Heritage Church - Sterling Heights — Local services in Sterling Heights

I attended Heritage for about a year and I will say it's a very good church for new believers or for those who have had a bad experience with religion in the past. This church helped me get to know who Jesus is, grow in my faith, and put my trust in him. Within 2 months of attending this church I got baptized. However, as I began to grow more in the faith I began to have some issues with the church. I'd like to start by saying that Jeff and Chris are good pastors who are very good at preaching topical sermons. However if you're looking for exegesis, and deep exposition, you will not find that here. I began to listen to sermons preached by different pastors online because Jeff and Chris just weren't giving me enough. They just scratch the surface and focus more on life-application. The next issue I began to have was with the worship music. A majority of the "worship" music isn't really worship music, it's more like praise music. It's very man-centered instead of God-centered. Don't get me wrong they play a few good songs that are God-centered but it's few and far between. A majority of the "worship" music played comes from Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation which you'll quickly come to realize, if you didn't know yet, were born out of the "word of faith"/ prosperity gospel movements, which preach a false gospel, and are therefore heretical. Another thing I began to have an issue with is all the secular music that is played that loosely connects to the topic being talked about that day. In my opinion there is no place for that in church. There's honestly a lot of secular things that they bring in, like the "Heritage at the movies series" where each week they would show scenes from a movie and preach a sermon that connects to the theme of the movie. Then, just a few weeks ago from when this review was posted, they had a dance team come up and dance to "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical because it was connected to that days topical sermon. I'll be honest I thought that was pretty cringey. I was visibly cringing in my seat watching that. We are the church, we are supposed to be in the world but not of this world. Why are you inviting secular, worldy things into something that's meant to worship God? It doesn't make sense to me. The last thing that really drew the nail in the coffin was it began to feel like a numbers game. Every time the church would host a big event or service the following Sunday was always "This many people came to this event!" "This many people got baptized!" "This many people came to our Christmas services!" "This many people came to our Good Friday services!" "This many people came to our Easter services!" And lately "We're running out of room because there's so many people, and now we're adding a third campus to reach even more people!" It all just seems like a massive numbers game to me. How many of the hundreds of people who show up to Sterling Heights campus alone are ACTUALLY saved? Like I said, it's a very good church for new believers, and I would still recommend it for those types of people. However, it's just not for me anymore. And I know the motto is "It's not about us" and you're right, it's not about us. Sunday morning worship is supposed to be just that, worship! Worship to the one and only God. It's supposed to be about God, not about reaching the lost. That's what evangelism and outreach events and programs are for. Sunday morning service should not be an outreach event, it should be worship. I'm gonna miss seeing a lot of the people who I met at this church on Sunday mornings, but it's time for...

My wife and I have been going to Heritage Church consistently since July of 2021 either online or in-person (which we prefer). We became acquainted with Heritage Church through our employer. Although our relationships with that employer dissolved we believe that God wanted us involved with this church.

The church staff is very welcoming every Sunday we attend. There's an elderly man who greets us by saying "Welcome to Gods House." He is always happy to shake your hand. The lobby is pack with loving individuals who will engage you in conversations about you and your family. Also, if you enjoy good coffee, they have an excellent coffee bar and cocoa bar for the kids to warm you up on those cold Michigan winter days. I am always excited to walk into Heritage Church.

Chis Zarbaugh (Lead Teaching Pastor) and Jeff Forester (Lead Pastor) are easy to connect with. When either of them speak on Sunday, I immediately feel a connection with Jesus. These two men are genuine and sincere in their words that God has called them to speak. I don't come from a family of faith so if you are looking for a church to make that slow, calculated transition in your life from knowing that their is a God and not participating in your faith to have a stronger relationship with Jesus, Heritage Church is the church for you and your family.

When I started going to Heritage Church, I knew there was a God but I did not know the importance of Him in my life. Heritage Church did not complicate it. Their pastors speak to you in a way that is relatable and easy for those who don't come from a faith based background to understand. What's comforting to me is that they do not preach but they teach you about Jesus and it's up to you to take those teaching and apply them to your everyday life. Other churches I have attended will overwhelm you with biblical rituals, and traditions, not Heritage Church. This church has made me so comfortable in my faith that I chose to get Baptized with them in October 2021.

I strongly recommend Heritage Church for you and...

Love my church! Been going here since I was 5 and I would recommend this church to anybody. I've grown in my faith by just going to this church and I just recommited my life to Christ on the tenth of February this year and that day they had taken the middle schoolers to Kalahari in Ohio and we had an amazing most uplifting and eye opening worship service ever and since then I've become a more generous and nicer person who wants nothing more than to do what God wants me to. Pastor Jeff Forrester is amazing and very helpful. They have a great kids and toddlers and babies area in which I happen to work. The ages for the kids area is birth to fifth grade. for the middle schoolers and high schoolers they also have a great program for them too. The leader is pastor Steven Werner for the middle school department. Pastor Steven is also a co-pastor for the high school program along with pastor kyle. Our cafe is amazing also because it is right at the church and they have many salads and sandwiches that are very good. The thing I love about that place is that after every meal they give you a free cookie of your choice and if you round up your order by about one dollar or a few cents then all of the proceeds go to needy families in africa. Oh and not to mention the AMAZING MUSIC before ever worship service! The high school meets every Wednesday usually starting from 6:30pm to about 8. They just went to...