Foundation Church - Normal (IL)

1 /5 Chelsea Alarcon: I highly recommend that you find another church. I would give it zero stars if I could, as I dont think anything is more heart-breaking than hearing about ways this church has played a role in hurting peoples faith in Jesus. I attended here from 2012-2015. I was involved in small group and discipleship group. I also served in childrens church on Sundays. I was really dedicated to this church, yet the pastors didnt even acknowledge my presence half the time. I never knew why until I heard hints about it from other people...likely due to unspoken rules of the church I had unknowingly broken. It makes me sad to read about what others who have left this church, even in recent years, have experienced, as it was far worse than my own experiences. It makes me thankful that that I didnt fit this churchs mold, as hard as I was trying to do that at the time. Ultimately, we are called to be shaped by following Jesus, not by following rules, as some of theirs has no basis in Scripture! I pray all find freedom from this high-control church/church network and experience healing in Jesus name.

1 /5 Adam Banzhoff: I attended this church from 2008-2019, when they changed their name from Clear View Church to Foundation Church. I worked and served in many aspects of this church but most notably served in the kids program from 2009-2019. I dedicated years of my life to this church and church network. I have hesitated leaving this review for years however I cannot in good faith ever recommend this church or any other church involved in this network that was created and is still run by Steve Morgan. I watched as this church moved from loving God and loving others to loving God and only loving other members. There was a marked shift in the teachings and attitudes of the leaders and the members. While this church is filled with good, genuine, gospel loving people, the leadership structure of this church and network are set up to protect abusers and disparage anyone who questions their teachings, views, or policies. Even if you are asking out of pure curiosity to understand. You either fall in line with everything they tell you, trust your leaders, or you are asked to leave. Or possibly told "maybe this church isnt the church for you, and thats ok". Note that many of the reviews you see under this church are from people who I know attend this church as members, as they also attended while I was a member. To serve and be a member at Foundation Church, you must commit to tithe 10% of your income, commit to attend every sunday, attend team meetings once a month, attend small groups each week, sign a "contract" stating you agree with all their views on the bible after taking the required Membership Bible Training classes. The list of requirements to belong seemingly are never ending. You can find all the information you would need to know about this church, and the network they belong to, online. Search for Leaving the Network. There are countless stories from people who have attended these churches and this specific church. Stories of leadership spiritually abusing anyone they deem has a "rebellious spirit" aka anyone who may question them or their views. These stories are not one-off experiences. These stories are not outliers. These stories and this churchs action follow an eerily similar structure. Protect yourself and your family from this place.

1 /5 Paige Sveda: Let me start by saying that I am a Christian. I love God and believe that the Bible is true. I do my very best to love people well and consider my relationship with Jesus to be the most important thing in my life. This review is not a reflection of my feelings or beliefs on churches that follow the Bible. It is simply a reflection of my feelings regarding this church specifically. I attended Foundation from 2015 - 2020. Everything seemingly started out great. I made friends quickly and enjoyed the sermons and worship. It seemed like people there really loved God and loved each other. While there are still good people who attend this church, Foundation has unfortunately changed dramatically since the time that I started attending. The leadership has become much more authoritative with no room for a member asking questions or having different opinions. The environment shifted over time to be a “we love you if you do what we say” church. This is just not what the Church is supposed to be. When I finally decided to leave Foundation, I found a church that actually lives out what the Bible says. Through the healing process of finding the right church home, I was able to reflect back on some of the very problematic things that happened during my time at Foundation. Here are a few: 1. I was instructed by a pastor to ask a person that was in my small group to stop attending because the church “doesn’t have the resources to handle someone who has depression.” 2. I watched several men become pastors who were not qualified. They had no training and had only been saved for a short amount of time. 3. I was instructed by a pastor on several occasions to pray for someone who was “possessed by a demon.” When I expressed discomfort with this, I was told that I was disobeying God. 4. I had to sign a contract saying that I agree with all of Foundation’s teachings and that I will tithe 10% consistently. I was then questioned about money frequently. 5. I was told by a pastor to stop being friends with one of my closest friends in the church because she had “become a distraction.” A couple of months later that same pastor told me to join a small group with this person in it. I asked how he wanted me to handle things with this girl who I hadn’t been spending time with. He demanded that I come in for a mediated discussion with her because I was “sewing discord in the church” by following his previous instructions. Needless to say, it was a miserable discussion that left me (and I’m sure her) feeling really hurt. 6. I sat down with an elder of the church to talk about my concerns. I was told that he agreed and that he had previously brought similar concerns to the lead pastor but that the pastor was uninterested in making any changes. There are many more things that aren’t worth getting into. But if you are looking for a church home, please look elsewhere. This place is not it.

1 /5 L: I attended this church for over a decade, saw many people greatly wounded and was wounded myself by leadership or lack there of. Please! Look up the network this church is apart of before going here. There are MANY documented accounts from people who previously left this network. If you know someone who goes here please invite them to join you somewhere else-there are so many wonderful Jesus loving churches in blo-no.

1 /5 Joshua Martin: My heart goes out to all those who were sadly hurt or mislead while attending this church. My heart goes out to those whom I served along side with for some or many of the ten years I attended. And my heart goes out to those who are new members who may not be treated well if some of the known issues in this church are not remedied. This church is filled with beautiful people, but unfortunately has some serious and troubling red flags. I think and pray for it often.