Churches (Detroit, Redford, Trenton: home, living in, floor)

[fmax]

Hey all,

I'm familiar with the Catholic Church. However, I just can't buy-in to the Militaristic Rituals presented there (no offense). Still, I think I need a church to attend. A place which wields spiritual power.

I desire something with a preacher - think Triple Rock Baptist Church.

Do churches like that exist in the area - if yes, where are they located? You know, the good preachers.


Please Advise,

[Coldjensens]

Where are you?

[trinkit]

Try Southpoint Christian Community Church on Fort Street in Trenton. The pastor there is very approachable, as are all the leaders of that church. It is a contemporary style church, if that is to your liking. I attended there for a few years and then moved to South Carolina. I'm still looking for a similar church here and have yet to find one. Southpoint Community Christian Church If you decide to try it on for size, tell Pastor Brett that Kat said "hey".

[fmax]

Cold,

Thanks for asking. I live in Wixom but I have a car and will drive. I can be downtown within 30/40 minutes.

Trin,

Podcasts. Thanks. That gives me something to go on.

[Coldjensens]

Everyone is different and looking for different things in a home church. What appeals to me may not have any appeal to you at all.

Try the New Hudson United Methodist Church. It is very close to you. It is on Grand River just before you get to Milford Road. Services are at 10:30 and plan to stay for coffee hour afterwords. (You can then go to Lunch at Leos Coney Island near wallmart about a quarter mile away from the Church). Give it enough time to get to know the pastor. He is amazing.

Jerry Hunter is a really brilliant man who consistently produces thought provoking sermons. He has a very casual style of preaching. If you are looking for yelling, and crying out or astounding music, then that is not the place for you. It is a small church that does not have a raucous service, but it is certainly meaningful and usually thought provoking. They mix traditional elements with some more modern music, but you will not go there for the music, you will go for thought provoking sermons and a truly loving church community.

If we were not so far away, that would be our home church. We are fond of methodist churches because they are less stuffy and more thinking for yourself oriented than many other churches. However it all depends on the individual church and pastor.

If you are looking for something bigger and grander, there is a more modern (praise service type) large church in Farmington or Farmington hills that you might like. I cannot remember the name of it, but if that is what you are looking for I can probably find out. We went there a few times but it has been a while.

You might like Southpoint, but it is about an hour away from you. While you can conceptually make it in something less than an hour, by the time you get loaded into the car, onto the freeway, into the parking lot and out of the car, you will need to leave your home more than an hour prior to the service.

We occasionally attend Southpointe (it is close to us), but we felt that it is a bit too big and commercial for us, we like a smaller, more homey and less planned and programmed atmosphere (we also did not recognize much of the praise music and the sermons that we attend did not do a lot for us). We also like a mix of traditional and modern (praise or charismatic type) elements in the service. We love praise music, but we also like traditional hymns. We are also looking for a church that is not established in their ways and welcoming of new participants and ideas. Someplace where we actually feel needed to contribute, pitch in, and to bring new ideas, and not just allowed to participate in established programs. We liked Southpoint ok, but it was not what we are looking for. I thank that we need to find a smaller church.

However we also want to find a church with an active youth program where our kids will want to participate and will get meaningful instruction as well as make some good friends we also like a good music program that my wife and kids can participate in (everyone is a talented singer but me). We want to find something not stuffy or dead, where there is a real feeling of the Spirit of Christ (some places, people seem embarrassed about their faith, or at least they are very internal and quiet about it), but not a roll on the floor and bark like a dog type of church either. Nor do we want some place where they adapt the meaning of the Bible to make modern trends acceptable. We are still looking for an ideal church downriver.

We may still end up at Southpoint. It is certainly a good church, just did not really fit what we are looking for. We may also end up just getting up early and going to New Hudson, but while an hour plus commute is OK for Sunday, it makes it hard to participate in weekday classes and events. Plus New Hudson is perhaps a bit too small. Where is the middle?

[trinkit]

Coldjensens: I joined Southpoint long before it became so big, so I kind of grew with it. While it was still small, before phase II was built, I managed to have many conversations with the pastor and thus became very involved in the church.

I can see where it might be a little intimidating to some, but for me it was perfect. The Praise Director is top-notch IMO and you could tell that she was not just performing -- she actually "felt" the word of God as she praised Him. 90% of the messages (Brett never calls them sermons) hit right at home for me. I also liked (and miss) communion every Sunday, and the altar call. There are so many things that I miss about Southpoint that I can't possibly name them all here. I'm now living in the Bible Belt and one would think that I would have a wide variety of churches. Not so! You can have any flavor of Baptist church, but not much for any of the other denominations. And hardly a contemporary one among them.

Good luck in your search for a church home and God Bless.

[fmax]

I may try Southpoint in two days.

Are you aware of any Southern Baptist type churches, powerful sermons??

[trinkit]

What do you mean by "powerful sermons"? Nah, Southpoint isn't "fire and brimstone". But it does deliver messages that are relevent to today. Take a peek at their website and you can get a feel for it. There are podcasts of the messages there, along with the activities that are going on there.

Good luck in your search for a church home.

[dkf747]

Detroit World Outreach in Redford.