The Church At BattleCreek

With me being on the road for so long I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to check out other churches… The hours and time of day that I work make it a little harder to want to do anything in the morning. I am very happy that I took the time to visit this church. The minute I pull into the parking lot I get a friendly wave from the the many gentlemen directing traffic. My first impression was «oh great a bunch of golf club member type of people I have to deal with» (because it was part of the Battlecreek golf club). But I was quickly shown a much different side.
The moment I walk in I see so many types of people which is a good thing. They had a place to buy coffee as well as books and audio books for just about everyone. The big thing that caught my eye was that they had movie posters hung on the walls in the main lobby… Ghostbusters, Star Wars, The Notebook… just to name a few. They also had life size cardboard standies of Darth Vader, Batman and Dirty Dancing (for those of you who know me that is big to me).
The service started with a full band with amazing singers and very inspiring music with fancy lights to boot. Right before the guest pastor came up to speak the word, the lights came down and on two screen they showed a small clips of movies like Star Wars, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, The Dark Knight and many more with epic music to fill in. I loved the message of today’s word… it really hit me hard with everything going on in my life and gave me a newly restored faith in God and my hope for the future has never been stronger.
I have one more weekend here I you can bet that I will go back. Such a great experience!

Went to Easter service with my brother, his wife, and some friends. I knew it would be busy because it was Easter, but the amount of people that this place holds is impressive. I was SO thankful to see the ‘First Time Visitor’ parking in the front; I thought that was a nice touch. I walked into the lobby area to wait for my brother (he was running late) and I noticed a nice water fountain past the sea of people leaving from the previous service. I thought it was just a decorative feature, but it turned out to be their baptismal pool. Since it’s outside of the chapel they did a live feed during the service so everyone could witness the baptisms that took place.
They have a larger chapel (for everyone), a smaller chapel (for teen service), a children’s area, and a special area just for babies. I didn’t know whether the baby area was just for the parents to get a little break or what (free babysitter), but once I walked into the chapel I realized that the volume of the music might be too much for little ears. So the baby area is a great idea — use it if you need to. Back to the music: they have a live band playing at the beginning of the service. The music is contemporary and upbeat; it was my favorite part of the experience. The singers were really into their worship and some were getting emotional during one of the songs. The lights are dimmed and it’s like you’re walking into a show rather than a church service. Found our seats near the front and my brother led me back out to the side aisle. He took me over to a side table that had communion on it. He said they didn’t do it as a whole, but anyone who wanted to partake in communion could. Another nice touch, to help fellow Catholics like myself adjust to this new format.
The chapel has large screens on each side so everyone can see. The minister did a good job with his sermon — it didn’t seem as long as it was, which is a good sign. As I said before they held baptisms out in the lobby area and fed live video into the chapel. They had a little more music, then it was time to go. I’d like to note that this location has a coffee shop near the entrance, and a book store. They allow you to take your drinks and snacks into the chapel, so no need to show up extra early and scarf your food down before the service begins. The chairs in the chapel are wide and roomy — they really went the extra mile to make their patrons comfortable. It sounds like they have several committees and clubs that anyone can join, so they are trying to have a sense of community despite the size of the congregation. Overall it was a nice experience, but I don’t think I’ll be converting. It’s a nice option to visit every once in awhile though.

I visit churches all over the country because of work. I came here to see what makes these guys different since they were in outreach magazine as having one of the fastest growing churches. Unlike many other churches, I was not greeted or welcomed except when being handed a note card for the sermon. The band was typical for a large church. The pastor was out of town and I was blessed to here Pastor Pete Wilson from Nashville preach and loved it. I have now downloaded a bunch of his podcasts. I would revisit this church again if I had a chance just to see if the experience is any different when the Lead Pastor is present. What I can say is I have downloaded some of their sermons, and the preaching seems good.

This church is for everyone from a young child with the excellent children’s ministry, to adults, to seniors. It is welcoming, has great worship, insightful preaching, and a place for everyone to get involved.