City Church Chicago

I was very surprised by the kiosk station set up for offering. They are straight forward with collecting money. I LIKE that. First, I spend money on almost every other thing I do, why not invest in the local church? The local church is the hope of the world. Second, how can you expect to receive when you don’t ask? Last but not least, it’s Biblical to give, and that’s enough for me.
The music is really good! I really liked that they rotated with the singers. It seemed like everyone involved with worship actually got to be involved. That doesn’t always happen. Most important, the worship seemed sincere.
The meet your neighbor part is awkward because people in general are awkward, but that’s up to you to get into.
They have a lot of small groups so it seems like if you really wanna get involved you truly could.
The pastor was funny, accurate, realistic, down to earth, open, honest, and Biblical. He seemed to put himself out there a lot, which is bold. He didn’t pretend to be someone he’s not. He seems like a chill guy, and he didn’t try to put in a show to fit some pastor mold.
Best part about the church: this pastor loves to push personal prayer. You can be a Christian for 100 years or 100 seconds, either way, you better pray. He opened a healthy conversation about prayer and holds prayer meetings no matter how unpopular/​popular they are.
I’ve only been a few times so this is the outside looking in. The most important thing to me is that they are a Bible believing church, and their passion, their purpose, and their messages are sincere and for Jesus.

Great energy, better people,‘and a way of communicating the word that you can really take with you during your week.

The idea of assigning a «Rating» to a church is inherently flawed, but I’m writing this because I like the way City Church operates. Notwithstanding the cult-​ish groups that are obviously no-go’s, one church isn’t necessarily better than another because of the songs they sing, or the length/​style of the sermon. That said, I’ll describe a few reasons why I like City Church:
1. The leadership cares about relationships. From what I can gather, leadership (from the Pastors down) take time to invest in people. That’s what matters in a church. A good sermon every sunday is fine, but it doesn’t make a sustainable impact in the community. Emphasizing community/​relationship has the capability to do so, and I appreciate the fact that they recognize that.
2. Like I said, one church isn’t better than another because of the sermons, but a sermon can be an indicator of the tone of a given church’s community. The Munsey’s (Head Pastors) understand the world of millenials, which is why the demographic here is primarily 20 – 30 something’s. City Church is self aware — they understand the state of Christianity in the U.S., and they know what’s being said about the fact that religion has holes. They’re progressive in the sense that they acknowledge the flaws in Christianity and the fact that we don’t have all the answers. They encourage living like the Jesus in the bible HERE in Chicago and practice it.
3. Finally, the music here is incredible. Lots of talent on stage and that definitely enhances the experience. Again, music/​sermons aren’t everything, but shoddy music can be distracting and detract from the experience.

Pros: youthful energy of church members, intimate ambience and terrific worship team.
Message/​sermon: self-​help methodology in delivering new testament principles.
Cons: it’s for new found faith in christ with superficial «feel good» sermons. If you have been a christian for awhile looking for more in depth bible teaching with action oriented principles, this church is like a freshman level of high school.

I tried to get involved in this church, for a year, I really did. I tried to volunteer and I guess I didn’t fit in. Too bad I tried.

This church makes what they’re about known from the moment you walk in the door– MONEY! The first thing you see is a line of collections kiosks, soon after you’ll be handed a postcard with other options for giving, followed by a name-​it-​and-​claim-​it prosperity gospel garbage sermon where the pastor invites you to give as much as you can and then pray for more so you can give more.
Kayleen gives a much more thorough and experienced review. Please do not get drawn into the friendly community, fantastic worship band and charismatic preacher. This place is teaching a false gospel!

The best place in the world.
City Church teaches you to be a leader and lead other people in life, to love other people, to support, and in the meantime, you’ll always be supported there. It teaches you to overcome difficulties, go through hard times, and move on with faith in God, not being afraid.
As my husband and I moved to Chicago from Russia, we didn’t know anyone in the city. I just needed a place where I would be accepted, where I could find friends.
My church in Russia looked too religious, the focus was more on the rules and people judged you a lot if they found out something about your life or your relationships, not allowed by their rules. But I’m not from a christian family, I was grown up in a different environment, I was not ready for all their rules, and I just needed to know that Jesus still loves me in spite of my mistakes. So I needed a place where people wouldn’t judge me at least.
City Church was exactly the place I was looking for.
It has the best worship team, the best people, the best services.
I’m thankful every day that we found it and miss it so bad, because we had to move to California a couple of weeks ago.

Hey! This may be lengthy, so I’ll paraphrase initially then get into more depth later in this review…
I attended this church for about a year. The people are great and I made some good friends (the age demographic is almost entirely 18 – 30 years old). Plusses: Great music, exciting atmosphere, very social, easy to get connected. Negatives: Surface level teaching, focus on money and individual prosperity, high value placed on image and social status… in my opinion this church would be classified as a charismatic, soon to be, mega-​church.
This church has the looks of a place I would love to be invested in… Unfortunately, upon further review, some of the core values and beliefs are off. And I am not willing to make that compromise. Something just feels off about City Church.
Here are some of the issues I began to notice over time…
Strange money practices. This was red-​flag number one. For a small, young, growing church, located in a city with high expenses/​rent/​taxes, there never seemed to be any struggle with expenses or coming up with funds. In fact, there appeared to be an excess of money (i.e. putting up a $ 8k neon church sign across the street). As I mentioned, this church is full of young people who are starting in their careers (or still in college) yet somehow there was always a surplus. Additionally, many churches make their finances very visible, even printing giving/​expenses in the weekly bulletin… not City Church, the whole thing is a small mystery. I do know that the pastor is on staff at his father’s church, Family Christian Center, and City Church Chicago could even be considered a «plant» of Steve Munsey’s mega-​church… So, my best estimate is that is where the majority of the funding comes from. But, there is no board of elders/​executive council or any form of church governance. This is a major issue in my book. Who is the pastor held accountable to? Who else sees the finances of the church? Are all the major decisions left for one person to decide? And if the answer is FCC and Steve Munsey… Thats even more concerning!
I do believe that this church will grow and grow quickly, as churches like this are extremely popular/​attractive in this era of our country. Do some research on Family Christian Center, in Munster Indiana, to see what the parent church of City Church Chicago looks like. While City Church may be doing it’s best to distance itself from FCC (because of negative press), it’s obvious to me that City Church is headed down the same path. Clearly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I’ll let you do your own research, but pay close attention to the issues, controversies, questions that exist about the leadership at FCC and the danger of having a pastor (or pastors) that gain too too much power.
Probably the bigger issue about City Church was the lack of Biblical teaching. I have reached a point in my Christian faith where I don’t need all the smoke and mirrors, but instead would just like to be presented with the Word of God. Instead we spent weeks hearing sermons based on a book by the pastors good friend, Steven Furtick (another interesting, questionable guy who’s name is worth looking up). Sermons were mostly «fluff» or «prosperity gospel-​ish» all the while everyone around me is saying «wow» and «amen» as I am sitting there wondering what I am missing and not understanding how people are «in awe» of what the pastor is preaching. For a while I was able to justify the lack of Biblical teaching because I felt I was gaining good community. As I prayed about it, I felt like there was clearly something missing with the most integral part of the church.
A personal issue that became evident while at City Church was the importance of individual image, social status, and place in the «Hierarchy» of the church (with the pastor gladly at the top of this hierarchy). This was evident pretty early on when the first 2 – 3 rows of seats were saved for carefully selected, highly visible people in the church. And along with the visibility of being allowed to sit towards the front of church came a sense entitlement/​importance over others at the church. Unfortunately, the opposite was true also. I specifically remember other people coming to church (people who didn’t fit the look or mold of the typical CC goer) being seated in the last row and then an usher would be assigned to these people to make sure they didn’t attempt to move forward. Read James Ch. 2.
Why am I writing this review? Well, a church like this can be very dangerous. There is so much positive about City Church, but the main focus is just off. The focus of a church should be Jesus. But instead at CC it on prosperity, individual image, the pastor, spiritual gifts, church numbers, money… Notice how all of these things are good? Thats the danger. The focus should be on Jesus, and when it is these other things may come (or they may not), but Jesus is sufficient despite our earthly situations.

Okay, so I have been going to City Church for years now. And my ENTIRE existence on this planet would not be the same without this place I call home…
My background: I am a hairstylist from the Detroit area, I love fashion, music, traveling, teaching etc. I started going at 23 and now I am 27. I was baptized Catholic but grew up in a household that didn’t believe in organized religion: Knowledge is power and since I had no real knowledge of this spiritual side of life, naturally I was left with no real belief system.
However, I am a creative person, very social and I have always had the desire to «do big things». I learned over the years about balance (which includes spiritual) so I decided one day after moving here to open a branch in my company that I needed some spiritual balance (and needed to meet people– work related ya know) and checked out City Church.
They do focus a ton on the atmosphere and the presentation of it all, but I believe that stuff is extremely important (especially for people like me-​the ones who really need saving, not just a pep talk. I mean my life was teetering at this point: I NEEDED Jesus)!! I pushed God away for years and years and any time I entered a church it seemed like you had to be boring, dull and have two-​four kids by 25 (I never felt like I could be accepted). I felt guilty for wanting to take over the world and be cool and social and make a splash. But not here. This place challenges you in a way that quite frankly– isn’t for everyone. People have said it before– «if you want to sit back and be snuggled by the word of God, this isn’t for you» If you want to be kicked in the pants and pushed into the MIRACULOUS future God has planned for you– then this is your jam!
I’m not trying to be better then anyone else, but I do want to be the best ME and live out my wildest dreams that I know are planted in my heart for a God sized purpose, and this establishment has helped me to understand all of this while putting me out of my comfort zone time and time again forcing me to grow more and more into a confident christian woman that will influence others to find the same peace that I found during my journey of learning who Jesus is.
Not to mention, making friends in a new city is tough– and I really have met the most incredible circle of TRUE friends that are so supportive of everything i do there, Including the pastors. I said it in my opening and I will repeat it in my closing– my whole life would not be the same, in fact, I would be a mess without City Church. If you want to shake up your existence and get pushed to be the best you– come check this place out. it’s amazing.

Im not giving this place 5 STARS because I go here! But I’m giving it 5 STARS because I’ve done CHURCH before and this is the place I feel comes close to doing it right… No Church is perfect. If I said that then you’d be thinking Im in a Cult. LOL.
Seriously its young, even those who are seasoned are young. We have, in my opinion some of the greatest pastors I’ve come across. Great place to grow in leadership and its a growing church so its a great place to grow period.
The worship is LEGIT and passionate. The WORD? Dude the Pastor Kent brings it. He’s a great teacher and great at making the word apply to our daily lives so we can apply it. There’s not been one service where I wasn’t able to take the word and find myself using what was taught.
AND It’s RIGHT IN THE CITY! It’s perfect for me! I’d say come give us a try!
oh and LIFE GROUPS are the culture of this church! At first I though it was uncommon for adults to do lifegroups! But I’d say that it’s something I participate in faithfully no matter my schedule because those groups have changed my life and I’ve become such a BIGGER BELIEVER growing with a BAND OF BROTHERS!
If you want to Laugh, Cry, Feel Good About yourself and your future, Get encouraged by THE WORD, and be around A DIVERSE CULTURE OF PEOPLE then get out of Bed on Sunday 10am, 12pm, and the 6pm and bring your butttt to CityChurch!
It really is growing and any season is a great time to be apart of what God is doing, but this season right here… Dude I’d be running if I were you!
See you Sunday!

I am so grateful for ALL of the relationships that I have made at City Church Chicago! The people at City Church are very welcoming and always very excited to see one another and meet new people! Thank you Pastor Kent and Alli for planting City Church here!

City Church is the absolute best! I’ve met so many amazing and wonderful people there and the messages are always incredible. Whenever I walk in the door someone is always there to greet me with a smile.
Keep doing what you’re doing, City Church!

The sermons are very down to earth, and easy to understand. The pastor does a great job in making sure you can relate to the messages, and also adds humor.
However be prepared, this church forces you to be social, even stops service for you to spend 5 – 10 minutes getting to know your neighbors.
I have a really stressful job and wanted a place to sit back, and hear God’s World. I understand Christian friendships are important, but it felt forced here. I was becoming stressed out about going to church here every Sunday, which means this church wasn’t for me.
Also I don’t know the ages of everyone that attends this church, but I’m 30 and actually felt a little old going here. I felt like the majority of the people were post teen, early twenties.
Bottom Line: If you want a church just for encouragement, grow in God’s word, and just take a break from the world for a second, than this place isn’t for you.
If you’re looking to meet Christian friends 18 – 25, in a church that focuses mostly on modern worship, and becoming involved, than check this out.

This place is incredible. Here’s why: 1) The people are encouraging, authentic and full of life. 2) The music is well done and powerful. 3) The preaching is Biblical and consistently challenging.
Right here, I could click [Post] and be done. But there’s so much more to say.
My kids actually enjoy going to City Kids (that’s the kids program). They leave with smiles, telling me Bible stories on the drive home. And as for me, I find myself striving to be a better husband and father. Not because someone yelled at me on Sunday morning and guilted me into it. Rather, I’ve found that being around Jesus and people who passionately pursue Him makes me want to be more like Him. (And that’s the big secret)
So, as a long-​time City Peep, I can confirm some of the other reviewer’s statements. Do we say «Amen!» and «Wow!» and «Preach!»? Yup. Do we give double honor when a guest speaker visits? Yup. Do we unashamedly take up offerings to fund the church and renovate the incredible space we’ve been gifted? Yup. Is the music Hillsong-​esque? Yup.
And would I recommend City Church? Absolutely, beyond a doubt, yes!

Making the decision to plant yourself in a local church is a BIG DEAL. The first time I came to City Church, it was a little overwhelming. I felt uncomfortable, but people were friendly and nice in the lobby prior to the church doors opening.
The seating in the theatre was comfortable. I liked the way they handled the overall look and feel of the place. The worship was very unique — unlike anything i’ve yet to see in Chicago. It had that «hillsong» feel to it.
I liked that they took time in the service to pray for people — this was a big time plus for me to see. At the end of the day, you want to be in a place that cares about people.
I liked the spirit behind the both pastors — they’re young, but they are full of vision and are very genuine. I felt instantly connected.
When it came to the sermon, I didn’t expect to be as moved as I was. The pastor (Kent Munsey) preached the word in a very powerful way. It was pure bible. One of the things that I have to point out here was the fact that he consistently talked about Jesus. I can’t tell you how many times I have been to a church where they speak very little about the person of Jesus.
Over all, this is one of the best experience I’ve ever had in a Chicago church. I’m in my mid 30’s and I can tell you that this place is definitely something you want to check out and if you can roll with the vision, it’s a great place to be apart of.
I definitely recommend this place to my friends and for majority of them, they are very happy they came.
Hope this helps.
ps. i don’t have kids, but my friends with kids tell me that they really like what they are doing for the children while the adults are in service.

City Church is a place that is passionate and excited for God and for people. I have been attending City Church for the past 2 years and have seen the incrediable growth in my life from the words that have been spoken from the pulpit of this place. We are a church of community and believe that we are meant to do life together with one another. That means in the church and outside the church four walls.
If you are looking for a place to be your self celebrate Jesus and not put Him in a box I would say come and check us out. The Pastors (Kent and Alli Munsey) are young, energetic, and full of ideas to influence the city of Chicago through ministry and relationship. From the «Treatment Series» to «MESH Conference» Pastor Kent covers topics that will both feed your spirit and give you practical everyday tools for your every day life. The guest ministers that have come in and sewen seed into our lives have been some of the most influential ministers across the country and the world.
The worship experience is one of the best that I have ever had and continues to grown and get better every week. It allows me to worship God the only way possible… with everything I have and am.
If you are looking for a place to be yourself, learn about God and how to apply Jesus’ teachings to your practical life then come and have an experience with us at CityChurch Chicago.

I’m thankful everyday that I’ve found City Church.
Just walking in the door is a warm and inviting experience. The church is truly an amazing place with amazing people. Its positive environment has renewed me and made me really excited to grow into God’s plan for my life. The congregation consists of a young vibrant group of motivated Christians who are pushing the envelope of life to expand themselves, the church and the world for the better. Members of the church allow God and his teaching to bring them confidence and creativity. They really seem to understand and strive to meet the goals God has for their lives.
Pastors Kent and Alli do a great job of keeping the church current and relevant. They relate and reveal so much from the Bible that I never even knew or could begin to relate to my life in today’s world. Both are growing something amazing in Chicago and are building a Church with positivity, creativity and a genuine love for God and his people as its pillars.
If you’re looking to belong to a church with a tremendous passion for God and that has people who want to make the world better than the way they found it, City Church is the place.
Definitely worth checking out.

About 9 months ago, my wife and I were looking for a new church to call home. We were both very big fans of Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, so we were really intrigued when we found City Church Chicago through Joel Osteen’s website. We were a little bit nervous as you might expect, visiting a new church, with new people and not knowing what to expect from our experience… but as soon as service was over, we knew we found home.
We have been with City Church for about 9 months and we couldn’t be happier. Unilocal doesn’t give you an option for 4.5 stars, which is what I would give City Church because there is no such thing as a perfect church. Because everyone has a different story and different church experiences throughout their life, City Church may not meet the expectations of every single person in the Chicagoland area… but it won’t take long for you to notice that its an awesome church, with awesome people, doing awesome things right in the heart of the city. Please take my review and the review of others lightly. There is no online review that can take the place of your own actual experience.
The People: The first thing we noticed was how welcoming the people were. You could tell that it wasn’t forced or fake, it was genuine. The congregation as a whole is young and vibrant. They go to great lengths to make everyone feel welcomed. Its especially apparent in the people who volunteer. You can tell that they serve from the heart. We love how the church accepted us for who we were and we weren’t pressured to look or act a certain way. Also, It is a very diverse church which we really appreciate.
The Pastors: Pastors Kent & Alli Munsey are AMAZING! They are young, passionate, and extremely relatable. They have a distinct contemporary style and are able to connect with people on a personal level. Pastor Kent puts in a lot of thought and preparation for each sermon. He finds ways to relate scripture and the Word in a way that today’s generation can receive it. I have learned so much about Jesus and my relationship with God from them. Pastor Kent’s sermons have inspired me to really pick up my Bible and not just read, but study and apply what I learn in my everyday life. I love how even though Pastor Kent & Alli have a contemporary style, they do not compromise the content of God’s Word in their message.
The Atmosphere: There is no denying that City Church is a contemporary church. It used to be a performing arts center, and since they took ownership of the building, they have transformed it into an amazing center for worship. City Church does a great job of tapping in to the talents of the people and giving them a place to use their gifts. If you are gifted musically, they have a place for you. If you are high tech, they have a place for you. If you have a heart for serving people, they have a place for you. This all creates an amazing atmosphere. The band is unbelievable and they do a great job of creating an environment for praise and worship. Their songs are positive and uplifting. If you are passionate and expressive, you will feel right at home. If you are more reserved, there is zero pressure.
Overall, I think that if you are looking for a non-​denominational church to call home, you should definitely visit City Church for yourself. I think it would be a bad idea to discredit a church based on someone else’s experience and Unilocal review. Your relationship with God is a very personal thing, and what suits one person may not suit the next. I encourage you to take a Sunday morning and have your own experience at City Church Chicago.

I agree with the other poster above, the star rating can really be disregarded. I just want to talk honestly and openly about our experience today. My family and I were told about the church and thought we would try it out. What we are looking for is a solid Biblical church with a lively atmosphere and great music. The city church did have a good lively atmosphere and fantastic music, however, I believe it was way over the top. I have been a part of another ultra charismatic church before and I saw the same problems there that I see at this church. Don’t get me wrong, the people seemed nice and sweet, but I think they are being misguided. They focus so much on the experiential parts of the the service while neglecting the Word of God. There was a HUGE emphasis on money and honoring the guest pastor with «Double Honor» and not too much emphasis on the Word at all.
I think it’s dangerous because a church like this takes many people who are new to the faith and kind of indoctrinates them with radical beliefs and gets them to focus on this out of body experience rather than getting deep roots in the Word and the faith. We definitely felt out of place because we didn’t say «wow» or «amen» or jump out of our seat after literally every word that was spoken from the stage. I’m SO great with responding to a good Godly message, but to say «wow» and «oh my God» to every little saying is too much. The whole atmosphere is extremely distracting.
1 Corinthians talks about order in worship and in the church and I didn’t see that here. What I did see was a crowd of people who were loud and rowdy, which can be a great thing if in the right context. Here though, it felt completely forced.
I know God can use a church like City Church to reach people, but for our family it is certainly not the right choice nor would we recommend it at all.

It feels strange to «review» a church, so the stars that I have left should be disregarded. I just want to provide some information for anyone who like me, is looking for a church home in Chicago.
I stumbled upon City Church newly in Chicago and looking for a church. I am very familiar with non denominational, charismatic, informal churches etc. and don’t have a problem with them, as long as the center of the church is biblical, and Christ centered.
City Church did not appear to have a biblical foundation nor focus on Christ. The pastor appeared very uncomfortabe with the Word, reading scripture quickly from, I believe, an ipad and lacking a sermon. He was very adept, however, about talking about the church’s financial desires so they could buy a nice sign, purchase additional lighting and «sets» for the theatre where the church is held. All churches ask for money, but this was beyond the pale.
The service I attended involved lots of Christian rock music, and a short play with elements I did not find appropriate for church, including secular movie clips. It was all too much for Sunday morning in my book.
The folks here seem nice, and as if they are having a lot of fun. If this were just a social group, I would probably have enjoyed it. But as a «church» it was lacking at best, inappropriate at worse.
I hope this is helpful for others.