Website: http://www.saintgregorythegreat.org/

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Missional View: 3/5
Community: 3/5

Website Review
Site Usabilility: 4/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 3/5

Summary: A Catholic community that professes to be more ‘orthodox’ than many Catholic Churches. Suggest you examine this chart of difference between Catholics & Protestants.

A large, active Catholic parish.

Website: http://www.bonitavalley.com

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Missional View: 3/5
Community: 3/5

Website Review
Site Usabilility: 3/5
Site Design: 2/5
Site Content: 2/5

Summary: Bonita Valley is a community church that desires to be all things to all people. The service I attended offered a very simple message. The good news is that it was based on the Bible. The challenge is that I do not believe over a period of time a person can grow that much sitting under the preaching. The church does offer a large (and I mean large) variety of weekly programs for every age group and sin. Alcoholics to teens, tweens, babies and adults. The glaring missing group is a mens group.

We can only nominally recommend this church IF someone was very active in Bible Studies and studied the Scripture as a part of their life.

Website: http://www.thewaycc.com

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 3/5
Community: 4/5

Website Review
Site Usabilility: 3/5
Site Design: 2/5
Site Content: 2/5

Summary: The Way Christian Church is pastored by Art Murillo. The Way is a Bible believing and preaching church in Chula Vista. Pastor Murillo came from Mission Valley Chrisitan Fellowship a Calvary church. While The Way is non-denominational, in many ways it is similiar to the Calvary-style churches throughout Southern California. There are many things to like about The Way. They have a high view of scripture, they worship God, (Art is a professional worship leader), they have an active community seeking to love the lost, they have a great children’s ministry and they love Jesus Christ. Our main disagreement with The Way would be in how they interpret the Bible.

The Way Christian Church is a Bible-based church cut from the Calvary mold.

Website: http://www.vertexcoronado.com/

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 4/5
Community: 3/5
Preaching: Topical
Worship: Band
Service times: 6pm

Website Review
Site Usability: 2/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 2/5

“We’ve tried a number of ways to reach out to people in the community. We’ve tried TV, parades, door knocking, all of this didn’t work. Creating the additional service is the best outreach we’ve ever done” Pastor Larry Hamblen said. First Baptist Church of Coronado calls the new service, “The Vertex.”

The Vertex launched one year ago as an evening service, catering to a younger audience. “A couple of people wanted to make the church more exciting. They wanted to have a service with a higher energy and more upbeat music,” Pastor Hamblen told me. Hamblen described the service as having a “postmodern flavor”.

Wedged between homes on Coronado Island, First Baptist Church’s steeple rises a story above the white building. Inside, ten candles in sconces hang on the walls. The candle glow provides a faint light to the room. Thin stained glass windows, black from the night, line one wall. The small sanctuary houses nine rows of cushioned pews. A cross, six feet in height, hangs on the front wall. Nearby, a large screen displays artistic images along with the words to the songs.

The 38 congregants at the service were primarily college-aged students. Common attire was a PLNU sweatshirt, jeans, T-shirt and an occasional baseball hat turned backwards. I asked Taylor Dwyer, the lead guitarist and vocalist in the band, about who attends the service. “Half of the people live on the island. They either have been involved with the church or heard about it when we posted door-hangers in the neighborhood. The other half are friends of ours from Point Loma Nazarene College.” Dwyer and the entire band graduated from PLNU last spring.

The service began with a welcome from Dwyer. Through the service, the band performed nine songs. The volume of the music filled the small sanctuary as a drummer, keyboardist, bass guitar, electric guitar and acoustic guitar accompanied the singing. Later, Pastor Hamblen told me they had purchased a new sound system for the evening service.

Dwyer classified the band’s sound as “a little harder than Dave Matthews Band. We play a lot of songs from the Passion Movement and the Vineyard, but we would like to write our own tunes.” The songs for the evening included Trading My Sorrows, Blessed Be Your Name, Hear Our Praises, Lord Most High, You Alone and How Great is Your Love.

The keyboardist from the band, Tim Gaines, preached the sermon. Gaines based his message on the gospel of John, chapter eleven. This chapter tells the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The shortest verse in the Bible is this chapter: “Jesus wept.” Gaines connected the story to the congregation’s life by saying, “I believe Jesus weeps when we come to him without faith, when we give up on our brothers who are spiritually dead. Just like in the story of Lazarus when we see people give up on Lazarus who is physically dead. The people didn’t have faith that Jesus would raise him from the dead. I believe that is why Jesus wept.”

After service, Gaines told me he preaches every four to five weeks. Gaines studied philosophy and theology at the undergraduate level at PLNU. He is in graduate school and would like to teach theology at the college level. “Theology is bigger than anything that I know. It’s so much bigger than me. I love being caught up in something bigger than me,” Gaines said. “I like how theology influences a church to live and do local ministry.”

Philosophy comes to play into his preaching. “You can’t take theology and philosophy apart. Theology has, over the last 1,000 years, basically followed philosophy. Philosophers and theologians have been in conversation and so you can’t really study one without studying the other. You have to have both together.”

The Vertex is a service reaching the postmodern generation with a band, candles, and dark lighting.

Website: http://www.calvarysandiego.com

Church Review
Scriptural View: 4/5
Beliefs: 2/5
Community: 3/5
Preaching: Expository
Worship: Saturday 6 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 6 p.m., Wednesday 7 p.m.

Website Review
Site Usability: 2/5
Site Design: 2/5
Site Content: 3/5

Review: Calvary Chapel San Diego (CCSD), as its name obviously suggests, is an off-shoot of the monolithic movement started in Costa Mesa California in the early 1970’s under the leadership of Pastor Chuck Smith. In San Diego alone, there are dozens of fellowships affiliated with Calvary Chapel. Because CCSD (and most other Calvary’s) model themselves after the Costa Mesa church, we will examine the movement as a whole and make a view particular observations about CCSD.

CCSD is one of the larger fellowships in San Diego having just moved into a new building in the booming Otay Ranch community of Chula Vista. The sprawling property, which covers an entire block, also houses a K-12 private Christian school called Calvary Christian Academy.

As with most Calvary Chapels, they should be commended for their high view of Scripture. Nearly everyone attending the church carries their own Bible and most are feverishly scribbling on notepads and marking the margins of their Bible during the sermon. Pastor Bryan Newberry faithfully teaches verse by verse and book by book through the Bible and it is clear that anyone attending CCSD continually is sure to be exposed to a regular diet of scripture.

What Calvary Chapel actually believes about the scriptures is quite a different matter, however. Instead of a clear statement of faith as to what they believe, CCSD chooses instead to hang its theological hat on the catch phrase “Simply Jesus!” While this may seem really spiritual and non-threatening on the surface, it belies what they really believe. Although CCSD (and all Calvary’s for that matter) claim to not put a strong emphasis on doctrine because it causes division, a careful examination of the movement’s teaching and writings tell a different story. In his book Calvary Chapel Distinctives (Word for Today Publishing, 2000), founding Pastor Chuck Smith writes: “In Calvary Chapel we value the teaching of the Word, and possess an open heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. This balance makes Calvary Chapel a distinct and uniquely blessed movement of God. (emphasis mine).” The bottom line is that it is precisely their doctrine that makes them a Calvary Chapel. Any deviation from their core doctrinal beliefs and a church can no longer be called a Calvary Chapel. Out of one side of their mouth, Calvary Chapel pleads for unity and non-division…out of the other side of their mouth, they view themselves as “a distinct and uniquely blessed movement of God.” Simply Jesus, huh? (Note: Pointing out distinctions in doctrine is NOT a bad thing. It is what churches should do. It is doctrinal distinctions that separate a truly biblical church from a cult. The problem we have with Calvary Chapel is that, under the guise of being spiritual, they claim to not do it. Their actions and writings prove otherwise.)

Another problem at CCSD, and most other large mega-churches, is a lack of pastoral oversight and community. The church keeps no formal membership which makes biblical church discipline non-existent. With its well-attended, multiple services, it is very likely that you will never see the same people very often, at least not often enough to build any strong relationships. And forget about actually knowing or meeting the pastor or elders (do they have elders?)! As with most large churches, the real ministering and discipleship is said to be done in small groups (or home fellowships). While small groups are important and a vital part of any church, it should NEVER be a substitute for the corporate gathering of God’s people and the oversight of godly shepherds. At CCSD, there is something to do every night of the week: married fellowships, single fellowships, drug/alcohol recovery groups, youth groups, teen groups, Spanish-speaking groups and on and on. Again, while small groups are good, is this the biblical model of community, everyone divided into groups and sub-groups based on age, gender, nationality or vice? It is conceivable that one could be very busy and active in the church and NOT experience true fellowship and community. Unfortunately, it is all too easy in a church this large to slip through the cracks…

While Calvary Chapel faithfully preaches through the Bible, it seems as if many of the scriptural admonitions about the importance of the local church are neglected or flat out ignored. Thus, the growth of an individual Christian in this environment is sure to be affected in the long run. A new Christian may find the church very helpful and learn a great deal about spiritual disciplines like prayer, bible study, evangelism and service. However, because of their extremely narrow and shortsighted doctrinal positions we can only give Calvary Chapel a half-hearted recommendation.

Website: http://www.newhopefriendship.org/

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 3/5
Community: 4/5
Preaching: Topical, Exegetical
Worship: Hymns
Service Times: 8am, 11am

Website Review
Site Usability: 1/5
Site Design: 1/5
Site Content: 1/5

Review: New Hope Friendship Missionary Baptist Church has a name that doubles as a sentence. I attended a service in October 2004. In September, Reverend Dr. Robert E. Houston Sr. submitted his resignation as the Pastor of New Hope Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. After serving nine years as the senior pastor, Reverend Houston decided to enter a preaching-evangelism ministry. Assistant Pastor, Alonzo Brooks Sr., since has taken over as the interim pastor. Reverend Brooks said, “(The resignation) was a bit of a surprise to a lot of people in the church. We are still going on. It is a process but the church is moving on.”

The service I attended was preached by a visiting preacher, Minister Lieutenant Hodges. Reverend Brooks told me that in the month he has taken over, two times he has had visiting ministers preach. This practice seems common in the African-American Baptist community.

Hodges focused heavily on delivery. He varied volumes and tempo of his speech. Dramatic arm and hand movements emphasized points in the sermon. He repeatedly asked, “Can I get some hand-praises to God?” and the congregation replied with vigorous applause. The congregation shouted “amen”, “preach, reverend” and other encouraging phrases throughout the sermon. When the congregation responded well to a particular sermon point, Hodges smiled and turned to Reverend Brooks and shook Brooks’s hand.

Hodges broke into song three times during his preaching. Taking a lead from Ezekiel’s mention of dry bones, the minister sang, “The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone and the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone…the neck bone is connected to the head bone”. Minister Hodges ended his sermon by reminding the congregation that “God can do anything, including bringing life to the dry bones of people who do not believe in Jesus.”

Much of the sermon appeared to be a show and the content of the sermon lacked any meat. In between the two services are bible studies, where I hope more time is spent diving into God’s word. I did ask Reverend Brooks what his church believes about life after death. He explained, “We believe your soul goes to heaven if you are a Christian. If not, your soul is doomed to eternal damnation. To become a Christian, God chooses us before the foundations of this world. He sends the Holy Spirit to give us the unction to follow him. Without the Holy Spirit indwelling us as believers, we would never accept Him.” He answered a few other theological questions with orthodox comments which increased my confidence in his ministry.

A 2-star church based on the visiting preacher but the interim Reverend Brooks seemed solid in his beliefs. If you plan on attending, I would recommend you investigate the bible studies and other classes to ensure that you will grow in your knowledge of God’s Word.