What’s In A (Church) Name?

A few weeks ago, I was in the grocery store and overheard a woman talking on her cellphone about the name of her church, and the problems it may be causing for membership and attendance. I didn’t catch the full name of the church, but I heard her mention “Resurrection.” I don’t know what denomination it is, but I imagine from the half of the conversation that I heard that it is more main-line Protestant than fundamentalist Christian.

This eavesdropping episode really got me thinking–how much does the name of a church matter? The churches I’ve attended have had pretty bland names, usually St. So-and-S0. Is that coincidence, or is that what I’m comfortable with? Would I have ventured into a Church of the Resurrection given my ambiguous beliefs about the after-life? (Probably, since I do believe in Jesus’ resurrection.)

I looked up information on church names, and found this cloud of church names:

(source)

I love how “first” is such a common word! I guess they forgot that Jesus said in Matthew 20:16 that “the first will be last.” 😉

I’ve learned a lot about “branding” since I started blogging (thanks to Katy and Carla). Should churches be focusing on branding too? Should a church look at its name–a name that may have been chosen decades ago by a very different congregation–as a branding tool? Should a church consider changing its name if it doesn’t reflect the current congregation, or should a church name remain a constant in an ever-changing world?

Church is one of the few places where we do still pass down traditions from generation to generation. Would this sense of continuity and rootedness be lost if a church changed its name from time to time?

If I were looking for a church, could a church’s name keep me away?  Maybe, if I didn’t know anything else about the church. But, I probably would check out the church website (if it has one) and use that information to decide whether I might like to worship there.

Have you given much thought to the name of your church?

Have you attended a church with an unusual name?