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Just The Facts
 Cascade United Methodist Church
3144 Cascade Road SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30311
404.691.5770
http://www.cascadeumc.org
Senior Pastor Marvin Moss

Location
Southwest Atlanta - Cascade Road & 285

Sunday Service Times
- 8 am
- 11 am

Church Type
Denomination - United Methodist Church
Size (Small, Medium, Large, Mega) - Medium

From the church website…
“What we believe…Our best chosen words can never adequately express the fullness of who we are as God’s people. Somehow, mental analysis cannot lend itself to full expressions of our hearts nor the heart of God. However, we acknowledge that we are God’s people and heirs with Christ.We have been blessed with a solid biblical foundation and deep theological roots which serve as our impetus for engaging ministry at Cascade and in the world. We have been given an abundance of spiritual blessings. We assume accountability and responsibility for sharing, in manifold ways, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

My Impressions
scale of 1 - 3; 1=below average; 2=average; 3=above average)
Sermon Style (preaching/teaching) - N/A
Music Ministry - 2
Friendliness (of members to me) - 2
Happiness Quotient (feeling of people receiving the spirit) - 2
Children/Youth Activities - 3
Service Time - 11 am - 1:15 pm

Unique Observations-
Given the 2008 political season, I recently was researching my state officials and discovered that both my State Senator and State Congressman attended the same church! When I found out that the church was the same Cascade United Methodist Church that I pass regularly on Cascade Road, I decided to add it to my list of churches to visit. I must admit I had never attended a United Methodist church before, however having been raised in a Catholic Church and attended many other Christian denominations including African Methodist Episcopal church I felt I was open enough to be receptive to their teachings and format. My first impression of this church is put on your Sunday Best! While I had on a skirt, blouse and pumps - I felt underdressed as most of the people around me had on jackets and skirts.  Attire aside,  Sydney and I found our way to the front of the church prior to service beginning. Of course with a 1 1/2 daughter, most people immediately warm to you, so she made a few friends, while I was left still feeling a little like an outsider.  

If a United Methodist service is anything like a Catholic service,  I was expecting a pretty structured format…and structure was the rule of the service. As soon as service begin, I was impressed with the number of female Associate Pastors - truly making Cascade United Methodist a standout in this area. During the service the Men’s choir injected soulful sounds into the traditional hymnals and we were treated to a dynamic dramatic Harriet Tubman performance in honor of Black History Month. Pastor Marvin Moss was away visiting another church, but Reverend Bernice Williams Kirkland did a good job delivering her sermon. I appreciated her content and the thought she had placed in creating her message.  Since Pastor Moss was away, I will have to plan a return trip to hear him and update this review at that time.

Overall, I would say that Cascade United Methodist Church is a traditional United Methodist Church with roots in the African-American experience. If you are looking for a reserved and upstanding church with impressive community outreach/impact and a roster of youth activities, add Cascade United Methodist Church to your list, just don’t forget your Sunday Best! 

Just The Facts
Faith Christian Center
3059 South Cobb Drive
Smyrna, GA 30080
(770) 433-8800
http://www.faith-future.com
Senior Pastor Andre Butler

Location
Smyrna, GA (1 light north of Concord and South Cobb Drive Intersection)
Sunday Service Times
8:45 am & 11:15 am
 

Service Time - 11:15 am - 1:40 pm

Unique Observations -
Faith Christian Center (not to be confused with Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Austell) is a contemporary, progressive church pastored by the youthful Pastor Andre Butler. I discovered Faith Christian Center after noticing its billboard which is prominently placed right across the street from the church on South Cobb Drive. While my personal battle continues over the church nursery saga for my now 15-month old daughter, I decided to take a chance and bring her inside to church with me. Seating for families with small children is in the back of the church, but the ushers were extremely friendly and accommodating. No Nazi-ushers here, just warm smiles and extended hands for this newcomer!

 The service itself had was very progressive - Praise Ministry, Drama Ministry, Sermon, Offering. The Praise Ministry lead the congregation in contemporary worship praise - that reminded me of similar style to Destiny Metro Church. After the Praise Ministry - the new member welcome will make you feel right at home, as members surround visitors and sing them a welcome song.  After you are warmed up and in the spirit, the unique Drama Ministry, in an effort to reach souls and spread the word via multiple channels, conducted a “talk-show” styled panel where people spoke of addictions.  

Last, but certainly not least, the sermon by Pastor Andre Butler. Pastor Butler’s sermon style is best described as “keeping it real” conversational. His topic was on “Eat Until You Are Full”, whereby people should partake in the Word “until they are full”. You can see the many analogies that can develop from this topic. I thought it was an interesting concept on really encouraging people to delve into a deeper relationship with Christ. Rev. Butler’s content, style and delivery resoundingly spoke to a much younger audience, which I think was reflected by the large number of young members and children in attendance.

In summary - Faith Christian Center is a church poised for rapid growth and expansion. Pastor Butler has a clear 12 Point vision for the church and a strategic direction for the future. It is a young church, both congregation wise as well as historically, but I think the youth of the church brings its unique charm, style and approach. If you want to get in “on the ground floor” of a church set for greatness, give Faith Christian Center a try.

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.

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.