City Church Chicago
Non-Denominational · Contemporary worship · Chicago, IL
- Location
- Chicago, Illinois 60611
- Denomination
- Non-Denominational
- Worship style
- Contemporary
- Size
- Medium
- Ministries & emphasis
- Contemporary
- Google rating
- ★ 4.5 (244 reviews)
What visitors say
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Prosperity “gospel” galore!!! The way the new building was discussed, I had a bad feeling. It was framed as a “were ‘good Christians’ so good things are happening” not as “we think this is God’s direction for us.” THEN: As the sermon is introduced, Pastor Kent revealed that City Church is associated with Lakewood Church and its pastor Joel Osteen (notorious for prosperity gospel teachings), as Pastor Kent is related to staff members of Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. It continued to get worse as the prayer to introduce the sermon reminded everyone that “God wants to rearrange your life to make things easier for you and for your happiness” (the goal of communing with God is not to make things “easier for you,” but to rely on God to get through the difficulties promised in John 16:33) and asked for God to “grant us the supernatural ability to communicate with him” (more than the veil torn in two did?). I wish I could say the theology was the only disappointing part about my visit. The tagline “we love you already” seems pretty shallow when there’s no actions to back it up. My husband and I walked in, smiled and made eye contact with many people talking, hung around the lobby, asked for directions, and… nothing. People answered our questions with as few words as possible, then IMMEDIATELY turned to resume their prior conversations. We were treated as an inconvenience. That is UNTIL we were being seated, when we were placed in the front row lol. Even during the “we’re good hosts, take some cups of skittles” time for greeting your neighbors, people did not talk to us. Sadly, I was disappointed in our treatment even before I had a chance to hear the church’s theology! It’s the best Chicago church! Pastor Kent and Alli are amazing people. The messages have a positive uplifting tone. Several young adults ages 25-40 attend. Plus the worship is Hillsong inspired. Take a break from a street fest and go to church! You won’t regret it. (P.s. Jeremiah 29:11 & Exodus 14:14) First impression was good, the worship was solid and nothing in the teaching struck me as off. However once Pastor Kent, introduced the guest speaker, who he said was his uncle and who he mentioned works with Joel Osteen's ministry and at Lakewood Chuch. Lakewood and Joel specifically are known for promoting prosperity gospel theology. At the beginning of the sermon, the guest's prayer and he leaned heavily on God supernaturally aligning circumstances for our benefit and blessing us. This language sounded like prosperity theology to me rather than the gospel. It is worth knowing that Pastor Kent Munsey's father, Steve Munsey, is a prosperity preacher out of Munster, Indiana. Overall, while the church is very welcoming and upbeat the prosperity gospel theology is a no for me. Walking in for the first time, the worship caught my Spirit woman in seconds. Genuine, pure, true expression to the heart of God. The message is mature... palatable for those who need milk, and digestible for the meat of the sWord! Intergenerational, diverse, inclusive- I'M HOME. THANK YOU ABBA FOR A BODY TO PLANT MY SEEDS, LITERALLY. Amazing church i definitely felt the presence of God there. I haven't been excited about church and God in a very long time but that church touched me . I think God lead me to go to this church last Sunday because my sisters and i supposed to go to our church but i asked them lets find a nearby church instead because our church is a long drive from home. we googled this and bam! i wont be able to tell you how great the place and service is until you see for yourself
Is City Church Chicago right for me?
City Church Chicago may be a good fit if you're looking for contemporary worship, a Non-Denominational church in Chicago. Every church feels different in person — plan to visit a Sunday service, and check the church's website for current service times.
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