October 5, 2008 - Lakewood Church

Church: Lakewood Church www.lakewood.cc

Date Visited: October 5, 2008

Pastor: Joel Osteen

Debbie's First Impression: WOW! WOW! WOW!

Butch's First Impression: You can feel the energy and the Holy Spirit as soon as you walk in the door.

Were you greeted? Not really.

Were the people friendly? Yes. During the worship service they ask visitors to raise their hands and when we did, the man sitting next to Butch extended his hand and shook Butch’s hand and said “Welcome to Lakewood. I’m so glad you came to worship with us today. I hope you have a blessed experience while you are here”. It was awesome!

Did you feel comfortable and welcome? Yes, everyone makes you feel welcome.

Was the facility easy to find? Yes, right off the freeway!

Parking: Lots of parking and very easy to park and walk to facility. Be sure to allow enough time to park and walk in.

Dress Code: Anything goes here. We saw everything from shorts and t-shirts to 3 piece suits with hats. The majority of folks were in “business casual” or “Sunday dress” type of clothes though.

Was it easy to find your way around? Yes, they have great signage and so much to choose from.

Was there easy access to information? Yes, there were information desks at all the main entrances to the “sanctuary.”

Flow/Time of Service: The service flow was great. Lots of music and the message was about 30 minutes long. The entire service was about 90 minutes – 105 minutes long.

Prayer Time: Lots of prayer time. They even have a time where you can come to the front of your section and someone will pray with you while the rest of us sing a few songs. Prayer is very important here and is taken very seriously.

Bible Teachings: The Bible is certainly a focal point here! You can tell who is visiting by who does NOT have a Bible with them. But yes, in today’s message there were at least 7 Bible references just in Joel’s message. Victoria Osteen (Joel’s wife) also referenced 2-3 scriptures in a short message she gave and then a prayer. Bible teachings are important here. Worshippers are encouraged to bring their Bibles and use them during the service.

Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit was most definitely in this place! Also, there was every walk of life you could think of in the service. We saw every race, every age and every hair style you can think of including a mohawk! The Holy Spirit was all around and this was certainly “the Body of Christ”!

Band: OH MY GOODNESS! This band was AWESOME! Lots of guitars, piano, brass, drums AND percussion. Plus, the band is on a platform where they rise up out of a pit during the service and then when it is time for Joel to begin his message, the band just goes away…back down into the pit. You really don’t even notice it if you aren’t paying attention. It is so cool!

Music: The music is upbeat and positive with so much energy! The whole congregation is on their feet the entire time the music is playing. People are clapping and praising the Lord however the Spirit moves them. It was like going to a Christian concert on Sunday morning. It was wonderful!

Vocalists: Israel Houghton and Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff! What else is there to say?! If you don’t know who Israel and Cindy are…Israel is HUGE in Contemporary Christian Music with - 4 Dove Awards, 2 Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Award, 6 2007 Grammy Award nominations and a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album; Cindy is the worship leader at Lakewood and has her own Dove Award as a singer-songwriter. On top of their talent, they had 6 other incredible vocalists on the stage with them. Then add the 80-100 person worship choir with 4 part harmonies and oh my goodness! When Israel came out on stage I even said “hey, that looks like Israel Houghton” and Butch said “that is because it is Israel!” I looked again and was so excited! We have been to Lakewood a few times before but never on Sunday morning. What a treat to see Israel, FOR FREE!!!

Coffee and Food: I’m sure there was coffee somewhere but we didn’t see it. It was probably in the class rooms.

Bookstore: If you visit Lakewood, you must go to their bookstore. It is a full blown Christian Bookstore inside the church. You can get anything from Bibles, CDs, DVDs, china, art, toys, jewelry, gifts and much of it is in English and Spanish. The selection is quite extensive.

Bathrooms: Huge bathrooms and they are very easy to find.

Exit Greeting: There was a reception for visitors where we could have met Joel and Victoria but we didn’t stay for it this week. Next time we will though.

Debbie's Opinion: If you live in Houston, you really need to check out Lakewood! Joel Osteen is extraordinarily gifted and is without a doubt doing what God has asked him to do. He is very funny and has a fantastic way of teaching the word of God to those that have never heard about God. He also has a way of making his message applicable to YOUR everyday life no matter what your circumstance may be. I have heard a lot of things about Lakewood from people that haven’t ever been so if you have not experienced this worship service, you need to! It is an AWESOME experience! You will be changed when you leave. It is a privilege to have this church in our city and more Houstonians could benefit by attending and being blessed by the people there. We WILL be back and if this is the place for us, we will be in that fabulous choir.

Butch's Opinion: DON’T ALWAYS BELIEVE WHAT YOU’VE BEEN TOLD OR WHAT YOU PERCEIVE!!!!!! If you’ve been told or have the impression that Lakewood and Joel Osteen are ‘Christianity Light” then I highly recommend that you attend a worship service at Lakewood because what you’ve been told or what you perceive by watching TV is not what Lakewood Church is all about. THIS CHURCH IS ABOUT DOING THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM IN THIS WORLD. Everywhere you look in the Worship Center you literally see the Face of Christ. Everyone is welcome and every race, ethnic, social, and fiscal class is present and worshipping and praising the Lord in the worship service. Joel and Victoria Osteen are gifted speakers and teachers of God’s word and their messages and prayers are scripturally based. They may not teach and/or preach the stale dogma of today’s “established” churches, but they present a message of Love and personal relationship with our Lord, as well as emphasizing the personal responsibility we all have in maintaining our relationship with God. I have been to Lakewood several times and I have yet to attend a service there where I did not walk out with a better understanding of my relationship with God and how to utilize that relationship to make my life the best that it can possibly be for myself, my family, and the people I come into contact with each and every day. I can’t imagine getting any more out of a worship service or a church.