Part A: Reflection on Citipointe Church

Citipointe Christian Centre is situated in Carindale, Brisbane, and is a Pentecostal/charismatic church. Citipointe was first formed in 1974 with only 25 people attending. It has since grown into a huge movement, with over 1000 churches in 31 countries. Citipointe Brisbane is the base church of over 4500 people with a few other campuses around Brisbane. The pastors of the church are Mark and Leigh Ramsey, who took over in September 2000, with guest speakers coming every now and then, and other pastors for different age groups working on the staff. The church couldn't be further from 'traditional', breaking the barriers of the stereotypical churches that come to mind. With modern furnishings and decorations, music, lighting and the fashion of the people who attend couldn't be more stylish. This church is a symbol to non-Christians that church doesn't have to be the boring, dull image that you may think of when you hear the words "Christianity" or "Church".
The beliefs of the church are based around the reformation, believing in both the Old and New Testament, the blessing of speaking tongues, and they believe anyone can be saved through the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and the trinity. This means that the church believe in the Holy Spirit, and the blessing of tongues is a powerful gift from God, but if you do not have the blessing, that doesn’t mean you are any less ‘holy’. The church is a denomination descending from the Reformation, so the 95 Theses are basic beliefs that are agreed with and applied. The church does not support homosexual relationships, but accept people for who they are. The church believes that Jesus is the saviour of the world, the utmost God. Nothing comes before him, or close to it.
They also believe in taking communion, but do not think it literally becomes the flesh and blood of Jesus. When the church gives communion, it is passed around to all the members, including the visitors. Citipointe believes that a personal relationship with God is essential, no one can be judged on their faith by anyone but God.
The church does not discriminate, as Jesus said anyone that repents shall be forgiven, so members of the church come in all shapes and colours, with people from all kinds of countries and ages. Citipointe is open to anyone, visitors are welcome to come and go, as the church is large in number.
Services are held on Sundays, twice in the mornings, and twice at night. The 5pm service is for mostly older people, and the 6:30pm service for the youth and young adults. The church holds a youth group on Friday nights for teenagers between grades 7-12 to attend as a younger, more ‘fun’ service. The music at Citipointe is a big part of the church. They boast a large, talented music team of young adults, who write, record and sing all their own original songs. The praise and worship is always loud and people can feel free to go out the front, jump around, sing as loud as they want, and it’s all round a fun and light-hearted atmosphere. The message was relevant and easy to follow, and the speaker was really enthusiastic and kept it light with jokes. The speaker was not a guest preacher on the particular night service attended, Mark Ramsey spoke. He was easy to relate to, as he knows the youth can find it hard to concentrate for long periods of time, so he was entertaining to keep the young people’s attention.
The appearance of the church was not what you would expect at first glance. The church had dimmed lights, with dark coloured paint on the walls, and dark coloured carpet. The stage was lit with various coloured bright lights, with smoke machines adding to the effect. The atmosphere was not bright and airy or open, but was better suited to people who didn’t mind going unnoticed on a visit to the church. The church and the facilities around it are all rather glamorous, but not in a way that is overly boastful. Overall the trip to Citipointe Church was fun and suited to people of all ages, especially the youth and young adults. It was not intimidating or unwelcoming, and was very enjoyable.