First interaction with Makenew was through a mutual friend. I was visiting Duke from California during a spring break vacation and it was one of the first places we went to after my red eye flight. Not going to lie, my lack of sleep made it extremely hard to keep my eyes open during the sermon, but I was still treated with a warm and open embrace. Over the last few years, I've been lucky enough to come back to visit said friend in North Carolina and each visit I get to grow closer with this community. Their continual embrace of people from all backgrounds and paths of life has blown me away. Still, through a pandemic and being in various time zones, they have still been able to encourage each other in their faith. Where do I fit in to all of this?? I don't really. But, still, they all treat me like it's a pleasure to have me join them and I always have a good time with them. Whether it's playing with the dog, eating delicious food, or joking about Old Testament nonsense over Zoom. Thanks, Makenew, for helping me grow in my faith, even from thousands of miles away, and while not even really being part of the immediate community! I seriously wish I was smart enough to go to Duke (and rich enough) so I could be part of this community. But God's plan, right? Anyways, I really can't stress it enough how much I'd recommend this organization to those looking to grow in their faith, or for anyone questioning their faith, or confused about, or annoyed with Christianity. The sermons make sense and have brought me clarity in the past surrounding my walk with God. TL;DR They are a wonderful group of people who will give you a pretty good answer to your questions (over seriously really good food). Also if you like dogs it's fun to hang out here. read more

First off, I'm not sure why I'm allowed to review this, since it's like, my church (but for some reason I can't claim it: I should work on my naming and claiming theology or change my name to Jabez or something). Anyways, the pastor is kinda ugly, the food is excellent, service is acceptable. I mean like, you have to get up and get your own food most of the time- and most of the time, you can't even order anything, you just get whatever's prepared for you, like table d'hôte. There's Korean BBQ like once a semester and hand made dumplings a couple times per semester, so you might want to check it out during those times. I'm pretty sure they don't deliver though. Sometimes the pastor will frantically run around with a salt shotgun blasting flies. I think the health rating should reflect that. Also, the pastor is kind of offensive. Ugly too. The messages are average like 45 minutes. The praise music is kind of bad ever since Carly left (not that anyone can sing due to COVID-19 right now). Would order again: smoked pork shoulder, garlic pea shoots, 水煮鱼, french bread, chicken kara age Would not order again: fried oreos read more

This church is sort of special. It's a small church. Most members of the crew are undergraduates from Duke University. They try to be as welcoming as possible, but to join it you gotta get along very well with a few core members (AKA. college students). This pastor's messages are special. He often checks and explains old languages in the Bible, and points out what is seemingly true. This is sometimes very impressive but sometimes a little tedious. In general, he gives messages and his wife organizes fun activities. They are sincere, and very professional most of time. In the last summer, they organized debates weekly. This pastor represented non-believers; members represented Christians in turn. You should check their videos on their facebook page. It's fun. I heard a few students decide to settle down in NC for this church. It's funny that people have strong pride in their institutions, either Berkeley or Duke. They just keep talking about it and making joke of it. Individuals shouldn't be conflated with institutions they come from, let alone for Christians. I personally found this part of their culture shocking. read more

Went to this place on accident like 3 years ago. Some pics from pre-COVID. It looks v wholesome but honestly isn't bc our pastor is highly offensive (his redeeming quality is that he is a good cook and sometimes his sermons make sense). The atmosphere is v friendly, but it's the type of friendly where you guys are so close that they make fun of you. Pastor will call you out mid-sermon and he won't leave you space to roast back which is kind of rude. The amount of testosterone at this church is somewhat overbearing at times, but that means that someone is always doing something dumb to laugh at. Overall, feels like a family (even the bad parts of family!) but tbh a good place to learn if you're curious about Christianity and such. No one will judge you bc all the members are already weirdos and thus have no right to do so. Ps there are a lot of Asians. Some may think that's a fault while others will think that's a plus so take it as you will lol. read more

Coming into freshman year, I wasn't all that certain I wanted to continue to actively practice my faith. Unfortunately, I met a few of the staff and they coerced me to church with promises of top tier steak and mashed potatoes. 3 years later, I am good at cooking steak and have learned many of their cooking techniques. I am also still a Christian. While community is a strong aspect of this ministry (I've crashed one time too many at the pastor's pace), what differentiates Makenew is their willingness to field any question related to Christianity. Makenew is equal parts "Jesus loves you" and "here is the scientific, historical, and contextual basis of Christianity." College is a rare opportunity to explore your faith. I'm really glad that I was able to continue to grow mine @Makenew. tl;dr Atheist or Christian, Makenew has great free food and is one of the best places to have an open discussion about faith and religion. read more

This is probably a different feel from any church you've ever been to or imagined going to, whether you grew up in church or have never been to one. There is Bible content of course, but there's not really dressing up or a lot of singing (usually) or standing up/sitting down (although there are random people trying to shake your hand - at least, there were pre-covid). The big plus I think is that it's just a very real community, which is small enough for you to actually get to know everyone. You soon find that the people can be pretty weird, of course, and have problems, but they're genuine, and you can build real relationships with people and discuss real problems. Also, because it's so small, the pastor and his wife are super accessible and you can always hit them up for advice or even just hang out and watch Mandalorian with them. read more

The first thing I look at when I come to a church is the content of the pastor's message. I attend a Southern Baptist mega-church back at home with cool flashy lights, a fog machine, and an angelic praise team, but behind the cloud of smoke, I believe the lead pastor gives messages that revolve around The Gospel. That being said, MakeNew's production quality is remarkable given the low number of staff; however, besides the cool arts and creative projects they produce in order to evoke the audience's unique experience of their human souls, I believe the pastor's messages are centered around The Gospel. The pastor really brings the Word of God to life as he always has some spiritual truth to bestow to the listeners as he appeals to them not only as a young student in the past but also as a working married man in the present. read more

Since the moment I stepped in Suzie and Tim's home, I felt so welcomed and comfortable. Being raised in an atheist household, all the Christian practices were incredibly unfamiliar to me, but everybody was very nonjudgemental and open to helping me learn. They also make really wonderful home cooked meals and have the cutest dog ever! Take a leap of faith (haha) and join them for a Friday evening - you won't regret it :) read more

[make]new=family. On my first visit, they asked me to sweep. I was thrilled. Since then, I found many ways to plug in and serve. Lots of food, boardgames, and respect for CDC COVID guidelines. The church is very intentional when it comes to community-building and doesn't shy away from apologetics. They've really become my home away from home. Only complaint is the skewed gender ratio. But you get used to it. read more

Heard about this place from my friend; I thought: Let's check it out. Turns out they serve great food. That certainly is what brought me here. What kept me here was the great memes the pastor makes. If you thought church couldn't be Dank, think again! read more