Athey Creek Church — Local services in Tualatin

I really wanted to like Athey Creek, but we went twice and it was a terrible experience. We watched sermons online for over a year before visiting the campus, as we looked for a new church to call home. The campus itself is beautiful, but it very quickly felt like it was all for show. Initially, everyone seemed nice but we quickly saw that was very fake. Both times we visited, we had our children sit with us in service rather than going to Sunday School as we were new to the church. Our children were very well behaved and sat quietly. When our youngest got a little restless, I took her to the lobby so she wouldn't disturb anyone. I was approached by several people while standing in the lobby, and asked to go to the "family room". So, I went to take my daughter into the family room, though I didn't see anything wrong with quietly standing in the lobby with her. There were other parents standing in the lobby with their children and they were left alone. The family room was full so I came back to the lobby, where I continually caught side eyes and stares from staff members. My daughter was silent and I was just carrying her and rocking. I've never felt so out of place in my life. Reluctantly, we did try the church again. This time, we sat in a row in the back by ourselves. Before worship was over, another couple came and sat at the end of the row we were sitting in. My daughter was dancing to the worship music and being cute, so the lady at the end of the row waved to her. My daughter waved back at them a few times. A few minutes later, a security guard walked up and tapped on my husband's shoulder and told him that our daughter, who was silently dancing, couldn't be in the service with us because she was bothering and distracting other people (meaning the couple who waved to her first and obviously was not bothered by her). So, though I was in complete disbelief, I took my daughter to the lobby. Again, the family room was very full and I didn't feel comfortable going in there, so I stood in the lobby, and again, was approached several times and asked to go to the family room. I finally got tired of feeling like I had done something so wrong (all I did was bring my family to church), and went to sit in the car until service was over and the rest of my family came out. I absolutely could not believe that a church of this size would be so completely intolerant of my very well-behaved child. Didn't Jesus say to let the children come to him??? (Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”) Jesus certainly wouldn't have made my daughter feel so unwelcome. In addition, the second time we attended, there was a guest pastor and his sermon felt overly judgemental - he spoke about how the employees of the church aren't allowed to drink any alcohol and neither should the congregation. Drunkenness is a sin, but Jesus drank wine and with self-control, that shouldn't be shamed. All of these things showed us that this definitely isn't the church for us and affirmed that its more of a mega-church that is not as invested in its people...

Just the best church and leadership ever! I see some negativity in some of the reviews… People are all entitled to their opinions of course- I do have some suggestions for a couple of common issues. It is huge and hard to meet people… Here’s what we do: 1- Always try to sit in the same area for the same services on the weekends. By doing this you meet the same folks over and over with your own little group of around 10 or so folks and fellowship occurs very strongly this way. 2- Go to the Wednesday service. There is less rush to get moving when this service is over as it doesn’t have another following it and the people who go to this are really students of scripture- the depth and desire to reach even more depth in thoughtful prayer with others is amazing on Wednesdays. 3- Busy childcare issues. This is very hard for people to get through- especially the first time. All I can think of is to go there during the week first- Call ahead and get a lay of the land- it is a good idea to get familiarized ahead of time. It is big and that can be daunting- but the resources they have are wonderful and this careful move would be worth the time. 4- Politics in the church. There are countless issues in the Bible that are also seen in modern politics. Some churches- even some good ones- stray away from them- Athey Creek does not. Part of this truth is also present when we see that that last two or three decades of secular thought doesn’t change how the Word is taught in this church. If you’ve only come of age in the last couple of decades this may be a shock to you- take the time to research what the Bible actually says (use a good concordance or even the blue letter bible app)… I can imagine it would be difficult to accept this kind of thing when society has worked hard to rewrite what the Bible says about issues that the secular world has tried to control. Again- this might take work but we are encouraged in the Bible to study to show ourselves approved- 5- I see a few comments saying that it is hateful to point out marked differences between various churches- One I’ve seem recently has people with Catholic backgrounds upset over Catholic practices being compared with passages of scripture. Of course we disagree with many things in Catholic doctrine- the word “Protestant” is rooted in the word “Protest”… this is the same with aspects of the Pentecostal movement and others- The leadership at Athey Creek often compares and contrasts church history and practices against scripture. I grew up in a church with traditions that were often unbiblical and that paid no attention to the Holy Spirit or prophecy- While I remain thankful that I did learn about who Jesus is- I am also grateful that the Word is prioritized here over tradition.

If you are a person who like to really take some years and learn the Bible and walk with the Lord moment by moment I would encourage fellowship at Athey Creek- We get one of these moves and a better way to spend it would be hard to find. Blessings to any who read this and know that Jesus loves you and went to the cross for...

This is an awesome church. Worship was anointed and Pastor Brett preaches a solid word. The church goes line by line in the Bible and he has an excellent knowledge of Jewish culture and history. He has been to Israel and brings that information into his preaching as well. He teaches as he preaches. That is the type of preaching my husband and I like.

The only negative thing I have to say is Do Not Bring Flags into the sanctuary! Bummer if you are a Praise Warrior or Creative worshiper. I got two waves in before I was grabbed and pulled back sharply and harshly by one of the board members of the church. He was a complete stranger to me so I had no idea who or what he was as he escorted me back to my seat stating sternly that they didn't "flag worship" here. He tried to explain the views of the church after the service but by then I was so upset by the way I had been treated I wasn't really listening. I even went and spoke to Pastor Brett about what had happened. He told me basically (not word for word any of the following statements) that I was lucky it was the board member as others might have been far harsher on me! Somehow that didn't make me feel any better! I can't imagine what "harsher" would even look like! They explained their views, which I respect..... and I will admit it was all my fault and I should have asked permission to begin with. My husband and I were politely told not to come back, that there were other churches that believed as we do. So even if I didn't bring my flags back, we would be unwelcome.

I did call the church to apologize for my behavior and left a message for Pastor Brett. He has not returned the call. He asked me what I thought they should do when someone begins to "flag worship" (because we do NOT worship flags!) Since it is usually women who "flag worship" I would suggest sending a sister out there..... perhaps she would be more gentle! My husband says that he should have asked him to get me, as he IS my husband and knows how to bring me out of worship without being so rough!

There would have never have been a problem if I hadn't been treated that way! If I had been approached with respect, with the belief that I did not mean to upset or disturb the congregation in any way, maybe I just didn't know how they felt about it; I would have simply folded my flags and sat down. I wasn't given a chance to react normally.... because when you do that to someone, you trigger that adrenalin response and no one is ever at their best in that situation! Thank God I wasn't someone suffering from PTSD or an anxiety disorder..... I could only imagine how that would...