Comments on: How to Name an Evangelical Church

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:19:35 +0000

Aww come on guys, I’m a proud Converge member… ok proud of BGC not necessarily the new moniker. It seems a lil silly to me, also. Our church watched a video from the BGC leadership that explained the thinking. Basically, they think that the “Baptist” title causes unchurched folks to associate negative stereotypes with new church plants. Since church planting is a major emphasis for us, a more neutral “brand” was desired.
Hey, but our church (a church plant of the first ever BGC church) is still proudly Bethany BAPTIST Church! lol

By: Craig Payne

Craig Payne — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:34:56 +0000

“Reality looks very hip and now — they could, however, use a good dose of real editing — this sentence is in the pastor’s bio — “Becoming sexually active in the ninth grade, he consented to his first abortion by the tenth”. Oy. I think I know what they mean but sheesh.”

Wow. I think I’d call this one TMI Fellowship.

By: Joyful Papist

Joyful Papist — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:50 +0000

In NZ, we have Elim (place name), Destiny, and Assembly of God (I used to belong to the Assembly of God in my misspent youth).

Apostolic pops up now and again, too – a name like the Apostolic Community of Zion creates a mental image.

By: David T. Koyzis

David T. Koyzis — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:40:25 +0000

I have a question for those familiar with Converge Worldwide: do their churches now have to use this name in their own names, e.g., Bethel Converge Worldwide or Zion Converge Worldwide? If so, I should think prospective newcomers would be altogether baffled.

By: Mark Byron

Mark Byron — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:33:55 +0000

“Victory” would be a common one; “Praise” and “Celebration” would be good for a generic charismatic church. Also, you need to include “fellowship” and “chapel” as an alternative to “church” at the end of the name. “Tabernacle” or “Cathedral” can be used as either an adjective or a “church” alternative.

“Road” only works if you have the actual name of the road as the modifier, like Wheeler Road Church of Christ.

By: omega sequence

omega sequence — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:16:21 +0000

one of my favourites:

Hot Rod Church (for Sinners)!

http://www.hotrodchurch.com/

By: david c

david c — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:00:05 +0000

Thanks orthodox — I went and looked. Reality looks very hip and now — they could, however, use a good dose of real editing — this sentence is in the pastor’s bio — “Becoming sexually active in the ninth grade, he consented to his first abortion by the tenth”. Oy. I think I know what they mean but sheesh.

By: Orthodoxdj

Orthodoxdj — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:52:32 +0000

Reality LA and other So Cal cities.

By: david c

david c — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:51:30 +0000

Hmmmmm? Are you talking about Reality Church the atheist website? Or Reality Ministries in Durham NC — the (wonderful — my daughter goes) ministry to folks with disabilities and “at risk” inner-city teens?

By: Albert

Albert — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:16:51 +0000

Yeah, I think “Reality” is the winner.

Dibs on realitynowworldwide.church!

By: David T. Koyzis

David T. Koyzis — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:58:59 +0000

What about a .church domain name? E.g., zionlutheran[dot]church?

By: David Paul Regier

David Paul Regier — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:49:30 +0000

It’s always handy if you include the .com or .tv in your church name.

We’ve got some in town that do.

Believe it or not.

By: Truth Unites... and Divides

Truth Unites... and Divides — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:38:39 +0000

#1: What denomination is your church a part of?

#2: Converge Worldwide.

#1: Excuse me? I asked what denomination, not what wireless provider you have.

#2: Seriously, the name of our denomination is Converge Worldwide. John Piper’s church is a member of Converge Worldwide.

#1: Oh! Oh really. That’s really, uh, something.

——-

John Piper to board of elders: “Who else will go with me to the Converge Worldwide conference this year?”

By: Brad Williams

Brad Williams — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:01:57 +0000

You nearly got us. We chose New Covenant Baptist Church. You should stick “New” in there.

By: pentamom

pentamom — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:11:49 +0000

Not only is Converge Worldwide ugly, cumbersome, and sounding more like a wireless provider than a church, it isn’t even a name for something. How can something be a name if it contains a verb and a modifier, but no noun?

But isn’t the BGC a global communion? Looks to me from the website as though they’ve planted churches all over the place.