Storyside Church — Attraction in Jefferson Township

For the past few months, I’ve been looking for a new church home. I visited this past Sunday with my four children, and for the most part, it was a good experience. The people were very friendly and welcoming to first time visitors. There were volunteers who were very helpful in assisting me sign my two youngest children in for children’s church, and also gave us a brief tour of where kids classes were and how to pick them up after service. The praise and worship set was great and I really enjoyed it. My two oldest children sat with me in the sanctuary for the main service. As the worship set ended, and the pastor stood before the congregation, he made a few announcements that seem very typical for the flow of service. My understanding is that they were going to have an event for the national championship, but due to the weather, they canceled it. There were several Ohio State themed items on the podium that I assumed they were going to give away at the event, but since it was canceled, the pastor began giving them out to the congregation. My first thoughts were that this was odd that the pastor would designate this particular time to do such a thing, which in and of itself is not bad, but as a first time guess it was a bit off-putting. This went on for just under 20 minutes and halfway through my 14yr old daughter leaned over to me and asked “when are they going to start preaching or is this what they typically do?” Politely, I told her that I’m sure this was just a special thing considering the event they were going to have is now canceled and wanted to give away the items that they were going to give away during the event. She then Looked and said to me “Well, I think it would’ve been more appropriate to have done this before or after the service.” I told her that I couldn’t have agreed more. The only issue that I had was that the handing out gifts lasted longer than the sermon itself. I’m not saying that the sermon needed to be an hour long, in which I would not be opposed, but the same time as a first time visitor it made it seem as though the gifts, took priority over the word of God. That may not be the case, but that’s how I felt as it was happening. My two youngest children seem to have enjoyed their time in children’s church and asked that we go back next week. I’m not opposed to visiting again considering everything else was a...

I have attended this church for several years now. I am not a perfect Christian, I don't attend every Sunday. But I love how I can watch the messages online. So I do get the weekly message & worship. I seen a few negative reviews...church is what you make of it. I can say I am a reserved person, I don't like being hounded & people calling me or coming to my home. I have never felt pressured in anyway attending here. The pastor gives very good messages & he captivates your attention the whole message ( I like that) all the staff is very friendly. Never have I had a bad experience, only all good. You sure can feel the Holy Spirit during time of worship. I have never been pressured to give money. They are there to save lost souls. Everyone has Thier own opinion. Best thing I can tell you is to go to a service and base your own opinion on your own experience! It's a wonderfully...

I, like some other people on here have has negative experiences here. I loves the services that I attended and I enjoyed the atmosphere but it is not a place for you to enjoy service with your family. You are expected to place ALL CHILDREN (even infants) in the nursery/child care. This is fine for some people who like to have adult time and give their time with other kids, but I personally enjoy spending quality church time with my child. She is young but I believe that ALL parents should have the opportunity to keep their children in service with them if they choose. That is not an option here. There are no accommodations for families. It's either send your kids to children's services or go somewhere else. Might I add to Storyside.... If you would create some way to make these accommodations then I would love to give your church...