Grace Outreach Center Review

3301 Preston Rd
Plano, Tx 75093
www.graceoutreachcenter.org

Tonight, we visited Grace Outreach Center's Wednesday night service. We are kind of ready to find a church home and we decided to squeeze this experience in during the week. I assumed that what you get on Wednesday nights isn't too far removed from what you get on a Sunday.

First of all, I must say this. I really don't have any complaints about this church. It actually reminds me a lot of the little Baptist church that I attended as a teenager, but just bigger, with better teaching and a lot more ethnic diversity. So in this particular review I'd like to offer my pros and cons in no particular order

Pros:

• Only the 2nd church that I've attended here in North Dallas with so much racial diversity. I absolutely love this aspect of it because I truly believe that that's how it will be in heaven. Black, White, Indian, Asian.....absolutely beautiful. Churches like this make it extremely easy to invite pretty much anyone to your church without them feeling uncomfortable. Hopefully this doesn't offend anybody, but this type of diversity is something that is not an accident. It happens on purpose. And given the many type of peoples in the North Dallas, Plano, Frisco area, it amazes me that this isn't more normal. Sometimes we have to mix up our worship music to cater to the tastes of other cultures that we hope to embrace. Mix up the leadership if possible. I understand that location can sometimes determine the majority or the lack of ethnic diversity, but this should not be the case out here. Even still, this should not be your only reason for choosing a church.
  
• The word was very good. The minister was very very good. He is a walking, living Bible verse waiting to happen. One of the truly gifted people to be able to spit related chapter and verse after chapter and verse. His style isn't particularly different than many others I've heard, but it is extremely effective. Really easy to listen to.
• You didn't get the impression that you were sitting around a bunch of "pretty" people who happen to be Christian. I've felt that before sometimes, even around people in casual attire. Everybody just seemed really down to earth.
• More than anything, it felt extremely simple. It just felt like church. The worship music was praise & worship style music. People actually did raise their hands and express themselves to God in this church, but it wasn't overly rambunctious either. You do get the big screens overhead, but by no means did you feel like you were being entertained either. There was something pretty authentic about the experience I must say.
• The sanctuary sits about 1,500 people. The service began at 7:30 and we were out no later than 8:40pm.
• Just based off of the video's on their website, children's ministry is a big part of who they are.
  

Cons:

• Honestly, I can't say that there were any. This just depends on personal taste. The dress was casual, but I'd probably say that you probably have some in jeans and some in suits on Sundays. Any cons that could possibly be realized once you become more familiar with the church as it relates to available resources.
  

In conclusion, I think that Grace Outreach in Plano is a very good church. If you're not into all of the lights and theatrical ambiance that a lot of the mega churches provide these days, I think you'll be pleased with how they do it here. You also don't get that feeling of superficiality at Grace either. In general, the people I saw and came in contact with seemed to have a real heart to know and love God....but then again it was Wednesday night. Most churches truly committed come on Wednesdays anyway...right? And as always, I love the salt and pepper sprinkled throughout the congregation.

I'd highly recommend this church to anybody. I think it's possibly the real deal and a lot of ways. We'll keep Grace Outreach in mind when we make our final decision.

This weekend, we are on to another Grace church. Grace Community Church in Plano that is.