Up until a couple of months ago, a warehouse was for me exactly that - a warehouse. And a shop of…read morecourse, but I'm referring to an actual physical warehouse. Not so any more! Referring to my 'Made in Belfast' review, I have since discovered a warehouse refurbished as a restaurant, and today I went to church in one of these fashionable buildings. Warehouses most certainly seem the way forward. I am a regular church goer, but have recently had a desire to nosey around a few different ones and see how I like them. Northdown CFC happened to be today's lucky church, and so myself and my boyfriend ventured on our 5 minute journey to Newtownards. Having read on the website that the service started at 11am, we were both rather alarmed to realise that there were only 5 other people (and the worship band) actually in the church when we arrived at 10:55am. We later found out that a) this is a regular occurance (and to be frank, it happens in my home church pretty much all the time), and b) summer time is more laid back anyway. Just before the service started, my boyfriend and I got a poke from behind from a friendly regular saying hello, and how he hadn't seen us before and hoped we had a good morning. Shucks. At 11:15 (approx), the Pastor welcomed us all (all = 60 people at this stage) and informed us that we were going to sing songs, hear a lady speak and have tea and coffe. Lovely jubbly. The worship band were pretty sound, and the lady speaker did a great job on on her favourite passage from Hebrews. Tea and coffee, we learnt (from nice Mr Friendly man), were free for visitors, which my boyfriend greatly appreciated. I, being my usual awkward self, told the lady serving that I didn't drink tea, coffee or hot water, much to her dismay. Sorry missus, that's just the way I roll. We got chatting to a lovely, friendly girl around our age who introduced us to the Pastor who was also lovely and friendly. I really appreciated the effort these people made to make us welcome. Coming from such a big church, you sometimes miss the small community that is so evident in other churches. But I felt right at home in Northdown. Lovely little friendly church in a warehouse...do check it out.

Bangor Abbey is not only a church but it is a structure that represents Bangor as a town. The Tower…read morethat was erected in the 17th Century keeps watch over Bangor. The grounds are steeped in history and the story of the Abbey is enough to fill a History text book. Viking pillages, Saints, Norman invasions, dissolution's and reformations. Bangor Abbey is no normal church. Inside the church every stone tells its own story. On a sunny day light is cast over the congregation from the beautiful stain glass windows. The grounds of the Abbey are no less interesting, Graves include that of a doctor on board the infamous Titanic. The cemetery can be visited freely between 9am and 5pm but I recommend having the stories recounted by an expert to gain the full sense of history. Excursions can be arranged by contacting the Parish, who are extremely helpful. Open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 2pm and 4pm. I would advise one to make the most of these brief opening hours.

Riverock Church is a small but vibrant group of friendly Christians with a strong Worship ministry…read moreand a heart to take the Gospel and a message of reconciliation to their city. They are casual but sincere in their faith and love for Jesus Christ, and welcome visitors from all walks of life and all nationalities. They relate to a group called New Covenant Ministries International - http://www.ncmi.net/. You can also find their facebook page at : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Riverock-Church/142338549147399

Its sad that the only review on here is a negative! I started going to GP in July last year and…read morehave found everyone very friendly, welcoming and genuine. I'm now a member of the Church and involved with what is going on. Its certainly very different to my previous church and many of the others, but I can't fault their teaching or their heart for the people of Ballymena and surrounding areas.

I have attended Green Pastures myself and travelled quite a bit to get there and back home. So…read moresometimes along with my job I couldnt get every Sunday. A couple of months had gone by and I didnt manage to get up, but what I found was that after being told by one of the Pastors that every Monday they go through their system to see what people would need a call, a visit or prayer if they seen that people hadnt been out to the Services. I didnt get a call or a visit. I dont want to come across petty,honestly. But what I want to say is that you can easily slip through the net because it is so big and busy. And its not to say I didnt get to know some people and they knew me. I know I shouldve said something at the time but I felt embarassed to ask for help and express how I felt. The world is so busy and poeple dont have time to take time, why are churches becoming the same. Why is it all about getting involved and not about building genuine relationships:-(

Ooooh la la, this church is rather snazzy. With its striking 'Elim' signage, complete with the…read moreflame symbol of this particular denomination, and expansive building, including a 1000 seater auditorium and top-notch coffee shop, Bangor Elim certainly looks the part. Not that that matters of course. Descending upon the Elim's evening service at 6:30, myself, my sister and my other half were heartly greeted at the door by a rather eccentric looking old man, hand jangling up and down and grinning from ear to ear. I do appreciate a nice welcome. Despite us being a good fifteen minutes early, the church was buzzing with people, from babies right up to pensioners; there was certainly a good variety. Amongst the hustle and bustle, we located a few friends, who, unbeknownst to us, had decided to come to the service too. We sat on the cinema style seats and took a good look around. Pleasant surroundings, without being OTT, and a massive stage which takes up the entire front of the church. Nice. We were welcomed by one of the three pastors, and told that, due to this being the first Sunday of the World Cup, there would be a definite football theme that evening. By this stage, the huge band had taken their places on the stage, followed by a small choir who stood on the rafters beside the band. The music was upbeat and cheery, much of what I am personally used to. The worship leader was fab, and had a great voice. The choir took a wee while to get into the swing of things, but they didn't half do bad either. I must confess, I was rather enjoying the whole experience thus far. I was later informed that the evening meetings are much more evangelistic than the morning services, so the topic of the World Cup took the format of idol worshipping and placing things over and above God in our lives. It was a good sermon, but not gritty enough for me. Definitely suited its purpose though. A few more songs were sung at the end, and communion was served. Grappling with a bulky communion tray whilst singing required a bit of a hand, but apart from that the two intertwined rather well. As soon as the service was over, another friend came over to speak, introducing her friends to my sister and I. One of the girls offered to give us a tour of the church, showing us the fab coffee shop, impressive youth centre and the various rooms used for different purposes. We all had a brilliant night, and would undoubtedly return.

I used to be lured to Elim every Saturday night with the promise of indoor football, a tuck shop…read moreand fizzy drinks. I went week in week out and they would always end each youth club with a little bit if preaching. Now I didn't really mind this, the thought of indoor football always kept me happy. But they often went a little far trying to get you to listen to their positive messages. Despite this I always found Elim quite bearable and hospitable considering I abused their youth club without ever being a member of the church.

Built in the 1600s, Dromore Cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the Down and Dromore Diocese, the…read moreother being Down Cathedral in Downpatrick. Although it doesn't pack as much of a punch architecturally speaking as the likes of St Anne's, it is much more modest, yet equally stunning, in its appearance, both inside and out. Naturally it is a much smaller building, but Dromore Cathedral incorporates a various number of elements that you would expect to see in such a place of worship. The baptistry, lectern, pulpit, war memorial window, communion table and balcony all add a wonderfully authentic flavour to the cathedral, and add a decorative touch without being OTT. In terms of actual church services, I have had the pleasure of attending two very different ones. The first was a harvest service at 10am on a Sunday morning, which was really unusual for me coming from a Pentecostal background. It was fairly traditional, with hymns accompanied by the organ (I do love a good organ), as well as a short sermon, but I did rather enjoy it. The choir weren't bad, but we all know the story of such singing groups...let's not lie. Good attempt though. The second time was for the ordination of my brother's friend, which was much longer, involved an awful lot of Latin, a sermon by Bishop Miller, hymns that I didn't recognise (don't you just hate that?), some more Latin, and an awful lot of structure. It was extremely traditional, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I stayed awake. But hey, they sure know how to do things properly! There are three services on a Sunday, which attempt to provide something for everyone - the 10am service is a more family-orientated service, whilst the 11:30 is much more traditional, and the 6pm service is a traditional evening service. The history behind the cathedral is really very interesting, and building has certainly got the wow factor. It wouldn't be my first choice for church-going, but I will (and have) tried anything once!