I am so excited to finally be able to review a very special church and group of people who I have…read morecome to call my family. Let me begin by backing up a bit. I grew up in Tuscarawas County, Ohio and in that area there are a number of Moravian churches. The Moravian Church is a regular Protestant church that has been serving Christ since 1457 (per the denomination's web site: http://www.moravian.org/). It's a loving community with Christian principles and a strength in building relationships. My absolute favorite thing about the church is the motto: "In essentials unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, love." It's truly one to live by. Agree on the key parts, disagree on the semantics, but whatever you do, do it with the love of Christ in your heart and your actions. Now, fast forward to being a college graduate, getting my first job in Columbus, and looking for a church. I gravitated toward the Moravians once again and found The Promise Church, a community of believers in the Lewis Center area. The Promise is welcoming, loving, contemporary and casual. I was received with open arms and even though I thought I was just trying out the waters, I found myself intentionally waking up every Sunday and looking forward to the worship service. My husband (fiance at the time) started attending with me, and soon after our marriage (performed by The Promise Church's Pastor Darryl Bell himself) we became members. The messages are intentional and relateable. Pastor Darryl Bell has the gift of making the Bible truly the Living Word of God and putting things in a modern perspective. The music and worship band is upbeat and sounds like something you would hear on a contemporary Christian station like 104.9 The River, but it is also intermixed with traditional hymns and Moravian texts. A mini-children's message is given every week and there is often Ed Hour for the young kids to attend during the sermon. If you're not a morning person and haven't had your caffeine by 10 a.m. there's no need to worry, because coffee, tea and hot chocolate are always hot and ready for drinking. But most of all, The Promise is a family. I've now worshipped there for four years and through thick and thin my Promise family is always a steady and loving group of people.

A wonderful church! I've grown up with this church family, and they're fantastic at making both old…read morefriends and new visitors feel warm and welcome. It's hard to decide what the best part of worship at the Promise is. First, the music is great. It's lively, upbeat, filled with the spirit, and you can tell that the worship team puts a lot of time into into their work. Second, the pastor does a good job of mixing sound biblical knowledge with a lifetime of real world experience in Christian living. He takes the truths of the bible, and presents them in a way that makes them come to life for application in today's society. Finally, the community is truly a family. They're welcoming to individuals, couples, and families. They love each other, and God's love shows through them. This is a church experience that you truly need to take part in!

If you're reading this, my assumption is going to be that you're looking for a new church to go on…read moreSunday & maybe to meet some amazing local families? Yeah? Well, I can confidently say you've found your home in Ethos. There is so much that goes into making this place special, from the pastors & staffers to the participants. My family found out about Ethos from a flyer that came home in our daughters backpack. We looked at the website, read through the beliefs/core values, and watched a few sermons online. All of which aligned exactly to what we had in our hearts and were searching for as a family. Pastor Jordan & Courtney are both fantastic. All heart. You can tell that the messages provided each week are thoughtfully prepared together. They're relevant, concise and spoken to passionately. Pastor Jordan is who you will usually find on stage each week - he's dynamic and has a true gift of connecting with his audience. Personalization in preaching is so important to be able to take scripture and apply it directly in your own life, each message here is wrapped up with a bow on top. You *will* feel the spirit here. The worship music is on point & so is Ethos Kids. I'm beyond shocked how much my children learn about Jesus each week. They love Pastor Vinnie, and all of their teachers who generously serve each week. My husband & I are very grateful to be able to attend service kiddo free, we love that time together in an otherwise chaotic week. Beyond Sunday- This is more than just a community of people who worships together. We're a family that's passionate about giving back and serving in our city regularly with multiple volunteer opportunities for all age groups. Hands & feet, we're building the kingdom up here in the 614. Be sure to also check out the phased building plan of our future home on Africa Rd. It's a unique, smart, and sustainable approach to creating our little bit of heaven on earth. Everything is transparent. Lastly, new environments can be a lot. I'm personally someone who has anxiety entering into new situations or places. We only know what we know, right? Ethos will meet you where you are, wherever you are. You will be welcomed with love...then you're in control to breathe, feel His presence, relax with coffee, and engage at your own pace. (But I'll tell you, I sat through 2 services and heard my children talking about Jesus excitedly before I sent a text with my name to the new here inbox. We have no family in town, these are our people and they will be yours too See you Sunday! Welcome home!

I'm new to the Columbus area and visited this church on 1/17/16. Pros: Spirit-filled, wonderful…read moremusic/worship from the praise team and choir (high energy and free-flowing), excellent sermon (message and delivery) from the Senior Pastor, variety of age groups throughout the congregation (from young adults to mature), very friendly people and welcoming environment. Cons: Unorganized (we asked several people who were serving where children's ministry was held and the common response was "I'm not sure." or "I think it's this way."), the children's ministry was more like babysitting than ministry curriculum (watching Veggie Tales and random coloring pages). People in the choir were still going up on stage to join the group well after service started...like 10-15 minutes after. The service lasted about 2 hours (the pastor said he was speaking longer than usual that day). Overall, I had a great experience and would go again.

I have attended this church since 09! I find some of the church goers a lil phony, especially the…read moreones who do the most jumping around.. Will do all that praising, but after service will look you dead in your face and won't say a word!!!! As far as the Pastor..... LOVE HIM!!! , full of the word of God!!! I, have found myself getting so much closer to God by listening at Pastor Moore's teaching. He is a "keep it real" Pastor... He doesnt throw the word at you, and leave you to figure it out.... He has a beautiful, kind wife, and a great mother whom both are very friendly! Give this church a try, if you want to hear a good word, and worship

First Community has been a part of my life since I was born, in 1947. Dr. Burhart was lead minister…read morethen and a dear friend of my parents. They helped him fine-tune his concept of a retirement community, which later came into being as First Community Village, of which they were residents in their final years. As I grew up with my siblings at First Community, we were involved in many activities for youth and a memorable family camp for many years. I will never forget First Comminity and believe it was very, and fortunately, formative in my life.

A wonderful church whose message is very simple: where ever you are on life's journey, you are…read moreunconditionally welcome and loved here.

I'm so thankful I was invited to this church. I truly believe God places people and opportunities…read morein our lives at the right time. When I go to church or a church group, I don't want to just walk away feeling like I attended something and then go back to the same routine. I want to leave changed. I want to leave with hope, encouragement, and a reminder that God is still working in me. I want to feel inspired, challenged, and have things to pray about and ponder on. I want to grow in wisdom, strengthen my faith, and continue becoming the person God is calling me to be. I'm grateful for a place where people encourage each other, build each other up, and help each other grow closer to Christ. I'm excited for what God is doing and thankful He led me here.

I've been a member since 1979, and I LOVE this church! The people are friendly and the sermons…read morefeed me. I enjoy the multi-generational, interracial congregation.

We attended this church for 3yrs before moving out of state. We miss Heritage and the great…read moremessages put forth weekly. Andy and Pavi are excellent in relaying Bible Scripture and applying it to everyday life. Excellent contemporary worship music with encouragement to sing along. Grateful they have their sermons online so we can stay connected from afar! They also offer a great amount of life groups. It's a larger church than I have ever been to yet the experience and level of connection to others is up to you. There's no pressure to sign up for anything which is nice. Service is about 75 min with at least 15 min of music. Highly recommend!!

The leadership of this church is judgmental and phony. I really thought this was the place for me…read moreand my husband. In the 6 months we were there, it didn't take long for the essence of the church to reveal itself. The 2 pastors, particularly, Pastor Josh and Pastor Diane, made horrible incorrect and humiliating assumptions about us that were not true. They interrogated me about my husband's brain injury services and was I being truthful with them regarding the application process through the county. They had me sit in the office and make phone calls in front of them to prove the legitimacy of my efforts. They looked me up on the internet to verify my RN License. They looked in my phone as well. They just really thought I was lying to them about anything and everything. Is it so hard to believe that there is truly that much bureaucracy in TBI/disability services and the home-based waiver program? I told them my husband was approved medically but we were waiting for the financial piece to be approved. They doubted everything I was explaining to them. I showed them actually county documentation. They still questioned me. Additionally, I like to make greeting cards as a hobby. At Christmas I made one for each pastor. I personalized them with each one of them in mind. I never receive even an acknowledgement that they received them but I know that they did. I made the pastor a Christmas gift. After 6 weeks; I wasn't sure he received it so I asked him. He said he did. There is something very easy and polite about simple "thank yous". Especially when someone made something from their heart. As time went on I would make and give a card here and there to someone that I thought needed a little encouragement a simple thank you for making the coffee every week or for their efforts in some way. I was told by pastor Diane and pastor Josh that I "need to stop giving gifts to people". I asked what they were talking about! I don't give "gifts" to people! I make dumb cards for people. Big deal!! They said I have to stop because it looks like I'm doing it to get something from people. What? What? What are you talking about???? This is so twisted! To assume they KNEW the motives of MY heart is presumptuous and arrogant. They actually told me I "had an addiction to giving".......From giving cards to people on certain occasions. They have since infiltrated other church members and people I WAS friendly with retaliatory comments casting out right lies about me and my motives. They don't know my heart. If they did, they would not have crushed it the way they did. It really destroyed me. I truly believe people are good and I would do anything to help another person. I would never assume I knew more than God did. I thought we were called to love one another and leave the judgement to God. I was so hurt by this church. That I just had to share my experience. There are a lot of complaints about the music which I was fine with but there are even more complaints about the pastor sermons being superficial and repetitive. Approximately 60% of the Church is 65 and older. They SAY they want to welcome new people and grow the church but it's on their terms and if you don't fit in, you can forget it. They really broke my heart. They had it all wrong with me. They couldn't be further off base. If you're planning to attend this church just know that to your face you will get a big smile and a phone greeting but behind the scenes they will investigate you and interrogate you. They (pastor Diane) literally had the nerve to email another church member to ask THEIR opinion of me!!!

I visited a little while back, and I was impressed. Great music, congenial pastor, lovely chancel,…read moreran into a friend who was also visiting. A few of the church people smiled and spoke - I find this to be true of churches, in general.

We came here over a year ago and were pleasantly surprised by the warmth and character of the…read morechurch. From the moment we walked in and received hugs and welcomes, we felt things were very different in a most positive way :) The sovereignty of God is preached steadfastly along with all the other truths of his word without compromise for what the world thinks we should teach. I am very privileged to have been asked to Pastor and fed well every time we go! If you're looking for a church that isn't just worship music and then won't preach on sin or end times . If you're looking for a church to preach GOD's WORD's without apology, then look us up on Facebook or hear our sermons on CalvaryChapelColumbus.com. Come as you are and given GOD's great grace and goodness, you'll leave with the knowledge that HE loves us and never lets us go! Serve relentlessly!