3 /5 D Rock: One of the better churches in Fort Pierce. A break from the typical "hooping and hollering" aspect thats present in a lot of African American churches, and while Pastor Banks can get riled up, he places more of a focus on teaching, which I like. I always leave feeling like I learned something, theres always someone to greet you, and the members are friendly, for the most part.
Honestly, though, there are some drawbacks to this church, one being a lack of the relational element thats so important in ministry. There is a community aspect, yes, but it feels more like that of a mega church where the members only come to hear the speaker but people dont really know each other and the pastor isnt very accessible to the lay members. This is even present in their "Bible studies". Theres rarely ever an intimate moment. Its almost a feeling of being just another number in the crowd. This isnt to down the leadership because pastoring is a very big job and one man cant always be available to every person who needs him, and there are other leaders here, but I feel like there could still be something done to improve in the relational aspect of this church, from the pastor on down, because sometimes people are really in need and there is nothing like being in dyer straits and feeling like youre forgotten about or just not that important to the ministry. There was even an instance when I called the church to ask for prayer about something, and I couldve sworn I heard the lady laugh when I told her what I wanted prayer about (something that wasnt funny), before gathering herself and coming back to the phone, which was really inappropriate for a ministry.
Another criticism I have is the emphasis this church sometimes places on money. Early on, I ran into someone who left this church because of this very reason and even rumors shed heard about how the money was being spent. I dont buy into rumors because people will always bad mouth ministers, and this pastor has always given off a good vibe to me and to others, and positive testimonies about him have come out, so I take this church at face value, but Ive always been put off by ANY church that places more of an emphasis on giving and "tithing" than saving souls and helping people with real deeper issues, and many churches do this, especially mega churches. This church is also trying to expand and become even larger, which causes me to wonder if Id feel even less significant or practically disappear. Theres nothing wrong with a ministry growing, but I can only hope that the intentions for this growth are not to become more seen but to simply help more people.
This was a long and more in-depth review, but these things are important to know because finding the right church is not an easy task, your soul is at stake, and where you go to get spiritually fed is one of the most vital decisions you will ever make, so, when reading reviews, I would want to know everything I can about a church, including the pros and the cons, in order to make an informed decision.
