Mosaic Church

I am a big believer in a fair review for any church that I attended, and after attending Mosaic Church for four years, here is my review:
It’s an okay church. I will say that. In the four years that I attended, the first three years were just sitting in the crowd and taking in the scenery. The music is great because the worship leader really had good taste and knew how to mix the best of new music while occasionally bringing the classics back. He even did a 90’s Sunday throwback once, which was great!
In the fourth year, I eventually got more involved in the church, and became a part of their volunteer service. For some reason, I just didn’t feel the connection within the volunteer groups. The people were from different age brackets, and it was impossible to get to know more people my age because… well there just isn’t a lot of people between 20 to 27 in general at this church. There is mostly just 30 year olds or people who are starting young families.
For a long time, I would help serve with volunteer work, but never really got satisfaction from it. Because I am a people person, I feel pleased when I can serve the Lord by serving others. That was just something that I didn’t feel.
Life Groups: This church is always big on life groups. The first group I attended was really good, but they disbanded after a year because the leaders left to go to another church (that’s a whole other topic). The second group that I joined, the leaders didn’t seem to know how to run a life group (which was terrible because one of them was on the life groups team). So I eventually left that group too. I also felt bad because I was making good friends within the group, but they were just not really feeling the direction of the group.
Awkward life groups, old people, and always wanting to send people out to other locations in the city instead of building their foundation and core and growing their main location are reasons why I decided to finally leave this church. Simply, I was just not growing and not connecting with the community.
Young folks (20 to 27), you should totally check out A Jesus Church (Solid Rock). That is where I am going now, and it’s pretty freaking awesome.

*Disclaimer: I have been attending, serving in, and loving this amazing community for the last 9+ years. I noticed that most of the reviews on here are from people who have come once or twice, or were written after attending for a shorter time, so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents, after having been a part of this community for the long term. I will do my best to write a thoughtful, objective review, but I might be a little biased.*
If you come to Mosaic on a Sunday you might notice a few things that other reviewers have mentioned. The color scheme isn’t the coolest or latest. The services don’t go off without a hitch, and the coffee served in the lobby isn’t the most delicious artisan coffee that Portland has to offer. New faces don’t always get greeted right away, and it can be crowded (not to mention the parking lot!) — especially the 11 am gathering.
However, all this is ok with me because Mosaic is about Jesus, first and foremost. It’s a community of honest, authentic people who are real about who they are and what it means to actually follow Jesus each day. Mosaic isn’t all about the the Sunday gatherings, anyway. The real magic happens in the small groups and in serving. This is where you meet Jesus in exciting and unexpected ways.
Mosaic leadership is always working to make more space for people to come and meet Jesus, and I’m excited about the heart and vision that God has given this church. Over the years I’ve seen this community go through ups and downs, including difficult staff transitions and seasons of financial challenge, but never once has the leadership stopped pointing to Jesus.
There is so much I could say about Mosaic and how God has worked in my life through this community. But I’ll end here. Mosaic isn’t a perfect church, but it’s a healthy church, whose staff and leadership are safe and healthy people who are really, truly, walking with Jesus and living a Spirit-​filled life. It’s a place where I can be myself, experience the healing, comfort, challenges, and joy of being in relationship with Jesus. And, it’s a place that I feel comfortable inviting any of my friends — from any walk of life — without fear that they will be judged or made to feel unwelcome.

Okay, I have only been here once but I was not thrilled. While I am not completely opposed to contemporary music, the music was WAY too loud and you could barely hear yourself sing. I get wanting to lift your voice to God, but I’m sure God can hear you under 100 decibels. The church definitely has a «small fish in a big pond feel,» making it too impersonal for a newcomer.

Been to this place a couple times. Good times. It feels funny to review something that is spiritual. The great thing about church is… It’s a place where we can make a difference. Church is not about what it can do for us. It’s about what we can do for it.

I really, really, really like Mosaic Church. Like really. So why only ⁴⁄₅ stars? Primarily because the atmosphere might be a little bit too family/​couple friendly. For the average, single Joe or Jane like myself, this can be intimidating at first glance… and even somewhat depressing lol. But I can assure you that once you get past this, you’ll soon realize that this church has a whole lot to offer.
Community was an integral part of what I was looking for when I moved to Portland, along with discipleship, and I can say that they emphasize both at Mosaic. The first Sunday I came I spoke to a couple members on staff. They recognized that I was new and started some friendly conversation with me, which I always appreciate. When I came back the following week, two of them remembered me by name! Very, very impressive. That is the kind of hospitality that will make this girl feel special and valued. They fairly quickly got me plugged into a «life group,» as they call it, which is essentially a small group offered on a seasonal basis. They have a ton of them to choose from all over the city. Additionally, they have ministries, training programs, and an array service projects you can get involved in (super KUDOS for the anti-​human trafficking initiative!). Just ask for help if you’re not sure where to start, and someone there will direct you to something that fits what you’re looking for.
People at Mosaic are relatively young, but it’s still full of families and couples, as I said. I see singles here and there, but definitely not like the previous church I attended in DC. As one would expect being in Portland (and the Hollywood district at that), the crowd is kind of hipster town. It’s not the most ethnically diverse either, but when considering the city’s demographics, this shouldn’t be surprising. Doesn’t really bother me much. They are still very welcoming, and I don’t feel out of place. I will admit though that at first I was a little iffy about the praise and worship… until I realized that when I started attending they were actually in a transition stage between worship leaders. The current director rocks out, and things have jazzed up quite a bit. I’m digging it.

My family has been attending Mosaic Church for just over six months and we have found it to be a very welcoming community. The sermons are quite good and have direct relevance to daily life. Mosaic is also involved in a number of community outreach programs including partnering with Harvey Scott Elementary School by providing school supplies, performing grounds maintenance, and humnan support to the teachers and students. They are also one of several churches in Portland leading the effort to stop human trafficing, which is an enourmous problem in Portland.
Mosaic Youth is the Jr. High/​High School program that meets every Wednesday night in the church’s basement. Our two girls love this program. It is fun, spiritual, real, and you can always count on the events occuring when scheduled. They also sponsor a number of weekend events throughout the year.
The major downside to Mosaic is the Sunday morning music. I am more of a traditionalist and they only have contemporary music. This would not be all bad except that the bands that lead worship play their music sooooo loud you can’t even hear yourself sing. I understand wanting to lift your voice to the Lord but I am quite sure He can hear it at under 100db. A harkening to some more traditional music would also be nice.
It is certainly not the best church I have attended but the programs for our kids are fantastic and we belong to a very involved Life Group that meets once per week and we find it amazingly supportive and social.

I live in LA. In Portland frequently. This is my home-​away-​from-​home church. Solid teaching, amazing heart for the city.

I get the strangest feeling that I’ve been here before…
Old church building repurposed to be a new church building. Starbucks color scheme. Coffee in the lobby. Candles on the stage. An intentionally diverse praise team earnestly trying to get people to worship in the twenty-​two minutes of time allotted. A younger pastor with a casual style and cool hair. A name (and logo!) that is deep, meaningful, artistic, and used by similar churches across the country.
Mosaic Portland is a casual meeting of believers in in the city’s Hollywood district (Northwest). Lots of families. If you’re looking for a laid-​back church experience, Mosaic would be a good choice. They have lots of programs (they might not call them that, but…) where they get involved in community outreach and service.
We visited on a Sunday morning in late summer. We dropped the kids off at the childcare station in the basement, and headed up to the worship center. Nobody really talked to us, but they didn’t really ignore us, either. I know church isn’t supposed to be about «what’s in it for me,» but an attractional model of church kind of sets itself up for that.
The service was nice– it moved along at a nice pace and kept our attention pretty naturally. The preacher (one of Mosaic’s pastors) was approachable and demonstrated that he’s a great storyteller. He seems like the kind of guy I’d like to get to know and hang out with. He also seems like the kind of guy I won’t ever get to know unless I become a regular at Mosaic.
The church seems to be growing– they’re looking at buying more space in a building across the street. I just wish they didn’t look like hundreds of others churches across the country. Portland is unique– people here are different. It would be nice to see a church like Mosaic that didn’t require a conversion to contemporary American Christian culture in order to belong.
Worship times: Sundays at 9:30am, 11:15am and (in a bold retro move) 5:30pm.
For more information, visit Mosaic Portland’s website:
After church, head across the street to Laurelwood Pizza Co. It’s got a great family atmosphere (play area for kids!) and excellent pizza.

Muhammad Ali was sitting on an airplane when the flight attendant asked him to put his seat belt on. He responded: «Are you crazy?!? Superman doesn’t need a seat belt!!»
The flight attendant replied: «Superman doesn’t need a plane either.»
As much as we credit ourselves with individuality and independence, we all get by with help from our friends. Just some food for thought.