My Review of RiverBend Church (Austin, Round Rock: appointed, living in, architecture)

[artsyguy]

OK I showed up a little bit late so I missed out on the start of the ceremony.

I was impressed with the neat architecture and large auditorium. Also this church is located in the beautiful and richer side of Austin. Right near a cool looking bridge and some beautiful green hills.

Riverbend is pretty darn liberal. Actually I've never been to a church so liberal before. I was a bit disappointed with the fact that there are no crosses!! Offering of money was done before the message (I am not used to doing that) and the focus of the message tended to not be on God or Christ but more on modern circumstance. I felt as if the pastor was rushing through the prayers (maybe he was in a rush? it seemed rushed to me) and I noticed people leaving early (maybe they are used to hearing better sermons). But other than that they had excellent music, and a good message that I could relate to.

I did not get a chance to meet people or shake hands with anyone or talk. The auditorium could probably hold over 2,000 people and there were only about 800 people scattered about the venue.

I will give this church another chance (even though I was disappointed at the first go) and see what sort of characters I meet next time. Hopefully this will be a place for me to go every sunday and meet new wonderful people and make some friends.

Also there was a blend of young and older people here (few people over 70). Mostly folks in their early 30s, 40s, or 20s. Some familes and such. So I did not feel too out of place.

Also I saw some racial diversity. I saw a black family there!

[justanothercalifornian]

I found this great blog you should read by a guy who went all over Austin in search for a church.....The Gospel According to Austin.

I think you scroll down and on the right hand side you can click on different church names to see his experiences there. It was done really well, I thought.

[another_hot-day]

you saw a black family there?? OMG!!!

[cub77cub]

We visited Hill Country Bible Church in Round Rock yesterday. They have a couple other churches in Austin. It's not too big and the people were very friendly. And, yes, there were lots of varied cultures there!

[artsyguy]

Wow that is great. Riverbend got a good review...I will check them out again. The Church of Austin sounds cool too.

Originally Posted by justanothercalifornian

I found this great blog you should read by a guy who went all over Austin in search for a church.....The Gospel According to Austin.

I think you scroll down and on the right hand side you can click on different church names to see his experiences there. It was done really well, I thought.

[tlsa98]

Thank you all for your help. I will visit all these churches! They all sound just like what I am looking for. I'm very excited and looking forward to living in Austin.

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Where is Riverbend Church located at?

[gigi927]

360 and Westlake Drive, roughly. Right near the 360 bridge.

[TRUEBELIEVERNOW]

i was visiting Austin Texas due to a tragic situtation that occurred within my husband's family last year and my sister is a member of Riverbend Church so i got to attend services there. . . the members of the congregation were so supportive and sympathetic and actually did a prayer outreach for me. . .i received so many prayers, blessings and thoughts from people all across the United States just because of an affliation with Riverbend. . .if i were living in Austin. . .Riverbend is the place to be and yes. . . BLACK PEOPLE ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO ATTEND. . . .NO PROBLEM. . .NO RACIAL ISSUES!

[capcat]

I went to Riverbend a few times and thought the same. It was an interesting service, seemed relevant, and the people were welcoming. Riverbend's original purpose was to be a church for the "bruised, battered and bored", and I liked that real take on life.