then questioned on whether she should just ignore us or not. We still decided to wait and politely thanked her for the resources as she talked to us through the glass and when she eventually opened the door, shutting it and keeping her hand on it in what I could only assume was fear, we still thanked her and left. When I reached out to the email she had written down for us, it was sent that it was not a valid email. We love our home church and our community that we have built within it so we don't have intentions to change. But I would take this as a consideration when joining churches. Listen to our Father God, not to those who wish to be church figures or leaders. Have good devotion and in a world where so many are hurting have GRACE. It's disappointing this is the interaction we had and we hope it isn't for everyone.

There are 2 trees in the garden of Eden. The tree of knowledge which emphasizes, religion,…read moreperformance, legalism, do's and don'ts, etc. The other tree is the tree of life which emphasizes a relationship with Jesus based on who you are in Christ and not on performance. The focus is on your heart posture, spending times talking to Jesus, and your motivation for doing things. To find out more...read Freedom by Chris Hodges. My family & attended this church for about 10 years. I left this church many years ago. Because it seemed to fall into the tree of knowledge. I knew there had to be more to the Christian life and to Jesus. I have grown so much more since going to another church. The pastor focuses on the tree of life, listening to Jesus, and doing what Jesus says to do. Which is different for what most churches and the world teaches. As far as singles - I havent been there in many years. But they used to have a HUGE singles group which even had it's own service. What happened?

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.

My children go to St. Monica's school and we also go to there church. my children love there…read moreteachers and all of the staff. my youngest constantly is coming home and telling me she guessed the reader on the news ( the morning announcements). Mass here is always beautiful and the crowd is always so divers. I'm so glad that I found St. Monica.

It is unfortunate to write a negative review for a church. This is the lords home. My sister…read moreattended as a god mother for a first communion as was body shamed by Spanish coordinator. Do not recommend for students to learn this behavior. And recommend teachers to be properly trained on diversity equity and inclusion.

Been going to CPCC for a good while now... The church is focused on its mission of connecting…read morepeople to Jesus and each other. The highlights I like most are: 1. Phenomenal worship / music experience. Sets the tone up front. 2. Meat-and-potatoes sermons. I'm challenged and encouraged each Sunday to give life my best. 3. Kids/young adults ministry. They've bet large on this area, with hiring 2 full-time people to develop a Worldview curriculum that has grown the kids/young adult involvement in the church and community. Big church that is composed of plenty of small groups / serving opportunities to make us feel a part of it all. I'd give it 6 stars if I could.

I came here for an event and did not know what to expect. This is a borderline mega church. The…read morestaff and congregation there was so friendly and welcoming. I felt right at home. They have a kids play land and the auditorium is very nice with comfortable seating. It has balcony seating and I do not think there was a bad seat in the house. Not that it should make a difference in church selection, but the auditorium has an amazing sound system, video screens on bot sides and in the center and awesome light show. The church has more than enough parking available. The lot is huge and they do offer shuttles with golf carts if you have to park too far away. The conjuration is a melting pot and consists of people of all ages, races and religions. It was definitely a melting pot. They offer in person denominational worship (3 on Sunday and 1 on Saturday), and for those that do not feel comfortable in a group setting or simply just cant make it. The church claims to have over 4,000 people attending weekend services. The church touts a 600 seat chapel and a 40,000 SF state of the art children's center known as "Kid City." They alway have something going on. I really like their Academy which runs Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 6 PM, for children ages 2 months to Pre-K. I wish that this church was not such a far drive for me. I recommend this place for those looking for a very nice church home. I really enjoyed my visit here and felt at home.

First came across this inspiring eastern rite Byzantine Catholic Church during the 2024 National…read moreEucharistic Congress where eastern rite Divine Liturgy was offered during that glorious July week in Indianapolis. Divine Liturgy is chanted here in the Byzantine tradition (English and Slovak languages) and attendance will truly demonstrate the universality (katholicos) of the true Church founded by Christ, upon the shoulders of St Peter. Highly recommend the first time goer to experience Divine Liturgy properly, to please read their website which goes into worship details and provides hints/aids that may be helpful in understanding the 27 valid rites of the one, Holy, and Apostolic Church. Thank you for reading my review.

Raised Byzantine but do not live close so attend Roman Catholic church. went to one mass and it had…read moremaybe 20 people there. Almost all greeted us and asked who we were. It was the mass I grew up with. Just so you know they have a wonderful bakery at Easter and lent times. If I was rich but alas am not. I would donate a million dollars for complete renovation of this house of God.

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.

If you desire to feel God's presence, this is the place for you. They are very welcoming, have an…read moreawesome kids program, worship service is wonderful, and to top it off the ministry staff (led by Pastor Josh Carson and his wife Rachel Carson) make this a great place for you and your family.

Pastor Paul Mooney has retired, it is now Pastor Josh Carson…read more This is not my home church but I visit often. It is a great place to worship!

The World Mission Society Church Of God is amazing. I remember my first bible study with the…read moremembers. They welcomed me with love and every question I had was answered through the bible. What shocked me the most, is when they showed the existence of our Heavenly Mother. The Bible proves that we have Father and Mother in heaven. Everytime I step foot in the World Mission Society Church of God I feel at peace. I love it there.

Such a great church! It's Bible-based, welcoming, and full of genuinely kind people. The messages…read moreare uplifting and easy to relate to, and the atmosphere just feels like family. So thankful to have found this place!