2 /5 Karen M: (I originally wrote this review January 28, 2025.)
I’ve grown up attending a mega church and have been to a wide variety of churches in the past few months. I’ve attended this church twice in two weeks because the main pastor wasn’t there the first week. First of all, I will say the parking lot volunteer team is amazing. We attended first week in the freezing cold, the next week in the rain. The team was there, bundled up, with smiles on, helping hundreds of people find parking. Kids check-in was so easy. There were always dozens of people to help us get checked in. My toddler had fun as well. FYI: They do have bag security checks. I didn’t learn that until our second visit.
They have free coffee and a lot of creamer options as well as a cafe, if you want fancier coffee.
The worship experience is amazing, but know that it is loud no matter where you sit. They have free ear plugs at the connection kiosk for you, if you don’t already have some. The songs were biblically based, and the energy of the worship team was top tier.
The first week, the preaching was pretty ok. It was the location pastor. The second week, the main pastor preached. There were two times I noted where the main pastor said something that could confuse people who are new to faith—things said in passing, dealing with Sabbath and Holiness (two very important values of the Christian faith). I caught what he was trying to convey, but I have been going to church and reading my Bible for a while, so I can track with most "Christianese". Something that still presently disturbs me is that the pastor, from the stage said something along the lines of if I couldve picked anywhere in the world to plant a church, I wouldnt have picked Texas for myself. Maybe Hawaii. That made me feel so sad to hear him admit, if Im honest. If it was intended to be passed as a joke, I dont remember hearing the congregation laughing. Also that day, there was a man in the congregation (a few rows behind me) who was being disruptive, he may have had special needs; I don’t know. When the man disrupted the preaching (after a few times) The pastor said (passively) that he himself was “aggravated” by this. I 100% empathize, but it’s not my church nor leadership. As someone visiting, that was deeply disappointing to hear the church leader admit on stage. With a church this size, I was surprized there wasn’t a plan or protocol in place for people who are repeatedly disruptive. The pastors later attempts of crowd control rubbed me the wrong way. I really hope the connections team talked to this man, heard his side of it, and prayed with him, but when the service ended and I turned around, most people had already left.
I hope theyve since created a plan for situations like this because regardless of who enters the doors of any church, people should be treated with love and respect, especially by those who work there.
(I realize the service I attended may not appear online as the majority of churches post the single, best service, but to my knowledge, this was my honest experience. If you love Celebration, Im so happy youve found your church home and community! I just wanted to share my feedback and perspective of my visit.)
