If you are looking to continue pursuing sorority and/or fraternity life complete with a set of values that do NOT honor Jesus, the Christ, the one and only Son of the Living God then this is your ideal clique; I won't call it a church. However, if you are seeking Christ, seeking to grow in Him as the Scriptures say "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Bur made himself of no reputation, and took on the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as man HE humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, GOD has highly exalted HIM and given Him a name which is above every name; that at THE NAME OF JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father." AMEN! and AMEN! However, if you just want to check religion off your resumé .....I think you get the message. Study Isaiah 53 along with this passage in Philipians 2:5-11. Time is getting short and the days are getting darker. Along with Joshua as he crossed over the Jordan river my confession is this: "Choose this day whom you shall serve. As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord." read more

It is not for everyone; if you are a traditionalist, this church will disappoint you. If you are interested in hearing God's word and having a modern environment (music, lighting, etc), then it's great. They try hard to apply God's teaching in your life, and it's very inviting. Our family has been going for two years, which has changed our lives. read more

I came here with my niece for a Sunday service (back in 2013). Until I met the woman I wanted to marry, I was not much of a church goer. To get on her, and her parent's good side, I started going to church (a Catholic church back home in Fort Worth, TX). A Catholic Mass wasn't really an option on this day, so I elected to go to church with my niece. I was not prepared for the energy level of this service. Whether it was from the pastor, at a remote location being televised to this location, or the pastor at this location, it was non-stop energy. It was very engaging for all, but especially for the younger members. The service was like a concert. With loud (ish) music, special lighting, and lots on action. It was very, dare I say "entertaining", and quite different from what I am used to in church. That being said, I did like it. The pastor was very engaging, and I could tell that young adults listening were "getting it." Bottom line: I think it's a great idea to engage people at this level, and instill a good message to shape lives. Disclaimer: This review was sitting as a draft since 6/16/2013, and I'm trying to post my backlog of drafts. PS. I just checked on-line and it looks like the church is still there, so I am going to post my review. He's the Church's URL for this and other locations: http://www.watersedgechurch.net/locations/ read more

Pastor Stu is the best pastor I have ever heard. He actually speaks to where people understand what he's saying. My favorite church ever and I've been to over 20! read more

Waters Edge saved my life. If I didn't go to WEC I would have already killed myself. Pastor Stu isn't just a funny pastor, he's also a mouth of God and will always hold a special place in my heart. read more

WEC gets five stars in every category. I can list several examples. The staff and volunteers are friendly and loving. The amenities are refreshing. The children's' ministries are relevant and age appropriate. The music is high caliber and feels like a concert. The sermons are entertaining, biblical and delivered in a manner that is uplifting and practical. I can go on, and on with more five star caliber reasons why WEC is so great, but let me be clear.........NONE of these are the reasons why I give WEC five stars. WEC gets five stars because they are fulfilling God's mission to reach the un-churched and save lost souls. Sure, I can walk into a church and judge the pastor for wearing skinny jeans, or judge the volume of the music, but I know that there is only One who can judge. Anyone who truly understands that church is not about "Me" but about "Others" will also love WEC. I highly recommend that anyone wanting to get even more into the message and deeper into the scripture join a community group. Community groups put the "small, tight-knit" feeling into church that even some of the smallest churches I have attended in the past don't experience. Be sure to join a volunteer team, too so that you can experience the joy of serving others. I assure you that the combination of these three (attend a service, join a group, volunteer on a team) will give the church experience you never thought possible. If a true and fulfilling relationship with God is what you seek, come join WEC in its mission of serving others and leading people to Christ. read more

In my opinion, this is not a good church. It feels like just an entertainment circus posing as one. From the moment we walked out of the so-called sermon (if that's what they call it) I realized that this was an empty house. Full of koolaid drinkers but very empty of God and Christ's teachings. This is the type of venue that I can imagine Jesus would be furiously turning over tables in. To me, the pastor seems rediculous. Amusing but it stops right there. Empty nonsense.... just rambling on and on with sanctimonious crap that makes you "feel good" but has none of the true biblical teachings. It reminds me of like a throwback modernized 80's tv televangelist MTV concert. It's hard to believe people would fall for this but if you are looking for a lot of self-soothing and just blissfully and mindlessly patting yourself on the back without having to hear the truth or the difficult messages...here it is in it's full glory. It's very sad to see because we've been a members of several wonderful churches throughout all of our moves. After settling here we've been looking for a new one we could call home. This is an absolute miss. read more

This was the most bizarre experience attending a "church", that I could ever describe. When walking in, Taylor Swift was blasting in the parking lot to greet incoming members. There was no prayer, there was no mention of God, there was no reverence for Him at all. Instead, the altar was a stage and the pastors and musicians were strictly performers. The video announcements included dub step music and the messages of the song lyrics were ambiguous to the point where they could have been interpreted as going on some sort of acid trip instead of experiencing the grace of God. i.e.: "Take me hiiiiigher. Hiiiiiiiigher". Who is taking you higher? God? MDMA? WHAT. Also, I have been to several large churches where security is present, but I've never been to one where the security stands at attention in front of the stage, facing the congregation, so as to protect the performers. IN A CHURCH. Who are they there to protect? Needless to say, I felt EXTREMELY uncomfortable and unsafe there. The pastor's message is displayed on a screen. As in it's televised. As in borderline going to a Tupac concert. As in THE PASTOR ISN'T THERE. I mean, why have a church if you can't even be present to have a relationship with your members? I was disgusted and appalled at the display of self-indulgence and people worship that I witnessed today. Quite frankly I believe calling it "Water's Edge Church" is false advertising. Sadly, it does not surprise me that the church has thousands of members and 15 services, where God is minimal and people are principal. This is one of those prosperity gospel places. A place not to meet God, but to meet people who just want to feel good about themselves and hear exactly what they want to hear. I mean, it seriously felt like I was at a movie theater. And this place is so money and funding-conscious that I'm surprised they don't charge admission. I know this review is harsh, but it needs to be. Because I was blindsided. And my fear is that unchurched people will unknowingly get caught up in this type of people worship and miss what the Gospel of Christ is about. I'm not judging, just discerning that if Christ himself were here, he would turn over tables and use a whip to drive out people from the auditorium. Metaphorically speaking, except let's not forget- HE ACTUALLY DID THAT. Because Jesus just doesn't get all warm and fuzzy about this type of misuse of the Church. If you want an experience at a tacky rock concert, go here. If you want to have an experience with God, please save yourself some time and find a real church where God is the focus, and not man. read more

The place that brought me closer to God. Without these great peoples love and passion for Christ and the life changing sermons I would never have been able to find Christ in a way that I felt genuinely saved. This is my church home now and I suggest to it all! read more

Went here a couple of times. Not at all pleased with how things were ran or how they went about doing anything. Everything the talked about or preached about was not at all biblically correct. They preached their opinion not the word of God. It is more of a lip service to them then a worship service to the Lord. Highly disappointed! read more

First Church where I felt "Accepted" and Needed. Not only the place I was looking for, but the place I needed to be at THAT exact time. I truly believe that anyone that walks through those doors at Waters Edge Church will feel the same thing I did and all 5000+ people that attend WEC church feel the same. I am Blessed to know who I am now, know where I belong and who I belong to, and who I belong with. I am a recovering Alcoholic, I am not Perfect, I make mistakes every day, just like every Christian in the United States or the WORLD. Waters Edge Church accepts me, and allows me to Share, with Integrity, be honest with myself, love myself, and others as I want to be loved. MAN I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Come On in!!! It Literally ROCKS!!! read more

This is not the right church for me but that doesn't make it bad. Loving, welcoming people of all ages (but mostly 20-40's I'd say) are everywhere. Doctrinaly, the preaching was spot on. Great facilities and activities for kids. Music was singularly Christian contemporary and very loud. The atmosphere was like a rock concert. If interested, you meet in member's homes for weekly Bible study. This church is high on entertainment but not much deep teaching, at least in the few times I visited. read more

This place made me feel more empty when I left than when I came in. The messages and sermons all seem to be based on opinion, with small justification coming from scripture, and without any context at that. The focus isn't on learning about God's word, but on entertaining people and getting people to come back and join their community. Everything just felt fake and insincere. I attended the Easter service, and there wasn't a single cross to be seen anywhere in the building. Instead, there was an obnoxious V with neon lights streaming from it in the center of the stage. Again, it just felt like this church simply wants to entertain people, and that's most likely why people keep coming back. It felt more like a rock concert than an intimate and deep experience with God. There is too much promotion of their own church throughout the service as well. A decent chunk of time was dedicated to promoting their church and the various activities in it, which I understand is important, but again, the service felt empty. I walked away feeling empty and confused. If you are wanting a deep spiritual connection with God, this is not the place to go. If you are wanting a shallow rock concert that will entertain you and make you feel good about yourself, then by all means this is the place for you. read more

This is the best church I have ever attended. My son and his wife asked me to go with them 4 years ago and I was truly amazed. I have been attending ever since. Stu Hodges always preaches a wonderful sermon and Phil Poteet is a wonderful singer. I feel welcomed and at home with no pressures. Steven Anderson married my son and his wife 2 years ago and he made the wedding that more special. If you have not been to Waters Edge just some to see what its about. I don't think you would be dissapointed. The Monroe Family read more

Lets see, their opening worship song was Imagine Dragons "Radioactive" and their sermon was about giving them money...I felt super uncomfortable and I consider myself an open-minded individual but their message felt inauthentic, their pastor preached through a video recording of himself (which I could have stayed home if I wanted to watch a video-taped sermon,) and their music felt gimmicky and was so loud, I couldn't hear myself think let alone hear the Holy Spirit speak to me. read more

I have been attending this church since within the first year it started and have witnessed the growth of the church and especially the people, including myself. The pastor, Stu is energetic and the sermons always have a way of being exactly what you need to hear and extremely relevant to today's culture and every day life. From serving on a few volunteer teams to participating in Groups, it is obvious how much priority they put on excellence and making everything come together perfectly to reach out to people who have never been to church or have had bad experiences at other churches. The music is always current and high energy, the musicians are incredibly talented. As an extra bonus: No dress code, free Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee in the lobby, and they never pass offerings! Definitely check it out if you are looking for a church that is FUN! This is my multi-site church so sometimes the message will be a feed on a screen but the music is always live and you really can't tell the difference anyway. Campuses in Yorktown, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg and Online! read more

WEC is all about loud music and putting on a big shebang/spectacle. None of the messages really dig deep into the Word, it's all feel-good happy messages and you never hear what you NEED to hear. That's not to say you should go to church expecting to be told you're going to Hell and there's no hope, I'm just saying if we're all going to church just to hear the happy messages and be made to feel like we're doing everything okay then why go at all? I was seeking a place that would foster growth and change in my relationship with Christ. It was also very clicky. Aside from the greeters and volunteers who's job it was to say hello, no one else greeted or talked to me. At one point, the church website had a statement (which has been taken down) about how it does not preach about the Holy Spirit/speaking in tongues because they didn't want to "offend" some people. The Holy Spirit and its fruits are Biblical. If people get offended, oh well. We as Christians were not called to tickle people's ears. Sometimes the message isn't popular. There is too much insincerity and every sermon feels like a concert. I personally am seeking a relationship with Christ that is genuine and personal, that's not the experience I received the few months I attended this church. I'm not looking for the church that's screaming "hey! we're relevant! we have a coffee bar and our youth pastor wears his hair with spikey gel and wears skinny jeans!" I'm not saying that's exactly how WEC is, but it's along those lines. I also love coffee, so don't get me wrong on that either. Also, every other Sunday (I attended the Hampton Campus) the pastor wasn't even preaching live. He would go back and forth between Yorktown and Hampton and if it was your campus's off-week you'd just watch him on a projector. How can you truly respond to a message when it's like everyone's just coming to church to watch a movie? Also, they didn't have a time to respond or an altar call. I was raised pentacostal and I believe in the power that can hold and it's important to let believers respond in worship at the end of the message. This was not necessarily a deal-breaker for me because I no longer claim a certain denomination (I was raised Church of God) but I thought I'd throw that in there. In an effort to not misconstrue the church of which I have currently been a member for over a year, I will not name where I go now because there is no church rivalry between the two and I don't want to make it seem that way. Just trust me when I say I know what I'm talking about. I was raised as a preacher's kid, I travelled all around the country seeing different churches and how things can be done in different ways and I can tell when something is shallow or not genuine. I'm not saying I know all these BECAUSE I was a preacher's kid, I'm just kind of giving the frame of reference from which I'm drawing. In WEC's defense, I have not been in almost 2 years and they may have changed their set up since then. But from what I gathered in my experience, I will never go back. Just being honest. read more

after reading the negative comments posted, I feel compelled to write this review. waters edge church is different. it is upbeat, inspirational and attracts the young of age and of heart. the church is totally about the bible and the word of God. every sermon quotes and teaches from the bible. the music is loud, granted. just, as i'm sure the crowds gathering to hear the words from Jesus in the bible were quite loud. spiritual energy. earplugs are provided for those who need them during worship, but, if you don't hear the word of God during the sermon? you must have forgotten to take the plugs out. as for the video screened sermon.....a step in reaching thousands of people as opposed to only 50-60. we are not at church to look at the pastor, live and up close. we are there to hear the word of God. waters edge isn't for everybody but everybody should put forth the same effort to understand its mission as they do to focus on what doesn't agree with them. with 4000 members i'd be concerned if I was the only one finding a problem. Jesus uses all types of people, techniques and teachings to reach his people and we can all learn from each other read more