Prestonwood Baptist Church Review

So after 10 years of being members of our beloved church, we have decided to move on and find a new church home. This is in no way an easy decision. I had no idea that looking for a new would be so hard. At the same time I'm excited about moving into the future to see what God has in store for us along with how we can possibly add something new to our new place of worship.

Now the hard part. We went into this knowing that we will never find the "perfect church". But, hopefully we can find a place that has a lot of what we had at our previous church with a little bit of something new. I'll be writing about our nomadic adventure until we find that place. No matter what though we have to be in a place where:

1. The church is bible based
2. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all accepted
3. The members are genuinely nice and loving
   
4. An outward expression of worship is welcomed and encouraged
5. Programs and ministries that bring our whole family closer to God and each other
6. Various outreaches and missions are a priority
7. Racial diversity. (Probably not always easy to find)
8. The leading of the Spirit trumps tradition
9. We prefer a non denominational church, but it's not a must
10. Consistent leadership
    
11. Close to home
    

A few weekends ago we decided to go to Prestonwood Baptist Church. We thought we'd give it a try because it's not far from where we live and a lot of people go there. We've heard quite a bit about the awesome children's ministry and the multitude of programs and small groups that they offer. I've hear Pastor Jack Graham minister on the radio all the time and he seems pretty easy to learn from. Also, we've watched their service online a couple of times and love their music ministry. Truly excellent. Reminds me of our old church.....just with a full orchestra.

We decided to visit on a Saturday evening. We were greeted by some really sweet people in the foyer. We had a very easy time finding the sanctuary. I personally wasn't overwhelmed by the size of the church, but some people might be. We sat in the back just in case Miss Jones needed to make a quick exit. She can get a little chatty after worship time.

Anyway, praise and worship began and I thought, "WOW! I know each and every one of these songs". I hate not knowing songs because I feel so unspiritual. lol. It's silly, I know. But, I guess that's the beauty of technology. You can just look up at the screen, listen to a verse or two and catch on to the melody and there you have it. You almost know the song. Moving right along. I have to say that for me and my personal taste, worship time left quite a bit to be desired. Of the probably 600 to 800 people in attendance, only maybe 10 or 15 people at best seemed interested in worshiping God. I could barely hear any of the people there even singing. No swaying from side to side to the tempo of the music. Most were just standing there, still. Mouths moving, but no volume. I was taken aback quite honestly. It would be different if the music wasn't good or the worship team wasn't into it, but they were. In no way do I feel that this is an indication of the authenticity of the people at Prestonwood, but it's just not my thing I guess.

The message was pretty good. Pastor Graham actually spoke at this service since the Saturday night pastor was out of town. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever is what his message was about. There were points in his message where he made some pretty good points and the congregation just kind of sat there. No Amens. No That's good Pastor. No Uh Huhs. Just silence. I really was not enjoying myself.

But there was some good. The people were really nice and we've actually received multiple phone calls from one staff person as well as the Saturday night pastor. I like the personal touch of the church. Also, whenever people talk about large churches, some people assume that they're just greedy money pits where all the money goes to support the pastor and his family. I didn't feel that there. At the end of service, they past around the offering plates like they used to at the Baptist church I attended as a teenager, and that was it. No poking around and trying to guilt people into giving more than what they purposed in their heart.

In conclusion, there's a good chance that we may not go back to Prestonwood unless we feel the Lord leading us back there. But, currently I don't see us going some place where at the very least I do not enjoy the weekly worship service. Other than that, I can't hate on the place. I've read a ton of reviews and have found that many of Prestonwood's members believe it to be the greatest church on earth. I say Praise God for that. As long as you find that you are strengthened in your commitment to Christ and have the loving support of a church community, that's where you need to be.

All in all, I'll miss Covenant Church deeply. I'm really grateful for the relationships that we've been able to take with us from this wonderful place and moving forward into our lives. Next time, I'll share our experience at Hope Fellowship Church in Frisco.