New Church Berkeley

No church is perfect… But NCB is solid.
Full disclosure: I’m a regular member of New Church and I have been attending for about 4 years.
I must say that churches are a funny thing to review on Unilocal because usually one reviews how well a restaurant or business serves YOU. I think it’s fair to look at a few categories of how a church welcomes visitors and how the Sunday morning experience is at face value. But for me, the largest factor in my experience at NCB is this: Is this a place where I can meet with God? For me that answer is Yes! And I know that many members and I strive to make the service welcoming to people of all different backgrounds. So here is my thoughtful self-​evaluation of NCB.
Social/​Culture: I started going here 5 years ago when I came to Berkeley for grad school. I immediately felt welcomed by the people there, coming up to talk to me and getting to know me. I felt it was all genuine, people where interested in me. People are laid back and cool, it gave me a good first impression of California. That is our general culture and that’s why we’re called «New Church». To get to know people more deeply, as with any place, it is what you make of it.
Demographics: Generally college students and people who’ve graduated in the last 15 years. So there’s a large contingent of younger working people, young married couples, and a half-​dozen to a dozen families. We do have a nursery and Sunday school for kids.
Worship: I know lots of churches like to toot their horn about their worship, but at NCB it’s pretty amazing for a church our size. Matt Denham is not only a skilled worship rock composer but he has the heart behind it too. We keep songs pretty new and throw in a good hymn sung passionately and with fresh style. It’s a pretty ordered worship set and service, so we don’t generally extend a worship song for spirit filled singing.
Sermons: Pastor Allan founded the church in 1995 and he brings over 30 years of pastoral experience from several parts of the USA and internationally. His sermons are less «preachy» and more thought provoking. He illuminates Bible passages with illustrations, cultural examples, and relevant stories from his life. His tone may not exude energy, but to the attentive listener there are many meaty drumsticks to fill the soul. He has the ability to bring even the most obscure passages back to the Gospel and how it describes the character of God. His sermons have been improving with time. He’s a great guy too.
Theology: The Gospel of Jesus, his redemptive sacrifice, and his reflection of God the Father’s love are paramount. For most lesser matters, we stick to Reform Theology.

Friendly church, Pastor isn’t the most dynamic speaker
I went here to check it out and the congregation is mostly on the younger side (college age), some older people also though. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. The music was pretty good.
Dress code: very casual, some people were wearing shorts. Even though I’m a young adult myself, I think church deserves a little more effort in the wardrobe. Come on, would it kill you to wear pants and a button down shirt?
Anyway, the pastor was talking on a subject and he didn’t seem very organized. I really tried hard to follow him, but he seemed unprepared with his sermon.