Seacoast this Week - My perception

So we are checking out churches trying to find a new home church. I really miss our small group and hope that we can find a church that will have a small group environment for us and for Brooklyn.

This Sunday Mike & I attended Seacoast. The campus pastor, Craig Snook, reminds me of Ed Young the pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas.

I found Seacoast to be an extremely friendly church. We saw many friendly faces from our days at Covenant. I also saw faces I knew from the Rock (I personally have never attended the Rock but knew people that did and they are at Seacoast now). Even those that we didn't know were very friendly. I wonder how many people they have reached that were unchurched?

The parking lot attendants were great. They were funny, friendly and efficient.

The music was okay. None of the music was new. The newest song was 3 years old - most were much older. I just couldn't get into the worship. Maybe I would have felt more comfortable in the back? I understand they don't really have a place to get together and practice being portable. Hopefully that will change in the future. I'm sure it is hard to get there an hour early to practice before church and when they add the new service at Easter that will make it more difficult.

We sat in front with our friend that invited us so I'm not sure how many people were there, but the theatre was not full. The preacher of the day was their Teaching Pastor, Sean Wood. I'm just not sure if I can get used to a church that uses video to do their main communications. I like a variety of speakers so the main speaker (lead Pastor) can rest; however, I'm just not sure about the video thing all the time. I'll give it another shot to see.

The end was confusing to me. They have a cross that you can go up and write a sin on a piece of paper and stick it to the cross. They have people stationed to pray with you. The band is playing. You can light a candle as a symbol of prayer for something and they have communion. When communion was over people started standing to sing the last song.

As a Christian I would feel comfortable going up front to do something; however, if this were my first or second time in church period, then I don't know that I would connect with this. Also, I wonder if doing communion every week loses some of it's impact. I know that Christ said to do this often in remembrance, but as a society things we do regularly have to become more and more intense or they aren't effective (TV, movies, radio, music - think of the changes in the past 50 years).

So where would you suggest we try? We obviously can't drive 80 miles every week to Newspring (believe me we have discussed options for this), so where locally is a seeker friendly church with a small group philosophy this is reaching out to the community and has a great youth program and a place where we can serve? Or where is a church that has a potential and is growing toward this?