Have you tried the Journey -meets in Newport Mall Sundays...check out www.nyjourney.com and look for the jersey city location - it is a video feed from their Manhattan service which can be more "exciting" there b/c it's live...but the music in JC is live and the people are "alive"!

I would sum it up as contemporary/non-denomination Christian church.

good luck to you.

I am giving you my recommendation even though you asked not for a Catholic church because afterall, it is a Christian church and because you have asked for a recommendation.

My choice is Holy Rosary at 344 Sixth Street between Monmouth St. and Brunswick. And I prefer the Sunday, 10:00 am Latin Mass which is extra special to me and a humbling experience.

However, I do not believe that it will engage you in the manner which I sense you are looking for, so I will leave it at that.

BTW.... the Latin Mass folks gather in the basement after Mass each Sunday for coffee and cake and they really are a nice group of people.

www.holyrosarychurch.com

http://www.stmatthewsjc.org/

An Evangelical Lutheran Church located on Wayne St between Jersey Ave and Barrow St.
Diverse, warm, and welcoming. Sermons don't stray too far from the bible.

It is not large, though and I'm not sure it will meet your condition of being "lively". We're happy here, though.

I moved here recently and I'm having no luck finding a good church in this neighborhood. I dont even mind driving outside JC a little bit, if I can find a church where I leave engaged, they are lively, sing hymns and have good preaching about the word of God. I like bigger churches, but it doesnt have to be. So far, all the ones I have tried have been a major letdown. I am Catholic, but I am NOT seeking a Catholic church, as I'm looking for sth more lively.

I am NOT just looking for listings either. I can open the Yellow Pages and find that. I know there are some churches listed on this site too. I am looking for recommendations. It can't be this hard to try to get closer to God. Tx for your help.