Below is how The Street rates, remember I didn't write this, but this person does seem to be balanced, but I find that while The Street isn't as welcoming as other churches, the best way to meet people is to get involved and so it can take a while to feel comfortable. One visit is probably not enough to get a gauge. It is also difficult to know how much effort this person made to talk to anyone or if they were more interested in taking notes for their blog post than getting to know anyone.
This person reviews other churches in Wellington. It makes for interesting reading. What do you think? What do you look for in a church?
I look for the welcoming of people, hence why I do Connections. While I was welcomed initially, it took ages to get Connected and get social contacts.
Can one church be everything for everyone? Or should it be strong in some areas, but rely on other churches to fill the void if it is an area that people want?
The Street City Church
Denomination: Not sure
Date of Visit: 28 Sep 08
Service Time: 10 am
Length of Service: 2 hours
Overall Vibe:
Modern evangelical church in a purpose built warehouse. Felt like a traditional church that has decided to become a house church. Full to the rafters, lots of smiley young people, but quite a mix of ages and life stages in the congregation. Result is pretty standard fare: couldn’t really tell whether I was in Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town or Putney.
Liturgy:
The service followed a pretty regular liturgy, interwoven with attempts to be cool, eg, interview a member the congregation sitting on a sofa rather than standing at the microphone. Communion was a bit routine, hardly the joining of one body: everything was pre-portioned out with juice in little thimble beakers and bread ready diced.
Getting Involved:
Lots of stuff seems to go on in the week like Life Groups, Men’s Groups, Women’s Groups, etc. Reading the Bible in a year seemed to be a current theme.
Preacher:
James Rees-Thomas (Nick Field, the senior pastor, was on holiday)
Sermon: 4/10 (40 minutes)
“Fellow Boasters”. One of those three minute sermons that took forty minutes to deliver. Made the same point twenty-two ways, just in case you hadn't quite got it. Rather dogmatic (behind a veneer of compassion), but not very pragmatic. Didn't fill me with joy, passion or a drive to change.
Worship: 7/10
Contemporary band singing contemporary songs, led by a guitarist and four “lead” singers. Quite uplifting, really, although it never really got cranked up. More Coldplay than Kasabian, if you know what I mean…
Welcome: 3/10
Despite putting on our best “we’re new” faces, only welcomed by one lady who was desperately keen for us to meet the kids church leader. He was very charming. However, “The Street” is too big and too busy for a stranger to really feel welcomed. Even the newcomers’ meeting on those oh-so-funky red sofas was a bit of a scrum.
Coffee: 2/10 or 7/10
Unbelievably, it seems like there is instant coffee for the congregation and ground coffee for the newcomers.
Why Go Here:
If you like the modern Evangelical fare in a contemporary environment with solid Biblical teaching. Also a good place to do spectator church, if you don’t want human interaction.
Why Go Somewhere Else:
If you really want something edgy or really Spirit filled, this probably isn’t for you.
http://wellingtonchurches.blogspot.co.nz/
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