Shaw Temple AME Zion Church

Just The Facts
Shaw Temple AME Zion Church
775 Hurt Road
Smyrna, Georgia 30082 
770-801-8185
http://www.shawtemple.org
Dr. George D. Crenshaw, Sr. Pastor

Location
Smyrna – East West Connector - near Wal-Mart

Sunday Service Times
1st Sundays
- 11 am and 6 pm
All Other Sundays
- 8 am
- 11 am

Church Type
Denomination – AME Zion
Size (Small, Medium, Large, Mega) – Medium

From the church website…
“Our motto “Seeing, Speaking, and Serving the Same Vision,” expresses who we are.  We are commanded by Christ to go teach and make disciples.  The transformation and spiritual growth of individuals is an outgrowth of the work we do at Shaw.  We work diligently to bring people to Christ, to demonstrate the glory of God through worship, to show the love of Christ through fellowshipping together, and to disciple those who are within the body of Christ. 

Please join us You’ll be inspired by our dynamic music ministry and transformed by the vibrant preached and taught Word.  Working together to glorify God, we diligently seek to impact the lives of members and non-members.  Shaw Temple Church is committed to reaching the world for Christ.”

My Impressions
Unreviewed at this time.

Big Bethel AME Church

Just The Facts
Big Bethel AME Church
220 Auburn Avenue, Northeast
Atlanta, Georgia 30303 
404-827-9707
http://www.bigbethelame.org
Gregory V. Eason, Sr., Senior Pastor

Location
Atlanta, GA (Downtown)

Sunday Service Times
7:45 am & 11 am

Church Type
Denomination – AMR
Size (Small, Medium, Large, Mega) – Large

From the church website…
“Big Bethel A. M. E. Church was founded in 1847, and is the oldest predominantly African American congregation in the Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area. Vision Statement – A spirit filled fellowship engaging in fervent worship, bible based teaching and preaching, and compassionate missions driven to be the miracle in downtown Atlanta. Mission Statement
The mission of Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ; and to communicate to the world through preaching, teaching, evangelizing, worshipping, and stewardship, that Jesus Saves.”

My Impressions
Unreviewed at this time.

Salem Bible Church

Just The Facts
Salem Bible Church – 2 Locations

Salem West
2283 Baker Road, NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 792.0303

Salem East
5460 Hillandale Drive
Lithonia, GA 30058
(770) 981.2160 Phone http://www.salembiblechurch.org
Pastor Joseph L. Williams
Senior Pastor Jasper W. Williams, Jr.

Location
Salem East – Southwest Atlanta
Salem West - Lithonia, GA

Sunday Service Times
Salem Bible Mass    8:30 a.m. -  9:30 a.m.
Sunday School      9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Worship Service     11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Church Type
Denomination – Non-denominational
Size  (Small, Medium, Large, Mega) – Mega

From the church website…
“The Vision – Salem Bible Church is a God First ministry with a calling to demonstrate God’s power and love through preaching, teaching, equipping and serving others to prepare us for the coming harvest and the return of our King the Lord Jesus Christ. The Mission – Preaching, practicing and producing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the spiritually and economically poor and brokenhearted; to those who have been emotionally wounded and bruised by life’s battles. “

My Impressions
Unreviewed at this time.

Jackson Memorial Baptist Church

Just The Facts
Jackson Memorial Baptist Church
534 Fairburn Road N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30331
 404.691.4238
http://www.jacksonmemorialbaptist.com
Rev. Dr. Gregory A. Sutton

Location
Atlanta, GA (Southwest Atlanta)

Sunday Service Times
7:45 am & 10:30 am

Church Type
Denomination – Baptist
Size (Small, Medium, Large, Mega) – Medium

From the church website…
“Our Church has something to offer for every one who wishes to receive.  At Jackson there is a ministry for you.  There are loving, and caring followers of Christ just waiting to take you wrap their arms around you in Christian Love. If you’re looking for a church home, we offer Jackson Memorial to you.  We look forward to seeing you soon. “

My Impressions
Unreviewed at this time.

Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral

Just The Facts
Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral
212 Riverside Pkwy
Austell, GA 30168
 770-874-8400
http://www.woffamily.org
Bishop Dale C. Bronner

Location
Austell, GA (off the Six Flags exit on I-20)

Sunday Service Times
8:30 am & 11 am

Church Type
Denomination – Interdenominational Ministry
Size (Small, Medium, Large, Mega) - Mega (10,000+ Members)

From the church website…
“The primary purpose of the ministry of Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral is to teach the uncompromising Word of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ!  The vision the Lord gave me was of a church without division.  That is, a church void of segregation because of race or nationality.  I saw a church without the walls of denominational barriers where God’s banner over us is LOVE.  I saw a church of born again, Spirit-filled believers who are governed by the principles of God’s Word and lead a victorious life.  I saw a church of believers where the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and temperance are abundant.“

My Impressions
scale of 1 – 3; 1=below average; 2=average; 3=above average)
Sermon Style (preaching/teaching) – Conversational Teaching
Music Ministry – 3
Friendliness (of members to me) – 3
Happiness Quotient (feeling of people receiving the spirit) – 2
Children/Youth Activities – 3

Service Time – 11 am – 12:40 pm 

Unique Observations- After being out for a couple of weeks sick, I am happy to return back to sisterhill.com and comment on Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral. I’ve seen the billboards and heard a radio talk show host talking about Word of Faith, so I was quite anxious to visit. It is conveniently located right off I-20 (Six Flags exit) for those of us on the west side of Atlanta. Luck was on my side as I found a parking space fairly close to the front. I was greeted by a warm hostess that gladly assisted me in finding the nursery check-in. Baby girl checked in, I proceeded into the main sanctuary. I must admit, Word of Faith is by far one of the most beautiful churches I have ever visited. The interior of the main cathedral is setup in an open room with stadium style seating and decorated with warm gold colors.  It immediately made me feel quite at home and comfortable. The church choir sang traditional gospel songs and the spirit was in the air. Offering was a bit interesting in that the entire congregation says a building fund confession similar to many affirmations churches have congregations say prior to offering except this one included…”Therefore, as a result of our obedience and love in giving we thank You for raises and increases, borrowed money to be returned to us, bonuses and increased commissions, rebates, dividends, gifts and inheritances, cancelled debt and surprise checks in the mail…” Now that’s what I call a comprehensive list of the financial blessings! To be fair, it also included gratitude for health, mental sanity, quality relationships among other things, but the quoted text here truly stuck out in my mind.

As for the actual sermon, I would describe Bishop Bronner’s sermon style as conversational teaching. He possesses an easy-going spirit that reminded me of a laid-back uncle but is entirely engaging and non-threatening. Unlike many churches of today that have the technology wizardy of video feeds and lighting changes, Bronner’s sermon was not bullet-pointed out on the screen. Instead, it was a from the heart conversation that at times made me feel as if he and I were the only two engaged in a dialogue. Unfortunately, I was paged during the middle of the sermon to retrieve my daughter  from the nursery. (Note to the Children’s Ministry – you may want to use a numbering system instead of the child’s full name for less distraction and privacy.) After picking up my daughter, I finished watching the service in the Chapel which doubled as an overflow room.

In summary – Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral is definately I a church I would recommend and I will visit again. Bishop Bronner’s easy conversational manner and the music ministry’s traditional approach to preparing you for worship combine to form a spirit filled experience. When visiting, remember Word of Faith is a large “mega” church, so be patient with parking and stadium style seating arrangement. However, the members, hosts/hostesses and ushers go out of their way to make you feel at home. The Children’s Ministry even gave me a cute little baggy and their sincerest apologies even though it wasn’t there fault my daughter is a handful! Now that’s what I call friendly! I will continue my search, but keep Word of Faith on speed dial.

Destiny Metropolitan Worship Church

Just The Facts
Destiny Metropolitan Worship Church
1775 Water Place
Atlanta, GA 30339
770-509-9010
http://www.destinymetro.org
Bryan R. Crute – Senior Pastor

Location
Marietta, GA
Windy Hill Road area – in office park behind Chick-Fil-A

Sunday Service Times
8:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m.
2:00 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Church Type
Denomination – Christian
Service Style (Traditional/Contemporary) – Contemporary
Size (Small, Medium, Large, Mega) – Large

From the church website…
“Destiny’s message of maximizing potential for God’s Glory has transformed countless lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ is preached here with practical application, yet without compromising the intricacies of the God of the Bible. With a commitment to building strong families, Destiny, under Pastor Crute’s teaching and example, has presented a model of purpose-driven living that has as its goal reaching more people with the love of Jesus Christ everyday. “

My Impressions
(scale of 1 – 3; 1=below average; 2=average; 3=above average)
Sermon Style (preaching/teaching) – Teaching
Music Ministry – 3
Friendliness (of members to me) – 3
Happiness Quotient (feeling of people receiving the spirit) – 2
Children/Youth Activities – 3

Unique Observations- This church was recommended to me by my best friend, so I was extremely excited to visit! Destiny Metro is still undergoing growth expansion. It appears they have already outgrown existing sanctuary that was opened in 2005 – as it quickly filled up with no overflow area for late comers. Clearly underscored by the fact that I was asked on 2 occasions about the seat that my 1 year old daughter occupied. Order was the rule of the morning. Church goers had to stand in line to go down the stairs to the sanctuary and enter into a single doorway. Ushers were extremely efficient in ‘herding’ people to where they wanted them. While the line and ‘herd’ effect could have been a bit off-putting, I passed several smiling faces along the way and everyone had a nice hello. Service was contemporary and definitely had a younger feel to the ceremony. Clearly why it was recommended to me by my friend. The service itself was extremely efficient as well – prayer, praise, giving and message. I made it through prayer, praise and giving, but unfortunately, a busy-one year old had other plans for the message and I had to leave service early right as the pastor was standing up for the message. Without an overflow area, I basically had to leave church. In summary, Destiny Metro is a friendly, young, contemporary church committed to engaging its members (as shown via its focus on Small Group sessions and Youth activities). The church is clearly going through a growth phase, that at times made me feel a bit crowded, although everyone went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable. I didn’t get a sense that I was ‘just a number’ as you do in most large churches, but rather I had a sense that if I joined and got involved it would be like a second home. My only regrets are not hearing the message – so I will visit again and next time place my daughter in the nursery so I can have the ‘full’ experience.

Searching for a Church Home in Greater Atlanta

Well – this is officially my first post! As I mentioned on my ‘About Me’ page, this blog is intended to share my experiences in searching for a church home in the Greater Atlanta area.  I am a 32-year old single mother of a one-year old daughter who moved to Atlanta in December 2004. Since that time I have been on the search for a church home. While I haven’t attended church every Sunday, since my daughter’s birth I have a renewed commitment to finding a church home in the Atlanta area that can fulfill my spiritual needs. I view this blog as an extra step in that commitment by publicly posting my experience each Sunday. By having an audience, along with my daughter,  that I now must be accountable to, hopefully I will meet my goal of attending church every Sunday.

I am a spiritual person, although by no means a religious person.  My quest to find a ‘church’ home centers around the need to expose my daughter to the benefits of a church family. I whole-heartedly believe that a child exposed to and raised “in the church” impacts a child’s life positively beyond measure. Besides providing a foundation for faith in God, the church environment exposes children to individuals that have positive relationships with God.

This blog is intended to share with you my experiences as I visit various churches in Atlanta in a quest for a church home. Each week the blog will be divided into 2 parts – JUST THS FACTS and MY IMPRESSIONS. “JUST THE FACTS” will cover the basics of the church that I am visiting i.e. church denomination, size, website, mission, service times. “MY IMPRESSIONS” will cover my impressions of the church i.e. sermon style, music ministry, friendliness, happiness, my unique observations, etc.

What this blog is NOT – while I know that church is truly about an individual’s connection with God and the opportunity for joint praise/celebration, the experience is influenced by environmental factors. These environmental factors determine whether or not someone chooses to turn a church visit into a church membership. With that in mind, I will mostly comment on the environmental factors associated with my church visits.

Throughout the week, I will also post basic information about various churches in Atlanta – unreviewed. Hopefully, this repository of churches will aid people on their search for church homes. My wish is that others also seeking a church home in the Greater Atlanta area find this information useful in their experiences and good luck on your path.