Before You Name or Rename Your Church

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A lot goes in a name. And a whole lot goes into naming or re-naming a church. I remember when my friend Frank Santora from Danbury, CT, renamed his church. They went from Bright Clouds Ministries (not an Indian reservation) to Faith Church. Well that was a big win for them. I don’t think anyone in congregation complained; again, why would they? One of the frequent questions I get from church leaders has to do with their church’s name. But before you go out  and change your congregation’s name, here are a few thoughts to consider:

  • Make sure you have a compelling reason to change the name. Name changes are traumatic. The older the congregation, the more emotional equity a name has. For example, it doesn’t make sense to be “Hunter Street Baptist Church” if you’re moving to Michigan Avenue. A name change is warranted here, or if your church name is Bright Clouds.
  • Location-specific names tie you to one location. Much like the previous example, if you are Haywood Lane Assembly of God and you want to start a satellite in another part of town than your name will not resonate with your new community.  If you ever relocate, that name will not work either. Think big, think far and don’t put unnecessary limits on your congregation by making it community specific.
  • Church names in foreign languages are confusing and come across pretentious. Imago Dei, Oikos Fellowship, Kaleo, Coram Deo unfortunately are real church names. I know some of these folks are going to wake up some day, maybe some already have, and say “What where we thinking?” If you have to explain the meaning of your church name you are in trouble.
  • Make sure people know you’re a church. Names like “Threshold” and “Inversion Fellowship” can mean a lot of different things. Don’t make people ask “What is it?” most will not do it anyway, they will just ignore you.
  • Use words that cannot be use negatively. There’s never a negative connotation for “Hope” or “Faith” these are positive words by definition. But what about “Locust Lane Chapel?” Well, the last time I check locusts were a plague. I know that might be the name of your town, but it’s still a plague.

What about your church name. What does it communicate?

  • great post! good points to consider. could another thing to consider be what you want to communicate about who you are and or what you're about? (don't know if am putting this clearly…)

    • It's always good if you can communicate your uniqueness with your name.

  • Great, simple article. Our church went from “Mt. Zion” to “New Life.” It also grew from 100 people to 500+ because people knew what they would find simply by what we were called. ch:

  • Love the tips!

    I would civilly disagree on the Hunter Street Baptist Church example.
    My wife actually attended Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover, AL (and yeah, they moved from Hunter Street decades ago).

    However, it is the biggest Baptist church in the state and although the name doesn't make logical sense (I agree with you there 100%) – it's name is tied to it's identity in the community.

    • While name equity is definitely something to consider, the more equity the easier it is to make a change. First Baptist Springdale, of the largest churches in Arkansas, recently changed its name to Cross Church. With multiple campuses, it didn't make sense for them to keep the Springdale name if they were going into a different community.

      • I gotcha.

        I have never thought of it like that. Thanks for taking time to respond to my comment.

  • This is a great subject especially as church planting seems to be on the rise. With more young innovative leaders taking the charge, the more unrealistic church names will become. I think another good point is to make sure it represents your church culture… a lot of names are edgy and cool and the experience is not. Also make sure it is the name God wants not because it’s trendy, after all it is His. One more thing, because I work in the online world everyday, is to make sure you don’t have a really confusing or cheesy domain name! Nothing worse than finally settling on a great church name then following it up with ‘ourchurchis4u.com’ think it through, your domain is your brand. Great post Maurilio!

  • In line with the next to last point, also avoid names that contain buzz words of the day. In 2 years they will sound passe.

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  • Good post. Unfortunately there was no such thing as multisite when we started so we have Seacoasts where there is no water 🙂

    • Don't feel bad. There's a Chart House Restaurant (typically in ocean-front properties, started in Hawaii and west coast) in Atlanta.

  • This is a great subject especially as church planting seems to be on the rise. With more young innovative leaders taking the charge, the more unrealistic church names will become. I think another good point is to make sure it represents your church culture… a lot of names are edgy and cool and the experience is not. Also make sure it is the name God wants not because it's trendy, after all it is His. One more thing, because I work in the online world everyday, is to make sure you don't have a really confusing or cheesy domain name! Nothing worse than finally settling on a great church name then following it up with 'ourchurchis4u.com' think it through, your domain is your brand. Great post Maurilio!

    • Your point on domain names is very important not only for churches but for business as well. Usually we will not rename or name a business if we can't find a suitable domain.

  • Lol our church is called Real Church. The first location was planted between a mosque and a cathedral. its worked for us 🙂 although I do get some funny looks sometimes.

    When I lived in Illinois, my church changed names, and it was definitely traumatic for some of the folks. We took "assembly of god" out of the name, and I think some people actually left the church.

    • An AG church that dropped the AG? Wow, you don't see that very often. I'm curious, what happened after the name change. I know some people left, but was the church growing at the time of the name change? What happened afterward?

  • Joseph

    I think re-naming can be a bit confusing for a community if not done well and timed just right.

    We recently re-named which has gone fairly well and helped out a bit but it was strategically rolled out the bets I can tell.

    Now in regards to Flippin….I would totally keep it. That would be great billboard material. "We Flippin Love God" or " Meet me at the Flippin Church" ….the list goes on and on.

  • Here's one for your file, Maurilio. A missionary friend reports seeing "The Church of the Poor Devil." Not sure if I should mention where it was … Brazil.

  • Great tips, Maurilio. I will pass this along to the rest of the staff. We have been discussing a name change for a while. There will be some who will struggle with it, but I don't expect it to be extremely traumatic. Needless to say (or not), we will drop the FWB moniker since we are about as unlike the typical as you can get. We are growing, transforming in our identity and poised for expansion, so the timing is probably right.

    • I hope your new name reflects the heart of your church and resonates with your community. These are exciting days.

  • Betty

    Our church has moved from one city to another but only 1 miles apart. Since our Church had the City's name in it we have to rename it. We want to take the denomination out of it "Lutheran" as we feel we can grown our congregation if we don't specify one religion. Many of our congregation feel we should leave Lutheran in the name and are upset. It is difficult to please everyone and the council is at our wits end.

    • A name change can be difficult. The big decision is which one is more important to the church's leadership: that we reach unchurched people or that the community knows we are Lutherans. I'm certain God cares less about what we call ourselves than what we do.

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