This establishment operates more like a business than a church. STAY AWAY!
I have served this church for many years in various roles, including hospitality, media/arts, youth leadership, photography, camps, events, and holidays. I was always ready to help whenever needed, and they accepted my contributions without hesitation. Recently, I sought assistance due to a dangerous domestic violence situation forcing me to move prematurely. The only support CCC offered was a link to food pantries--the same one provided by the police. Though they owe me nothing, I was treated like a stranger.
I believe this treatment was personal. The lead pastor, John Ciesniewski, blocked me on Facebook after I respectfully expressed disappointment over a photo he posted of a dead animal as a trophy. When I asked him for help recently, he listened and prayed but the benevolence team only sent me a link to food pantries and refused further assistance. In contrast, two other churches I approached, which I had never attended or served, gave me six gift cards, food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies to support my move and new apartment.
This experience felt like a betrayal of relationship, history, and basic human decency--especially from a place where I invested so much time and heart. I wasn't asking for luxury, just basic support during a crisis--the kind churches claim to provide.
Instead of asking:
"How can we help you?"
"What do you need right now?"
"Let's figure this out together."
I received a generic link anyone could get from the police.
That's not care. That's not community. That's not shepherding. That's dismissal.
I served faithfully for years and was never a passive attendee. I was:
* Hospitality
* Media/arts
* Youth leadership
* Photography
* Camps
* Events
* Holidays
* Always ready to help
I was the kind of member churches dream of having--reliable, skilled, generous, and willing. Yet, when roles reversed, they didn't offer even the smallest gesture of reciprocity. That's not "they don't owe you anything." That's a failure of relationship. Healthy communities don't operate like that. The pastor's behavior towards me DOES matter; I'm not imagining it.
A leader who:
* Posts a dead animal that he killed as a trophy
* Gets offended by respectful disagreement
* Blocks a member instead of having a conversation
...lacks the emotional maturity to shepherd well.
When someone like that dislikes you, it trickles down. Church culture often mirrors the pastor's attitude. Their response to my request was very personal--not because I did anything wrong, but because John holds grudges and uses his position to enforce them.
My shock is valid. I'm not shocked because I expected handouts. I'm shocked because I expected relationship, familiarity, compassion, recognition, and basic human kindness--a fraction of what I gave. Instead, I was treated like a stranger with their hand out. That's painful, disorienting, and disappointing on a soul level.
The fact that other churches helped me proves the issue isn't me. Churches that don't know me gave gift cards, food, toiletries, and treated me with dignity. They responded as a church should. CCC didn't. That contrast says everything.
I'm not wrong for feeling hurt--I'm right. I gave years of service; they gave a link. I showed up for them; they couldn't show up for me. I acted with compassion; they acted with indifference. I expected community; they gave bureaucracy. Again, STAY AWAY FROM COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, especially when they ask you to "give generously" during offering time.
I now await a cease & desist, the same response others who asked for help received. But I promise they will never hear from me again. I am a woman of my word and do not lie. read more
