Shoreline City Church — Attraction in Dallas

As someone who fell out of faith in my youth and have recently returned. This is a great place to be accepted while learning to become closer to God. I have plenty of good things to say about Shoreline, but what prompted this review was reading some of the negative reviews. Some of the critiques are preferences, some are out of the control of Shoreline, and some are flat out lies. I will address each of the following below:

Preferences:

I have seen several reviews talking about the staff not living perfect lives, particularly the pastor. Pastor Earl openly speaks of his struggles and imperfections. As none of us our Jesus, none of us live perfect lives to include our pastor. If having a pastor that hides his struggle and sin is for you, then this is not a church for you.

The popularity and reach of Pastor Earl and his wife has been touched on in several negative reviews. They use technology to reach many people and have side projects to include a podcast in which they spread the word of Jesus. I am younger and can understand how older members may see this as an attempt to become a celebrity. I understand differing opinions, but I have found value in the platforms with which Shoreline offers (the vast majority of which are free) to worship the lord. On this same point, people have interpreted their actions as self promotion in an attempt to enrich themselves. Although they ask for donations, like every church I have ever been to, I have never heard of or felt pressured during service to support any of the activities the Pastor does outside of the church to support himself and his family. The only activity I can remember hearing about is the Pastor and his Wife's free podcast.

Out of control:

For this category, there is really only one thing talked about, but it is an extremely prominent one. People complain about traffic and parking. The traffic off the property of the church is very difficult to improve in my opinion. Shoreline does not control the public roadways. There are, however, law enforcement that assist creating a safe and efficient entrance to the property. When it comes to parking, it may not be the most convenient, but they clearly have made a large effort to create efficient paths for those entering and leaving. They have many employees directing people in and out of the parking lot. Yes.... Traffic annoys us all. For me, that is not enough to pull me from my faith.

Flat out lies:

There are a lot of very strange and in my opinion malicious lies. I will touch on some more of the egregious ones.

I have seen complaints about not being able to find the auditorium because the building is a circle. This is extremely strange to me as there are members everywhere holding signs that, if follow the path they create, will lead you directly to the most efficient entrance for you to use. Also, the building is a circle, and the auditorium is in the middle of the building. If you are going clockwise, it is always on your right. If you are going counter-clockwise, it is on your left. If you get there late and it is busy, they have overflow spaces of which my comment about the signs still apply to. The members move as the place fills up to point people in the right direction.

I have seen people say that the congregation is not diverse. I do not know what to say other than that is completely not true. Wherever you sit, you will be around several different races. Whatever you look like, you have a place at Shoreline.

There was a particular comment that I would like to call out that confused me. It called the members of the church "mechanical, hippie, and conformist". I don't see how those adjectives don't contradict each other. I am there for my personal faith, and to enjoy the service, but there are a lot of different people who worship in many different ways. Some people are animated, some people are reserved, some people are vocal. I don't particularly concern myself with the ways others around me worship, but I have not seen anything that I could see as...

I wanted to like this church so badly. I went to a couple services last year sometime and wanted to try again, so I went this past Sunday. I kept receiving warning after warning to not go and I didn’t listen. I am now, though!

I’ll start with the positive: Their YA ministry is great and the leaders should honestly takeover SC as a whole. The church building itself is nice, but it doesn’t seem as if the space is being utilized to its full capacity for some reason.

Now to get to the not so great! Let’s start with the parking. It is very confusing if you don’t arrive for the very first service. The first two services clearly seem to be the most packed services. I arrived for the last one. There were signs for parking, but I didn’t realize because everyone was leaving I could park on-site. I turned in where the first sign said “parking” and it was total chaos! By the time I parked I was already walking (in heels) btw and noticed the church parking lot was practically empty!

Next the church is basically a big circle. I was completely unsure where to go. So I ended up probably walking 1/4 of a mile and found a door that ended up being the kids area. I was hot and probably smelled like outside!

Now that I was inside I could hear the music but I didn’t see the sanctuary. So I just kept walking. Finally I saw some big doors but they were closed. One of the greeters greeted me and I asked her where the service was. It was only then she opened the door to let me in. Why would they block the doors like that when they know people are arriving for service? That’s very odd behavior. Once inside I heard one of the guys on stage say they were going to take communion. The greeter at the door had a bucket and didn’t hand me one—again, very odd behavior!

Let’s get to the service and the congregation. The people here seem very mechanical, hippie, and conformist. It’s also not a super diverse church, which is something I was expecting, but I’ll let you be the judge on that because that’s another topic I’m not going to get into on this review. I’ve also never actually seen the pastor of this church preach in the flesh. There’s usually a guest preacher of some sort. Today they had a recording of I’m guessing the previous service. I’m not sure if that’s typical for this church, but if I would have known that I would have stayed home (and I definitely should have). The sermon was very surface level, it had no depth to it at all. Not only that but the particular passage used in relation to the series was questionable. I’m speaking on the lead pastor. His wife is excellent in her craft (from what I could tell), but she seems very much overshadowed and domineered by her husband. I watched him belittle her during the sermon and everyone (including her) laughed like it was normal. He would also cut her off or not let her get a word in at times. Maybe the sense of humor here/in their relationship is different, but when I saw this, I wanted to walk out. I’m very used to lead pastors doting on their wife during their sermons, this pastor did the exact opposite. There was salvation prayer at the end, but no prayer team. The whole thing seemed rushed honestly.

To add insult to injury, it was raining by the time service let out. It was like God saying, “I told you so. Are you going to listen now?” So, I had to walk another 1/4 of a mile all the way back to my car in the rain. Luckily it wasn’t too bad.

I’m happy for the ones who call SC their church home, but it’s not for me. It leaves me concerned for new Christians, visitors, non-believers, and those returning to the faith who may not be able to catch the concerns here. Leadership needs work. That starts from the top down. But who knows what’s actually going on up at the top. Y’all got it....

I've been a member of this church for number of years, and I've observed several concerning issues:

Focus on Image Over Leadership: Pastor Earl and Oneka appear more focused on cultivating a social media presence than on being spiritual leaders. They mainly associate with influencers and celebrities who attend the church, but these people rarely participate in serving or leading connect groups.

Superficial Sermons: Pastor Earl often fills his sermons with unrelated jokes or stories, making it hard to find meaningful biblical teachings. The messages feel repetitive, centering mostly on positivity and vaguely promising that "Jesus will help you overcome challenges."

Lack of Formal Ministry Training: Neither Pastor Earl nor the other pastors have seminary degrees, and it shows in the quality of the preaching. The sermons lack depth and suggest inadequate training in how to effectively teach the Bible.

Pushing Books for Personal Profit: Both pastors frequently promote their books, which comes across as a strategy for personal financial gain. Their social media posts also often feature luxurious experiences, like dining at upscale restaurants, creating an impression of wealth-seeking.

Unhealthy Staff and Volunteer Culture: Many staff members and volunteers project a "wannabe influencer" image, prioritizing appearances over genuine connection. While they are friendly in person, they frequently gossip behind people's backs, which goes against the church's stated values.

Insufficient Support for Singles: The church lacks a dedicated singles ministry and mainly focuses on programs for women and young families. The one singles event they held was heavily skewed toward catering to women.

Imbalance in Women's Programming: The church emphasizes women's programs and gives women much of the influence. The Orchid program, for example, is heavily promoted, while men are sidelined—even required to wear all black regardless of the weather. Women's events dominate social media content, with frequent posts about podcasts, coffee meetups, and personal branding activities. The church's overall atmosphere is overly feminine, with excessive use of floral and decorative themes.

Disorganized and Problematic Connect Groups: The connect groups are temporary and often poorly run. Leaders only need to pass a background check to host, and many struggle to use communication tools like GroupMe. There have even been instances of alcohol being brought to these gatherings, despite the church's rules against it. Additionally, the church's website still lists outdated groups, and the staff member responsible for overseeing the program appears unqualified.

Parking Issues: The parking situation is chaotic, especially on Sundays. The church needs to build one or two parking garages to accommodate the large number of attendees, but there is no plan in place to address this ongoing problem.

Lack of Inclusivity for Older Adults: The church does not cater to people over 50, with very few older members attending. There is no senior citizen ministry, and the focus is primarily on millennials, Gen Z, and young families.

Lack of Mentorship: There is a noticeable absence of mentorship within the church. Few people are willing to invest time in guiding or supporting others.

Space and Facilities Needs: The church needs to expand its space and add a welcome center for newcomers. Additionally, the practice of passing the collection bucket should be reconsidered, as few people contribute money or prayer...