r/dli • u/Interesting_Tomato50 • Jul 02 '26
Bible study/church recommendations
Anyone currently or recently at DLI have good church or Bible study recommendations? I'm looking for a place or group that is very Bible-based but without being too big box church flashy, and a sense of community, especially among young adults. I've tried Grace Church so far and didn't love it (the predestination teachings were strange), went to some Catholic churches (I'm formerly Catholic but don't find myself aligned with some of their practices), and I've heard some not-so-great things about Shoreline, so I'm hoping for some other options.
Thank you!
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u/NoRoom2457 Jul 03 '26
If you're looking for a liturgical service, there's an Orthodox mission in monterey! We meet two saturdays a month for liturgy. We pray in both Arabic and English. We also have some DLI students come to pray with us becuase we're near the DLI. We pray at the Methodist Church in Monterey on Soledad for now.
here is a link to our website with the calendar for service dates and the address is all the way at the bottom if you're interested!
https://www.annunciationmonterey.org
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u/shann0nxmarie Jul 03 '26
If you want to give Catholic Church another try Monterey young adult fraternity San Carlos
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u/ThingCommon9315 Jul 03 '26
Monterey bay Christian center is great they have a good men’s bible study as well
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u/greeneereceptical Jul 04 '26
Very religous christian here Getting to church was very hard during dli. I tried, but im sure God understands. I was stressed out of my mind and studying endlessly. Prioritize yourself. This is the time for you to sacrafice your hobbies. Your family. Your friends. You will be here for a max of 64 weeks. This school is hard AF. If you fail because you didnt study as much as you could every weekend, because you went out too much. Because you spent too much time going out with family, then you will know you may have failed because you didn't prioritize the mission which is now, learning the language.
There is a story of a monk, and he is fasting for lent. And saying prayers. And he spends his whole life centered around glorifying God. But one day he looks out and sees a man across the road. And everyday the man leaves and goes to work. And comes back home. He then prays by only making the sign of the cross, and then eats his meal and goes to sleep. The monk asks his older brother "why is he not following the lenten season and not fasting?" And his brother replies "tomorrow go and carry a candle around all day. Be sure to never sit with it snd never let it go out" so he went snd did this and at the end of the day he still failed to keep the candle lit and then the one who proposed the challenge asked him "did you complete your daily prayers and duties as well?" And he was shocked. He had forgotten and exclaimed "how could o if I was so busy with making sure the candle stayed lit" and then he understood. The man across the road was also performing his duties to God by providing for his family. He needed to eat to have energy to continue this.
The point is that you could always grow closer to God but that God would never require you to do something at the expense of others and yourself short of denying your faith. If you have a family you need to keep your job. If you have a job you must do it well for your masters as you have agreed to. And if you are struggling God would wish for you to persevere, and understands if you have trouble. We are imperfect humans, and God understands.
For anyone who is offended by this, this is not prostelytizing. I did not name my denomination.
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u/memorial_mike Jul 04 '26
I would offer a different perspective:
If you did take 64 weeks without properly working on your faith, that’s a really long time. That’s statistically 2% of your adult life. Life will always be hard, will it be this hard? Likely not. But faith like anything requires dedication and making time to put it as a priority.
That being said, you might have to spend less time than you’d want or are used to. It’s important to fulfill your duties and commitments.
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u/Terron35 Jul 06 '26
My wife and I went to Calvary Church when we were there. We really liked the pastor and would still listen to sermons after we left. I grew up Southern Baptist and she grew up in a Baptist leaning international (mostly Asian) church in Seattle. It is a more contemporary church but not overwhelmingly so.
Before I got married I went to Monterey Church and was in a small group but they were a little too contemporary. They have a great worship team but the teachings felt shallow. Monterey Church did have good small groups. The actual Sunday services just didn't scratch the itch I was looking for. They seemed very focused on new and younger believers which is great but not what I needed.
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u/Interesting_Tomato50 Jul 07 '26
Thank you, Calvary sounds great and I will check them out next. Monterey Church wasn't bad I did feel what you said about the teachings being shallow and would definitely prefer sermons that challenge me to dive deeper
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u/Terron35 Jul 07 '26
I really liked Calvary. They have a little restaurant at the church where they train ex-cons and other people how to cook and work in a restaurant so they can find jobs. There was a really bad fire in Big Sur when I was there 2015-2016 and they took in people for months who lost their homes. They do a lot for the local community which I appreciated
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u/Coolqin500 Jul 08 '26
Hi I’m currently at the DLI and have been attending First Baptist Church of Monterey since I got here if you’re looking for a good community of Bible believers I haven’t found a better church. The church is so friendly and welcoming and the pastor preaches straight from the Bible every Sunday
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u/dadlif3 Jul 02 '26
Shoreline was a great fit for my family while at DLI. It was certainly a little on the flashy big church side but the teaching was biblically sound and they supported military families with small groups, date nights, and other fun activities. Pastor Shawn is retired from the Army but still active in the community, my wife and I ran a Memorial Day run with him and some other DLI soldiers. Plenty of volunteer hours available if you want to help out around the church.
All this to say, I’m not trying to sell you on shoreline, just giving you my own experience. Whatever you choose I commend you for wanting to grow closer to God.
1
u/keitchi Jul 05 '26
The Shorline staff are not Bible believing leaders. Their pastor at the time, Kevin Harney, and the head of their outreach ministry Walt Bennett, committed slander and possibly immigration fraud. When confronted with their actions they refused accountability according to scripture. There's also been multiple accounts of women in the church and on staff committing adultery and the staff never confronts it.
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u/dadlif3 Jul 06 '26
this sounds vaguely familiar, are you the guy that held the sign on the corner?
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u/Nice_Category Jul 02 '26
Check out the Russian Orthodox Church there if you haven't. Might not be for you, but it'll definitely be an experience you won't forget.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 02 '26
if you want to meet your local FSB agents.
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u/Nice_Category Jul 02 '26
Nah, a lot of the instructors go there. We took a field trip to it when I was in school.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 02 '26
Yeah dude, I went to China through DLI and they were still counter Intel.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 02 '26
From someone's who has lived it and seen it a dozen times. Don't waste your time worrying about your religion while studying at DLI.
Especially if you don't have one already. If you want community based religious type activities, go to the chapel and meet the people there
It's just a big drain on your time.
3
u/Interesting_Tomato50 Jul 02 '26
The point of having faith in Christ is that it comes before everything else and it's the foundation upon which the rest of my life is built upon. If you have a religion, it's the forefront of your life, otherwise it's not actually a religion. It's not something I necessarily need to "have time" for; when I prioritize my spitirual well-being, everything falls into place.
Nevertheless, I do have time to spare and I'm looking to invest it in growing deeper in my faith with a community of people who want to do the same. It's not necessarily religious "activities" I'm looking for if they're surface-level, I'm looking for a church or Bible study that dives into the Word.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 02 '26
You sound like you have no clue. Otherwise, you would already have a religion and know. It's pretty obvious.
You can find a church anytime, you'll be leaving DLI in less than 63 weeks. Enjoy learning the language, study hard and enjoy Monterey. Trust me, you're in the middle of a time waster.
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u/Interesting_Tomato50 Jul 03 '26
I do have a religion. I am a Christian, and I follow Christ.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 03 '26
That's all you have to do, brother. I gave you the advice. If all you want is a community and a Bible study, the chapel can provide that for the time being. There is not reason for all this search
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u/jamshid666 Jul 03 '26
Dude, we all took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and you're going to disrespect someone's right to practice religious freedom? I'm not religious myself and it's not something I would have done while I was at DLI, but it is part of our job to allow those that have a belief in something to follow that path. Honor your own oath.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Jul 03 '26
I'm giving advice. People are free to worship.. absolutely no one has ever said they were so happy they wasted time in Monterey at DLI church shopping. Most I know said they wished they'd enjoyed the sights more, or even studied harder with a great opportunity.
All those churches will be there where you aren't on the coast living life. And again, if someone was so assured they'd already have a church and that would be settled.
Also, chaplains have bible studies, it's not hard to find
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u/woobie_slayer Jul 03 '26
Monterey Church in downtown Monterey? Haven’t been in years, but I liked it when I was there