Stonegate Church is a church I have visited numerous times throughout the past 5 years.  The church is fairly close to where I live, so on days that I don't feel like making a long drive to my home church, I will visit this one.  It is not a bad church.  But based on each of the categories here I gave it an average rating.  I have high expectations for the body of Christ.  So I grade these churches based off of my experience of going to several different churches in my lifetime and seeing what works vs what doesn't works.  This is very subjective of course, but I think it can be helpful for people who are trying to see if this is a church for them.  Remember, there are no perfect churches.  Despite the average rating, I obviously continued to come back to this church because it is still a great body of believers.  

Stonegate Church Midlothian Overall  3 stars

Preaching 4 stars-  sound biblical teaching. Preaching is applicable to many levels of faith.  Point deducted due to it not being as strong and challenging for those who are more mature in their walk with God but can still be applicable and edifying for all levels in the Christian faith.

Worship 3 stars- songs are generally  of good content, however it tends to be very short.  If you are one that shows up 15 minutes late for church, you would miss the whole worship experience.  They tend to sing very few songs and it gives the appearance that they are in a rush.    Points deducted due to the inauthenticity of some of their worship leaders.  Some of the singers come across as though they are in a concert.  It doesn’t help that the set up is like a band.  There is a lack of majesty to the worship.

Prayer 4 stars-  I am not sure if they still do this as I didn’t see the papers on my recent visit, but previously they would allow people to write prayer requests on papers and allow the church congregation to pray over them.

Communion 2 stars- they have the communion elements when you walk in, but if you are not familiar with picking them up when you walk in don’t expect any ushers to pass them out to you if you missed it.  Also the taking of the elements were done really fast.  There was no teaching on reflecting on the body and blood of Christ. 

Beauty of the church 3 stars-  it has a modern feel and clean, however there are no symbols or décor that lates you know that it is an actual church when you are inside.  The sanctuary feels more like an auditorium for a concert than an actual church building.

Pastoral leadership 4 stars-  This church has an elder board at the church to help run the ministry.  However, the leadership is lacking in diversity of ethnicity.  They do have so me people on staff of different ethnic groups, but not among the elder board.  You do not have easy access to the pastors during the service.  They are not easily found greeting the congregation before or after the service.

Children’s ministry, no rating to give- has a large children's ministry.  I don’t know the actually teaching or the in’s  and outs of the ministry as I have no kids, but I do like that they provide ministry for different age groups.

Student ministry, no rating-  Though I am not providing a rating due to my lack of experience of involvement with the ministry, based of my impressions I would give it a high rating.  They lave a large student ministry.  They have Wednesday night Well groups, and they provide opportunities for fellowship for the students.  For me, if I had a teen, this is definitely a church I would at least consider.

Women’s ministry 3 stars-  They offer bible study for both morning and evening 2 days out of the week.  There are not that many opportunities out side of that for different women’s fellowship activities.  They have a mom’s group, but nothing for other women in different stages in their life. 

Men’s ministry 3 star- there are  a few  bible studies  for men however they are not  advertised well on their website and you have to look under the common interest group.  There is no actual men’s ministry.  They did have a men’s event in the past, but there are no regular activities to help disciple men or allow for fellowship

Ministries within the church 4 stars-  The church offers a wide variety of ministries to help people in different seasons in their life such as divorce care, counseling ministry, marriage counseling, fostering and adoption, to name a few. 

Missions 3  star-  The church donates to a few ministries and has a few mission like programs during the year, however there is a lack of  ongoing mission work throughout the year from the church locally or abroad.   They do have one common interest group that appears to do work with homeless people. 

Community 4 stars- Visiting the church, you can sense there is a sense of community among the believers at the church.  Though the church is considered to be big, it is not too big and people are able to find their friends and fellowship.  There are also opportunities for people to fellowship among each other regularly

Discipleship  3 stars-  the church has Equip class on Wednesdays and also a few bible study groups.  There appears to be a lack of an actual discipleship program though, however individuals may still be able to get discipled through the various groups the church has.

Stewardship 3 stars-  Most funds are used for the church itself.  Some is used towards mission work in the community and at large however the amount is not known.  They are currently doing construction and expanding their facilities.  They also have things that some people would question if it is a good use of money or not.  I would allow individuals to debate these things on their own, but they do have a coffee shop, they use a light system, and  they purchase other modern day equipment.  They do sell things at their church at times as well, which I know can be a controversial issue for some believers as well.  eIt is also not known if the church makes known how the funds are being used by the church.  There are no easy resources to see what percentage is used for missions, salary, and the church as a whole.  Giving is done electronically or through a box in the back.  They do not pass around a basket.

Diversity 3 stars-  The church does have a mix population however it is primarily Caucasian (possibly 80%).  There are a few African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians; however the culture of the church is very Caucasian in nature and not really a culture that is sensitive to cultural diversity.   The diversity of the church may be due to the fact there are a lack of other ethnic churches in the area. 

Majesty  3 stars-  the church is more laide back in its reverence to God.  People come in jeans and t-shirts.  It is a more casual feel.  If you like to dress up, you will stand out in this church as the majority do not dress up.  The worship also seems very structured and must be done by a certain time.  They sing maybe 2-3 songs in the beginning and the end.  They also allow people to leave at the end, so there tends to be a lot of people who get up and leave at the end of the sermon or communion.  The service as a whole is not long as well.  It is about 1 hour 15 minutes and it seems as though they are rushing to get people out on time. 

Parking 4 stars-  Most parking is close to the church so you don’t have to walk far.  There is some construction right now, so there are some parking spots in a gravel lot.

Volunteers (Greeters, ushers, parking, etc) 3 stars-  the volunteers are friendly overall.  There are a lack of help by ushers in the church.  Many times you have to find your own seats.  The ushers also do not pass out the communion elements, so you have to make sure you pick them up before you sit down. There are a few parking attendants to help you find a spot, but they do not have enough volunteers so you may be lost a little bit until you see one.