My friend and I used to always argue about church. Every time I invited him to come and worship at my church he constantly refused. I recall us arguing for hours and hours about why he didn't attend church and why I thought he needed to. It finally got to a point where we would "agreed to disagree." It wasn't that he wasn't a Christian, that he was, but I always wondered why he would rather sit at home, turn on the TV and send his tithes without the real fellowship. It wasn't until he moved away and he began to tweet more, he would start attending a church that he felt welcomed and obligated to join some kind of ministry.
After repeated tweets about this church my friend joined, I kept asking to myself, "What church made him get his tail out of bed, out of the house and into a sanctuary of worship." Today, I finally got that answer: The C3 Church.
The C3 Church, or Connecting Communities to Christ Church, truly lives up to its name. Breaking the boundaries of traditional worship, this church with their friendly and loving members believe in a true cause: Sending souls to Christ, and it shows. When my wife and I walked in for the 11:30 service (they also have a 9:30 service), we automatically felt welcomed. Funny thing is we felt so overdressed. To me when you say casual wear, I think of jeans, a nice button up and some nice shoes. This church is truly a come as you are church. People with shorts, sandals and t-shirts dominate the membership of this House of Worship.
Smiling faces and gestures of warmth, the C3 Church make it their priority to make you feel as comfortable as possible. The nursery that they run is safe and secure. The awesome bookstore is there for your needs. But what got me the most is the C3 café with, get this a Starbucks franchise!! On top of that, you are more than welcome to drink your coffee and pastry in the sanctuary as you worship and hear the word of God. That is way too cool to me.
Also, Mega churches always seem to have a certain stereotype about them. Primary example: the pastor doesn't have the time to fellowship with his members. Not so with this church. Matt Fry, the pastor, took the time to meet with guests by the beautiful water fountain outside of the church and seems to be easily accessible. Pastor Matt's delivery of the Word is nothing but gospel truth. Feeding your spirit with the truth, he backs them up with Scripture. It is no wonder that they were able to grow from a small congregation at an Elementary school to over 2,000 members at the state of the art facility they have today.
By accident, I forgot to bring my Bible before I left town. At C3 church, they help you out by providing the scriptures that Pastor Matt is deriving his message from (Don't make this a habit though, if you have a Bible, I would advise you to bring it *winks*). Also with their awesome Technical team, you're able to follow along with Praise & Worship, because the words are right there on the screen.
Whenever you're in Clayton, NC through a Sunday, check out the C3 Church. I promise, you will be amazed at their hospitality and of their mission to worship Christ.
Pastor Matt said during his sermon today, "We are a Rock & Roll church..." I say to him and the rest of the members at C3 Church, "KEEP ROCKIN' FOR CHRIST! And I will be back!"
On the web
C3 Church
Matt Fry
On Twitter
@C3_Church
@mattfry
