Jesus Image FL - Vent / Curious
Am I the only one who feels deeply uncomfortable at churches like Jesus Image?
I’ve only been there three times because I genuinely WANTED to love it. Young crowd, beautiful music, emotional atmosphere, everyone hyping it up online, I thought maybe this would finally be the church that felt right.
But every single time I left feeling more unsettled than the last.
For context, I grew up in church. My parents were worship leaders my entire life in non-denominational churches, so I’ve seen both the genuine side of ministry and the “behind the curtain” side too.
And maybe because of that, I notice things other people don’t.
The entire experience at Jesus Image feels manufactured.
The second you walk in, you’re herded around like cattle. They literally ask if you’re “single or double” while seating people like you’re boarding a ride at Universal Studios. Massive lines. Tons of workers everywhere, but somehow very little genuine warmth or connection.
It feels organized, polished, curated… but not personal.
One time I brought in a closed hot coffee that I had just bought before service. Waited in line forever with it, only for an usher to stop me at the entrance to the sanctuary and tell me I couldn’t bring it in. I was so irritated I just threw the entire thing away.
Then you walk into the sanctuary and it’s sensory overload.
You’ve got:
- a choir
- multiple worship leaders
- backup singers
- string instruments
- photographers
- videographers
- security guards
- interpretive dancers waving flags around
- people constantly moving around filming emotional moments
At what point does worship stop being worship and start becoming a production?
Because that’s exactly what it felt like to me: a show.
And before people come for me, yes, the music sounds beautiful. But I found it SO hard to actually focus on God because there was constantly something happening.
It honestly felt performative.
And look, I understand churches take photos and videos. I get wanting to document worship or share moments from service.
But there’s a difference between capturing the atmosphere of a church and plastering deeply personal moments all over social media.
Some things should remain sacred.
I cannot imagine being broken down at an altar, crying out to God during what could be one of the hardest moments of my life, only to later realize my face became content for Instagram reels and worship clips.
That just feels deeply invasive and performative to me.
That should be left for you and the Lord, not thousands of online views.
There is a line, and it’s been crossed, but this church supports it?
And maybe this is where I’ll really lose people, but I’m going to say it anyway:
I truly believe some mega churches have turned Christianity into branding.
Not discipleship.
Not shepherding.
Not community.
Branding.
Everything feels optimized for aesthetics, social media clips, emotional reactions, and growth.
Even the worship felt overly controlled to me. Growing up around worship leaders, I was taught worship is supposed to be spirit-led, not scripted and micromanaged.
My mom took worship seriously because she believed it was ministry, not performance. She would talk about sensing when the room needed to slow down, when someone was hurting, when God was moving in a different direction, she would make room for the holy spirt to move.
At Jesus Image, it feels like one person orchestrates the entire emotional experience from the top down.
You can literally hear the pastor interrupting and directing worship on their Spotify recordings.
That’s not organic to me.
That feels curated.
And honestly… out of the three times I went, I barely even saw the actual pastor preach once.
The first time he was out of town and his wife spoke. Another time a guest speaker preached. The third visit, we ended up leaving during worship because we had enough of it.
My mom always used to say, “A shepherd doesn’t leave his sheep.” And this whole celebrity pastor culture feels completely opposite of that.
Then I learned about the connection to Benny Hinn and honestly, everything clicked for me.
That man was a crook, a false healer, and a false teacher. He was manipulative, exploitative, and completely consumed by fame, money, and spectacle while disguising it as ministry. And in my opinion, this church carries that exact same spirit.
This is not humble, spirit-led Christianity.
It’s performance Christianity.
It’s emotional manipulation wrapped in aesthetic worship music and social media branding.
Jesus flipped tables over people turning faith into spectacle and profit and honestly, walking into places like this makes me understand why.
Jesus didn’t need camera crews, photographers, curated emotional moments, or a personal brand.
He knew people by name.
He sat with them.
He made time for them.
Meanwhile this church literally states online that the pastor’s schedule doesn’t permit meeting with people, so prayer teams handle it instead.
I’m sorry, but if your church gets so big that the pastor no longer knows or shepherds the congregation, something is fundamentally broken.
At that point people stop being souls and start becoming attendance numbers and dollar signs.
I know some people genuinely love this church, and if it truly brought you closer to God then honestly, I’m glad for that.
But personally?
Every instinct in me felt like something was off.
And if you’re deeply immersed in this culture, I genuinely pray the veil is lifted and that you learn to separate emotional experiences from the actual presence of God.
Anyone else feel this way about mega churches or specifically Jesus Image?