milly li

Review of Hillsong NYC

Update: Been attending for 2 years now. Hillsong i...

Update: Been attending for 2 years now. Hillsong is not a "bad" church, its just catered to a different demographic of people. Many leaders here seem to be born-again Christians who came from rough backgrounds (the streets etc) Hence they have great worship energy, they are not afraid to be expressive, unlike more serious/stoic congregations. Pastor Carl drives home solid teaching points condensed into very easy-to-remember quotes, i usually am able to digest the main essence of the sermon much more so that the 20+ years of attending 2hour long sermons at a bible-based church with more "intellectual" sermons. As i mentioned, this church speaks to a certain type of people. If you're looking to study and chew on the Word, join a bible study connect group instead of a social one.
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Original review: Great place to worship, it is always uplifting and i come out of the service feeling refreshed...but after attending for almost a year, i found their sermons lacking in depth. For new christians this church is a GREAT place to build new relationships and get acquainted with the basics of faith, but it may not be for people looking for a deeper understanding of the Word by just attending sermons alone. I understand that its catered to a more "millennial" audience...with funny jokes and anecdotes. It's true young people have shorter attention spans these days, and dry deliveries would only cause your audience to lose interest quickly. It's a tricky balance, hence the sermons are usually a hit or miss with different pastors. As someone who is in my late 20s, I feel like it is catered more to attendees ranging from high school to mid 20s.
I've observed that they don't place emphasis on discipleship (getting into a bible study group's more of an optional thing). Recently they do place emphasis on the importance of Community. Which is why you can find connect groups all over the city. I have however attended one bible study group session and it was quite amazing, a lot of smart thought-provoking questions asked by members really hungry to learn but i found it hard to develop lasting relationships because people come and leave the group. Honestly the only thing keeping me at Hillsong was the bible study group, which got closed recently :( This place is wonderful for worship, filled with truly passionate people, but as a Christian I wished this church could fulfill what it means to "be fishers of men" and help believers develop christlike characteristics. Nevertheless Hillsong is still a light of hope for NYC.