Churches and Ministries

Often people ask what churches I could recommend either because I have been there of because I am familiar with the leadership. It use to be when you mentioned a certain denomination you knew what you were getting in a church, but things have really changed over the last 30 years or so.

First, many denominations are slowly loosing their relevance because they forgot why they started in the first place. Many denominations started because people hungered for revival and their current church system wouldn’t change. These new denominations often started well but in a generation or two they turned into more of a business instead of a ministry. Instead of staying true to the scriptures and changing to relate to the culture, they became lopsided in their thinking.

Secondly, many churches are being started under the “non-denomination” structure where the church body is not beholding to some outside organization. Often these churches are again started out well with good intentions, but if they didn’t adopt some type of accountability to other ministries the tendency is to become lopsided in some area. And, like the denominations problem of not relating to both scripture and cultures, they chose to only see ministry in a particular way.

Each church should be evaluated on its own merits and not the group they side with. The health of a particular church is only healthy if they maintain a strong relationship with the scriptures and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to stay current with the culture and still with what Jesus intended for the church to be.

Please understand that like all families, we have personal preferences. I like churches that not only embrace a strong scriptural connection, but also demonstrate healthy community. That includes good teaching that helps believers walk out their faith, and also great worship that motivates the church to love the presence of God. If you have discovered a healthy church family please email me and I will check it out and if it appears to be solid will recommend to others to visit.

 

Saratoga Abundant Life Church
SALChurch.org
2325 Route 50 South
Saratoga Springs, New York
(518) 885-5456

“Reaching Our World With The Love Of God, One Person At A Time”

At Saratoga Abundant Life Church it is our desire to worship God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, with all of our hearts. In this church, we entreat the
Holy Spirit to lead us in our worship time as well as in every aspect of our Sunday Service.

My Wife and I moved from California to plant this church over 30 years ago. With five families we developed a ministry that is one of the healthiest ministries in upstate New York. The worship is some of the best you’ll ever find. Many churches sing a few songs and move to teaching whereas at SAL they give the believers an opportunity to experience the Lord in a rich and intimate way. At SAL, the emphasis has always been to encourage the believers to understand the scripture and learn to walk in the victory of the application with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The church also encourages seekers to investigate the claims of Christ without judgement or fear.

After 30 years of great ministry at SAL my wife and I moved to North Carolina where we currently live near our kids and grandkids. We still are involved in mentoring the leadership at SAL and will always consider that church family one of our homes.

 

Rock Harbor Costa Mesa
CostaMesa.RockHarbor.org
345 Fischer Avenue
Costa Mesa, California 92626
(714) 3840914

WE ARE A CHURCH OF COMMUNITIES FOLLOWING JESUS AS WE WORSHIP, PRAY, AND LOVE OTHERS IN ORANGE COUNTY AND BEYOND.

This is a simple statement that anchors our church. And it is a complex statement that is compelling us to risk in shared sacrifice with one another for the sake of the world knowing Jesus. Born out of 2 Corinthians 5, this statement shapes our hearts, informs our actions, and aligns our efforts.

 

Ignite Christian Church
IgniteChristianChurch.org
1180 W 1st St
Braidwood, Illinois 60408
(815) 391-5040

Our goal is to share the Gospel with all and grow together in faith in Christ.

Vision
To be the Body that Christ desires.
 
Mission
To draw nearer to God through worship, discipleship, and prayer in order to spread the Gospel to all. We are the Hands and Feet of Christ – we serve our communities with love and humility, seeking only to glorify God. We Build Relationships – we support and serve one another through encouragement and love in every situation. We Expect God to Move – As we are faithful to build His kingdom through the strengthening of His body, He is faithful to move in provision and in power. Not sure what we mean by Non-Denominational? It simply means that we are not tied to any particular denomination, meaning that we are free to seek God’s direction and purpose without having curriculum dictated from an overarching body. We’re Biblically based.

 

GateWay Church
GatewayPeople.com
700 Blessed Way
Southlake, Texas 76092
(817) 552.5800

At Gateway, we’re all about people.

We’re all about people because God is all about people. One of the ways we express our love for Him is through our love for people, and we do that by helping each person who comes to Gateway grow in their relationship with the Lord.

It begins with our vision to see people saved, healed, set free, discipled, equipped, empowered, and serving. Everything we do revolves around those seven things. And it all starts with our weekend services. We meet in six locations across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, and you can even join us online if you aren’t in the area.

 

Woodland Hills Church
WHChurch.org
1740 Van Dyke St.
St. Paul, Minnesota 55109
(651) 487-0001
Email: info@whchurch.org

At Woodland, we believe in a relational God. We believe He created us and will go to whatever lengths possible to connect with us so we can experience His perfect love. We believe this love extends to everyone—no matter who they are, no matter what they’ve done, and no matter what they believe—and that it has the power to radically change everyone’s life. Our hope is to welcome you into our community and for you to experience the new life that God wants for you.
Woodland Hills is a unique church and we’re proud of that! Since we began in 1992, God has led us on a unique journey that has defined who we are, and our mission as a church body.

 

Freedom House
FreedomHouse.cc/home/
2638 Salome Church Road
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
(704)503.0311

Our Vision
To equip people to experience Christ’s freedom in their everyday lives.

Our Values
These values drive our church:
We are an equipping church (Ephesians 4:11-13).
We’re a relationally healthy church (Matthew 18:19-20).
We’re an excellent church (Daniel 6:3).
We’re leaders. We’re generous (Proverbs 11:24-25).
And our heart beats hospitality (Hebrews 13:2).

 

The Refuge Church
TheRefuge.net
230 Refuge Way
Kannapolis, North Carolina 28081

Our Mission
Our mission is to ‘be’ the church and not just ‘do’ church, revering God in all we do and revealing God to all we meet.

Our Vision
We see people being changed, empowering them to continuously walk in the freedom and character of Christ.
We see people being connected, enabling them to collectively accomplish the purpose for which they were made.
We see people being challenged, equipping them to effectively demonstrate the power and the love of Christ to all they encounter.

 

Saddleback Church
Saddleback.com
1 Saddleback Pkwy
Lake Forest, California 92630
(949) 609-8000

Our Mission
To provide a place where the depressed, the hurting, and hopeless can come and find help. To be a place of family, community, and hope.

Our Plan
To welcome the community with open arms. To train an army of people who are passionate about living out God’s purpose for their lives. To then give that army an outlet for sharing the love of Christ through outreach and missions.

 

Inspire Church
InspireChurch.tv/about/
94-877 Lumiaina Street
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797
(808) 677-8844

From humble beginnings in 2001 to a thriving multi-site congregation, Pastor Mike and Lisa Kai are passionate about building the Church. They are visionary leaders with hearts to advance the Kingdom of God by attracting non-believers to Christ, connecting them to their church family, training them for life and ministry and sending each person to fulfill their God-given potential.

 

Life Point Church                                                                                                                                                                                     lifepointnow.com Wilmington                                                                                                                                                                                                               3534 S. College Rd.                                                                                                                                                                                 Wilmington, NC 28412

Values

Authenticity – What you see is what you get

Community – We are better together

Excellence – We put all we have into all we do

Faith – When we step out, God steps in

Fun – We take fun seriously

Generosity – We get to give

Gratitude – There is always something to celebrate

Servanthood – Saved people serve people

Significance – We value every ‘one’

Simplicity – By doing less, we accomplish more