Normally I wouldn't use Yelp to review anything other than food, but, I'll make an exception here…read more I don't know that I can say a whole lot that hasn't been said fairly extensively by the previous two reviewers. I'm in agreement that this is a smaller church, that's cozy, the pastor emphasizes trying to get to know everybody at least by name (cue theme from Cheers). This gives the church a very cozy and very friendly feel, it actually feels smaller than it is because everyone is so friendly. A lot of people will try to go out of their way to get to know you, make conversation, and just share in a lot of fun in general. It makes you feel like you've been there forever. Beyond that, the church has a solid Biblical foundation, constantly challenging its members to be stretched and to grow in their knowledge and relationship with God. The head pastor, while quirky, is very down-to-earth in how he presents the message of the Bible. The church provides a group for everyone and there definitely is a rather familial atmosphere to it. The congregation is rather mixed, consisting of an even share of college students, single working adults, and families, with places for even children and youth to fit in. Honestly, I don't know that words can really describe it, so I'd suggest you come check it out yourself sometime.

When I checked out this church, I noticed the hospitable and warming personalities from the core…read morepeople here. The pastor is rather humorous but at the same time teaching and focusing on God's love. Doctrine is very sound. Not a big "bling bling" church, which can be good for those who are tired of the megachurch scene and the possible hardships of getting to know people. Many ministries, good for the infant, great for HS, college, and single adults, as well as a couples group. There are planned events(bbq, sports, hiking trips.) One of the few churches I've found that offer a variety of consistant group discipleship programs, that cater to many levels of one's Christian walk, as well as the non-Christian. Every Sunday there is a free lunch fellowship after the service, where there is great opportunity to get to know people. Overall, a place where one can experience fun, fellowship, growth with God and his people.

I love this church. It's clean, big, and quiet. The pastors are amazing, the mass always has good…read moresongs that you can sing along. The parishioners are friendly. You can meet people from different kind of backgrounds here. There're spaces for mingling for adult and children before and after the mass. The parking space is huge too

this church is my command in my christian catholic faith,our choir here in this community puts on a…read morepageant in partnership with the sf symph Orchestra every Christmas holiday overnight with hotel

Until I found Unity, every church I attended implied that I was bad and needed saving. Unity…read moreimplied the opposite: I am whole and good, and my work in life is to live more and more from that place of innate goodness. It's more spiritual than religious. No hard rules or beliefs you have to buy into. Just practical ideas to make life better.

The only place I ever went where I didn't disagree with 90% of what the minister was saying…read more Safe and welcoming. A great spiritual home.

Foothills is a warm and welcoming community. Our historic sanctuary is beautiful and cozy. Our…read moreservices are enjoyable and thoughtful, with excellent preaching and a wide variety of great music. There are ample opportunities to participate in church life. We are an "open and affirming" (ONA) congregation, having made a public covenant of welcome into our full life and ministry to persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. https://www.ucc.org/lgbt_ona If you are seeking a place of peace and joy, you are welcome here.

I started attending Foothills about two years ago when I was church shopping. I had two small…read morechildren and I wanted to find a church community that would expose them to music, fellowship, volunteerism, and tradition. I quickly felt at home and knew instantly this was the place for us. The structure and traditions are similar to the church I grew up in, but Foothills is far more progressive--welcoming to people from all walks of life and levels of belief. I felt instantly welcomed and not at all judged. They are a smaller church community, but well-sized for their building, which is beautiful and peaceful. I visited other churches that were much larger and felt lost, not sure of how I would fit in. But Foothills is just the right size. There aren't a lot of young children...yet, but there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm. A year ago they hired a new pastor after their previous pastor retired. They also have a wonderful associate pastor who has been there for years and helps run the youth programs. They have a great nursery for small children that opens before church (although I brought my baby into church without a problem), a children's choir, youth classes, and an annual youth service trip. Some of my favorite activities/events at Foothills have included: a service day where groups volunteered at numerous sites in the area, an Iftar dinner with a local Muslim community, a peaceful candle-lit dinner for Maundy Thursday, and a potluck dinner followed by outing to see the Los Altos holiday parade. I hope you will consider stopping by and checking us out. You may find Foothills your new home.

Worship is so key, just look at the Psalms…read more I appreciate this worship band for humbleness, musical dexterity with multiple guitars, singers and a visiting violinist. The drummer, though shrouded in glass, is the heartbeat and should be applauded. Today, I noted three people singing at different times. What a blessing. They seem sincere.

Menlo used to be a place of real teaching and encouragement and unlike other churches in the area…read moredid not constantly ask you for money. With the arrival of the new pastor Phil the teaching that even I took notes about has stopped and it feels like a corporate event or more like work. We constantly are told of Phil's unfortunate childhood during almost every sermon as if nobody else has endured any suffering and the Gospel and helpful teachings are becoming rare. I had been away for over a year and have recently been to two services and have left so disappointed that Menlo continues to decline. They state that numbers are increasing yet they went from 3 services to two apparently and the campus I attend has not been well attended so it's hard to believe what's true. If course church is not about numbers it's about the gospel, the great commission and the presence of the holy spirit all of which seems to get lost amongst this new approach and corporate style. I pray for a movement of the holy spirit in this place as the history and dedication of it's founders deserves better.

One of our family invited us to this wonderful church last night for a Christmas Eve service…read more Having grown up experiencing several religions, this is by far the most inclusive Christian church I have ever visited. Seats are very soft too, and the church itself has great reverends, vocalists, and tech specialists to keep everything operating smoothly. The service was held in person and virtual. Since I am outside of the religious culture it was difficult to contextualize / understand the scripture-based lessons, but they all had positive messages about awakening the morality in one's heart and applying it in the world. The musicians and vocalists are amazing, with one female vocalist hitting the high notes of Holy Night with a smoothness and ease only achieved with years of perfection. I appreciated the reverend's sincere message about recognizing the challenges in our lives, including the difficulty of convincing others and the world of our own truths. It takes courage to be yourself, to sound like yourself. Highly recommended for those needing some spiritual sustenance. Merry Christmas!

UUFS has been so welcoming to me and my family. It was so important for us to find a spiritual…read morecommunity that was open-minded and welcoming with great intellectual discourse. The childcare/religious education has been wonderful. Thank you UUFS!

Michael L. pretty much says it all. GrX has been my home since moving back to the South Bay. Like…read moreShannon L. said, it may be hard to get plugged in at first, but as soon as you find a small group, service opportunities proliferate. The partners just approved the move to go ahead with purchasing a building on Patrick Henry Drive in Santa Clara, so hopefully we'll have a permanent building soon! --------- edit: 1/29/2009 GrX is still a great church, but more and more it seems to be geared toward a niche group of people. If community is your first priority in choosing a church, I would recommend giving GrX a try (at least 6 weeks in a row, according to P. Dave). The pastoral staff puts a heavy emphasis on "self-feeding," but doesn't provide the tools/teach the methods needed to self feed to a fuller extent. GrX is currently undergoing a lot of transitions in staff, ministry foci, and consequently attendees/members/partners. 1. Sermons: Every pastor has his own style. Overall, I'd like to see more of the sermons have more scriptural references rather than anecdotal. At the end of last year, there was a 3-week series on relationships that I found a little pointless (the first 2 weeks were characterized by a lack of biblically-based advice). 2. Community: One common conception about Great Exchange is that it's really the "Great Exchange of Phone Numbers", but it varies from small group to small group and person to person. The great thing about GrX is that it has many small groups to choose from. Here's a quick list of some: - Inside Out: Huge fellowship group that breaks into several smaller discussion groups after dinner and worship. Many members do not attend GrX. - MSG: A large and extremely energetic group. If you're looking to get plugged in quickly, MSG's the group for you, but if you're more of a low-key person, you might want to skip it. - Real Lives: Geared toward seekers. RL is an extremely social group and has something going on outside of actual small group pretty often. - Hungry: A small group made up of a hodge podge of quirky and different people, but somehow it works. It has a distinct "family" feel. 3. Children's Ministry: GrX's children's ministry is called KidZone, and if I were rating KZ alone, I would definately give it 5 stars. I've served in children's ministries for about a decade, and KidZone has been the best one so far. All the kids are truly loved, and the KZ staff provides the volunteers with a lot of resources, including class curriculum, coaches, seminars on specific topics, and orientation. KZ does background checks on all of its volunteers, and is diligent in ensuring a safe environment for the kids. 4. Missions: GrX has an abundance of missions trips that you can apply to. Most go out in the summer. This year, however, things are off to a late start and most of the trips will have to be initiated by lay people in order to get off the ground. Last Note: The staff would probably tell you not to approach attending church with a "consumer mentality" (pretty ironic when it comes to yelping about it), but when it comes down to it, you still need to use your judgement.

Hmm. In a quest to find a new church to visit while on Sundays back up in my native San Francisco…read moreBay Area, I heard a lot about Great Exchange. I've had a friend who actually found her husband at this church. I'll have to say that it's difficult to find good churches in the Bay Area, as I've always been a part of the Korean American church. I already miss my home church in L.A., where there are thousands that you can just happily find a church home. Since there's such a dearth here, I thought I'd check GrX out. As this church is an offplant from Newsong based in Irvine, I was looking to see what this northerly cousin up north would be like (although they are unrelated). Some observations from my visit today that may be helpful for you to know before you visit... 1. Demographics is mainly Asian American: most of the pastoral staff are Korean American like Pastor David Chae and Min Tak of Fremont GrX, but the majority of the congregation is 95% or so Chinese American, less than 1% Caucasian and the remaining 4% Korean American, Filipino or other Asian American. This makeup is similar to the other Covenant churches like Newsong and GrXs around here, so it wasn't much a surprise. I think I fit in. 2. Pastor David Chae a Yelp Star!: the message was pertinent and relevant, although it tended to be dry at various points. He does have a passion for reaching the external community, although there was various ambiguities in his points today. There was some disconnects in today's message between the implications of alienation, and our duty to reach out to others. It left me scratching my head to figure out what the connect there. 3. Welcoming? ehh..not really: my friend and I walked around King's Academy for a while when we got there, and we weren't sure where the service was going to be held. Although there was a Small Group fair going on in the courtyard outside the school's auditorium where the 11 a.m. service (they also have another at 9:15 a.m.) is held, no one pointed us in the right direction. I'm sure regular goers had some idea that we were lost, but no one referred us to the right direction until I had to ask. Also, no one really said hi or hello, even though I thought that they would the whole time we were there. It seemed kind of cliquey to me. 4. Overall tone of the message and sincerity of church culture a Yelp Star: this is a church that is part of the Covenant denomination, and emphasizes inclusiveness and outreach and the Gospel's relevance in the Silicon Valley. The prayers and people do have a heart, so this is a good start. You can tell that this is an extremely new church. 5. Improvements for Frontline needs to be made: there was a Frontline staffer who was ushering and chewing gum during offertory. Why are you chewing gum during service? lol Inappropriate. GrX would be a great church if they worked on being welcoming to newcomers, especially if they took steps on appropriate signage. It could've been a problem stemming from the fact that they don't have their own facilities. The $2M building hasn't been bought yet and still hasn't been approved by the local authorities, so we'll see how that works out. I was expecting much more from GrX, since their website is pretty glossy, but I was rather underwhelmed today. I probably won't be back, but GrX is a good start for some--but not necessarily for me.

It's in A decent side of town for part of town. The church itself and what they preach (domination)…read moreI really can't comment on. When I can say is they give a helping hand of homeless people and offer them a lunch three times out of the week. When I say one I mean a decent meal. So if I were ever to think of going to a church (God forbid) I would want one that practices what they preach & they obviously Do!!!! There no dogs policy I don't agree with but hey, I wasn't there for my little angel

I cant say enough about this congregation Jan seems to run a tight ship and seems very serious but…read moreboy she knows what she's doing. This church does so much for the community I cant say enough I make scarves and blankets for the needy and Jan finds them a good home and the church feed the hungry 3 days a week and have many many volunteers helping to get the mission done. What a truly wonderful group of people to do so much for everyone. I never knew there was such good connection of members in a community . God Bless all of them and I am not even religious though spiritual.