Seeking Church Not Sure What Kind though....need Suggestions......

I attend a wonderful church !! they do not emphasis as much the religion but faith! They are very family oriented, have a wonderful kids program and TONS of family activites. They even have a moms meeting once a month on sunday evening they have free daycare and even feed the kids!
Living Word Bible Church in Mesa located off Val Vista & Brown
check out their website -
http://www.livingwordonline.org/

Hope to see you there...

Hi Hallie,
I am in the same boat as you- I was raised Jewish with my father and Lutheran by my mother. My husband is also Catholic. There is a Christian based church (non-denominational) called East Valley Bible Church and they are great!! Their website is www.evbc.org . Hope you find that works for you!!

Jen

Have you considered going back to your roots with Judaism??? We just joined Temple Beth Sholom in Chandler and have been welcomed with open arms. Judaism has such a rich religious tradition along with the family rituals. We have 3 boys and are raising them Jewish and they love it.

I am Catholic and my husband is Jewish. We have decided to incorporate both into our daughter's life. Although, the more I hear about Judiasm, the more I like it. I think Judiasm gets a bad wrap. Too many people blame Jews for everything. I vehemently DO NOT suggest mormon or any other "non-denominational" christian churches. They are the most judgemental people I have ever had the dissatisfaction of interacting with. Obviously, I can't say that about all of them, that wouldn't be fair, but most. And remember, you don't have to be a part of any specific religion in order to introduce faith into your lives. Good luck!

Hi,
I go to a Nazarene Church, which is a Christian denomination. Since you said you weren't sure what the different religions and denominations believed I thought I'd explain the Nazarene Church. We share the basic beliefs that Christian denominations share. We believe that there is only one God, although He has three "parts" (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), that the Bible is the true, inspired word of God, and that our salvation comes not from how many good things we can do but by Jesus dying on the cross to forgive our sins. The Nazarene church also believes that when we become a Christian God wants to help free us from a life of sin and empower us to make better choices. If you're interested in visiting, we'd love to have you. My church is Mesa First Church of the Nazarene on University, just west of Stapley. We're fairly small (like a little family :-) ) but have an unporportionately large amount of children and young families for such a little church. We have so many activities for the kids, like Sunday school, vacation Bible school, a scouting program, a fall festival and Easter egg hunts. Whether you end up visiting us our not, I hope you continue to follow the burden placed on your heart to bring up your children as little people of faith. I think that is very commendable!

We go to All Saints Catholic Newman Center which is the Catholic Church on ASU Campus. (corner of University and College) It is very laid back. There are students, professors and lots of families that attend. My husband actually doesn't mind going which is a miracle in itself.

Hallie-

In response to your request I wanted to extend the invitation to attend my church. I am a member of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Although you said that you weren't looking for a specific religion I wanted to share a bit about the "Mormon" Church with you. We are an extremely family based religion with members worldwide. To find out more about the LDS Church you can visit www.lds.org I feel blessed to be raising my children with a solid foundation of Jesus Christ. Raising children comes with so many trials and there's no better comfort than to know that you have a partner in your Heavenly Father. Our church also beleives in eternal families and this too is a great comfort. I would be more than happy to talk to you more about my religion or to have you and your family join us at church one Sunday. Whatever you decide, may God bless you in this righteous quest.

Hello Hallie,
It depends where you live. I attend St. Mary's Catholic Church in Chandler. St. Anne's in Gilbert and St. Timothy's are also good. I think it's very important to get your kids started early on religion. We as mothers play a very important role in our families. I encourage you to take a challenge and start going to church (doesn't have to be Catholic) as a family. Most churches offer classes on religion introduction as well as strengthening your faith. Check them out. If you need more info, please email me.

M.

http://www.unityofmesa.org/ Please consider the unity church. This is one in Mesa but there is one in the West valley also! They support all religons. Ir sounds like what you are looking for!

Sun Valley Community Church is a great Christian church. It is on Ray, between Gilbert and Lindsey. You can go to their website at www.sunvalleycc.com. It is a fairly laid back church with lots of hip christian music and great children's programs. If your looking for a community to get involved in, this is a great one. I'd say to give it, as well as others, a try and see what is the best fit for you and your family. Good luck!

I am sure everyone will say their church is a GREAT one. I will say the same. Central CHristian Church of the East Valley is a nondenominational church. The pastor is REAL. He explains the WORD tells you what he thinks it all means but will also tell you he is a sinner himself. He doesn't ever try to talk down. The music is GREAT. Contemporary Christian. The kids go to their own room and each age group is taught the WORD differently so they can understand. The children's ministry is amazing! You can check out the service online.
http://my.cccev.com
I have a 5 year old. She loves to go to church. We don't go as often as I would like but when we do I always leave with a life lesson.

Hi Hallie. I don't know a lot about the different kinds of churches out there and I don't know if you were looking for something in particular from the church. But the church my family and I go to is called Central Christian Church of the East Valley. It is a great church. They have three kinds of services: traditional, contemporary (which is the one that my husband and I usually attend) and one called third format. I've only been to third format once and I've never been to the traditional, but it seems like each service targets a different generation. The third format is very hip (I feel old when I use that word!) the worship team are all high school or college age kids and they get really into it. In the contemporary we sing a lot of songs that you would hear on the christian radio station and the head pastor Cal is awesome. He gets really excited about talking about God. He also deals with tough issues that I've never heard any pastor ever talk about at any other church I've been to.

It's also a great place for kids to learn about God. My daughter loves to go to church and it's making an impact on her. In the past 4 months or so she has really been talking about God and how she loves him and she always wants to pray with me and my husband.

There are two campuses, one in Mesa and a brand new one in Gilbert. I don't know where you live, but it's worth the drive to try it out if you're interested. My husband and I used to live up by Glendale and drive to Mesa every weekend. Anyway if you have any more questions the church website is www.cccev.com or e-mail me at ____@____.com

Most UNITY churches are pretty good. I used to go to Unity on Southern near Gilbert Rd. Recently I have been attending Interfaith Unity on Baseline & Longmore in Mesa. they LOVE everyone -- black and white, gay and straight. Honest, caring people. The Reverend is a female. Try it. There is Sunday School for the kids. For the past 2 years I have also been attending a Temple (they only meet once a month). It is in Sun Lakes. I learned so much about the jewish faith -- I loved that and all the people. Very family oriented folks. Hope this helps.

Kudos to you for deciding to take your boys to church, it's very important to give you children the gift of knowing God no matter which church you choose. I suggest that which ever one you attend, go at least three times to get a feel for the leadership and the congregation. It's also very nice to have a church thats close to home. I tried several before deciding on the church we attend now. My prayers are with you.
Check out www.BMCChurch.org.