Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach Gardens, FL — Attraction in Palm Beach Gardens

This is a Church that boasts the word of God. As a former member of this church, I have struggled just as much after leaving the church as I did over issues that pointed me to this church. I feel in my heart it is importance that I finally make this statement. The church will tell you there is a god. My now ex-wife and I went to this church, hoping to find help and healing for our troubled marriage. They were very friendly. They prayed for us and made us feel welcome! They asked us to volunteer. We attended church related classes. They asked us to lead classes. We were encouraged to join women’s and men’s groups, respectively, And then lead the groups, all while trying to learn a path to fix our marriage. In the end this separate volunteering Made our marriage all the more difficult. We decided to take a marriage encounter course in an attempt to help our marriage, We were asked not to take the class. But Instead, lead a table that included four other couples seeking help. We said it felt funny leading a table in a class that we were hoping would help us. But they needed table leaders. We led our table to the best of our abilities. Things like that happened often. At a service just before the 2016 election. The founding pastor of the church visited our campus with a strong message. You wouldn’t be a good Christian If you didn’t vote for the Republican candidate. A man that was divorced three times. Had cheated on his wives in each marriage. a man whom was known to hurt others for personal gain. But he stood behind the Bible, so we must vote for him. I didn’t because of his lack of morals and values. That same pastor went to Congress and prayed over that man and later boasted about it. At the time, my wife and I were volunteering upwards of three and four times a week at classes, events and services. when we should’ve been trying to fix our marriage. This time apart from each other might’ve even driven a wedge farther between us. We eventually decided to divorce. It was a very difficult time in both of our lives. We went to the pastors of our campus and asked for guidance. The female pastor of our campus Told my wife that divorce was bad. She then listened to my wife’s explanations, and when My wife left that meeting the female pastor came out and told me things that she had said. I really didn’t expect that. I had my own issues and I needed to speak to the Male pastor myself. that’s how it works. So i requested a meeting with the head pastor of the campus who was supposed to be a friend. He never showed up for that meeting because somebody else needed help at that time. I scheduled 4 other meetings and was stood up repeatedly. The last time he sent me a text message saying that he was sorry but he was very busy and couldn’t see me at the scheduled time. He didn’t realize that I was sitting closely behind him at a table observed him talking to “friends “ I had made repairs to their (The pastor’s) home several times at no charge. Sometimes in the middle of the night to ensure that their family was comfortable. Yet he couldn’t carve out 10 minutes for me. None of that mattered now that my wife and I were divorcing. we weren’t valued members of the church anymore. That became apparent very quickly. It wouldn’t be ideal for a divorcing couple to be seen volunteering in a church or helping other people when we were divorcing against God’s will. Another friend of ours who attended the church was a single mother who was prevented from volunteering because she was single. Therefore basically wearing a Scarlet letter. It Just wouldn’t look right. It’s been over four years since I’ve attended church yet the scar remains. I no longer believe in Jesus. I believe in the universe. The universe doesn’t ask for 10% of my salary nor that I need to be connected in order to be a good member in standing. The rest I leave to you. I don’t discourage those for what makes you happy. But realize, this church is a multi million dollar business . Believe in yourself first. My ex-wife’s opinion is not represented...

I’ve been a member at CF for a little over 10 years now, but I don’t feel safe to return anymore. Of course no one is perfect, but the pastors are a bit out of touch with the reality of their ENTIRE congregation, not just those who look like them. To be honest, I’ve been disappointed at the way they handled this entire election season. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see the timing of the series “table talk” a few months ago had everything to do with the election, and Pastor Todd saying in his sermon about 2/3 weeks ago that, “Taylor Swift doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” followed by something regarding CNN. Tell us how you really feel. I felt so uncomfortable that I wanted to get up and leave. I’ve seen conversations on Facebook about black families choosing to not return over the years, but I always wanted to make my own judgement. To be clear, I don’t have a problem at all with different things people care about, but to encourage your very large congregation to vote for a man who is racist, sexist, misogynistic, xenophobic, an adulterer, accused of multiple sexual assault crimes, and just the overall hate he’s incited in the name of a policy is mind blowing. I’m not saying the people who vote for him are those things, I’m saying those issues weren’t a deal breaker to you- and that’s my issue. He has spewed hateful rhetoric to multiple ethnicities, and it makes me question the character of those who support him, because of how he’s made other people feel.

It didn’t just stop there, it trickled down into Young Adults as well. I was disappointed at that because YA has been growing so much and has been my favorite service to attend.

Why not just focus on who God is and that He sits on the throne no matter who is in office, and encouraging love. They did that yes, but they were also very persuasive in encouraging their congregation to vote a certain way- including sending a mass email out to vote no on amendment 4. I asked my best friend who attends Life Church in Wellington how their mega church handled the election and how she felt. She told me the focus was on love and God being on the throne, plus continuing on with spreading the word of God. They spent the last couple months continuing that message, and not a political one. I would’ve appreciated if CF had done the same because of the diverse crowd.

I’m sure Pastor Todd is going to walk on stage super smiley on Sunday and say, “it doesn’t matter who is in office…” which is easy to say because their candidate won, when that should’ve been the message from the beginning. Period. The reality is that they see things very differently in rose colored glasses from some of the people they have in their congregation- including the 93% of black women who voted differently.. for a reason. No one is perfect, however I just don’t feel seen or protected here. The meddling in the election for a candidate who incites so much hate for other groups, in the name of Christianity is something I don’t choose to be apart of. Initially my plan was to stop attending everything until after the election, but I don’t feel safe or seen to do so at all anymore, and wish that wasn’t the case.

I hope feedback this lands where it should. I wish everyone the best and I really enjoyed my time...

Absolutely a fabulous family to belong to. I have been going for over 18 years. The church started very small- but, with leadership as they had- it was hard not to grow. We were busting at the seems back in the old barn! They are true to the Bible and they believe in big action. The only complaint you could make is if you want a small-town feeling- but they offer that too- all the life-groups and volunteers become family. You just have to get involved to feel a part of things. My daughter sings on the praise team for kids and this has been my single greatest joy seeing her grown in love for all children and Christ. They give to orphanages around the world, they raised money for drilling water holes for people in India etc. Then, they raised enough money to buy the machines for the locals. They take care of refugees, bring medical to people all over the world- help pull teeth and care for the needy in Mexico, etc. They send huge teams all over to care for people all over the world. In their local community they built a foster home residential area that is nice and it matches the area the children are going to grow up in. They have people who live as parents in these homes of six kids each that raise them in a family environment. I used to volunteer to teach the kids one night a week and I saw how it was a real family in there- and I was totally inspired. They help these kids get jobs and move into the new world too when they get to 18. The main point of the Place of Hope is to keep the siblings together that are normally apart. These kids are loved on in ways that people would find hard to believe. This is true community. They also have homes locally for mothers who are unwed and young and want to keep their babies- the cottages help them keep their babies, get educated and keep jobs. I have also helped there and have seen the miracles. They have a donation store where the women work etc. to help learn to work etc. They are huge in the safe rescue of the girls and boys caught up in the sex trafficking trade. They also speak around the world to educate on this. They have men's groups, groups for cancer, groups for addicts, divorce are etc. You name it. They have a disabled children's ministry that allows children to ride horses on Saturdays and gives the family some relief. There are so many things going on- it is hard to keep up. The Lewis Center in West Palm Beach gets tons of help from this church- they are the homeless help organizer of our county and growing and doing great things. Pastor Todd and Tom are wanting to impact the world by bringing them the good news. They offer very deep Bible study, but the main stage is usually to give you take-home motivation and education to go into your community and fulfill the great commission. I am happy there. Watch it online if...