I'm revising my review downward. When I first reviewed, I had only visited once and gave them my…read morecontact info, and I got a text asking me to leave a review; which turned out to be a mass text. I stopped going there about 6 months ago after some more discourse with the church. Jesus talked about cleaning the outside of the cup in Matthew 23:25. While I think there are worse churches in that regard than Dreamers, this is the concern that led me to go elsewhere. While I genuinely do hope they improve as a church, these are the red flags that led me in another direction:
1) They were sending mass texts that were written to look like they were personal, one-on-one text messages directly from the pastor. But they were not.
2) One of the members there told me about the church's history, rooted in Australia. Apparently, the folks who planted the church did not want the pastor to remain as pastor there (why, I don't know). To which the church split off and went independent, with the same pastor remaining there. I never heard the Australians' side of the story. (to Dreamers' credit, I actually know about it. Had the church been REALLY fake, I would never have known about it)
3) The pastor seemed awfully proud of his past with drugs, sin, etc. in his past prior to knowing Christ. But what about those of us who simply don't have that past? I've known Christ for a long time, and I felt I was being looked down on for it--sort of as the prodigal's older brother.
4) I did get a personal one-on-one with the pastor, but the very first meeting he was already trying to get involved with our married life. He knows nothing about our marriage, nor did I ever ask him for help with that (why would I? I didn't know him).
5) In that same one-on-one, he said something very disturbing: he felt that, as pastor, he was entitled to at least a little control over us. I'm sorry, but that's not how Christ-centered leadership works. It's called service--not control. You have control over the church (and in fact, Christ set it up so that we all give, charitably, and you depend on that charity from which to draw a salary to do so). But no, you are not entitled to control US. At all. That has the markings of a cult leader--not a pastor.
6) I first came to Dreamers on fire, chomping at the bit to help. That got cold water thrown on it right away. I wasn't even allowed to connect with the ministry leaders leading the areas where I wanted to help. Instead I was getting all these hoops I had to jump through before I could help with anything. That struck me as a sense of entitlement.
I did meet some really awesome, young, Christ-following people there. But those were not the ones steering the leadership. Instead leadership was trying to steer them. In the end, I was seeking a church whom I could help, and Dreamers was simply not.
UPDATE: Over 3 years since I visited Dreamers Church a couple times, and gave them my contact info (unfortunately...). I am *STILL* getting mass texts from them, with no way to unsubscribe (and the way I know they are mass texts is because I have had no interaction with Dreamers of any kind since 3 years ago). I have never had to block a text number in my life, until now. And it's a church. Seriously? If you ever do visit Dreamers, I have to recommend that you not give them your contact info.
