We’re starting to think about the name for the new church. Seems to me that naming a church is one of those things that if you get it right no one will notice. But if you get it wrong, you’ll hear about it. Sorta like performing a wedding. The only way the preacher gets noticed at a wedding is if he screws up something. If the does what he’s supposed to do, then he blends into the background.
I doubt that a cool church name attracts people to the church, but the wrong name could repel them. Would you attend a church named: The Catapult Community of Christ? (tagline: launching ourselves into the love of God)
There’s nothing worse than a church name where it is painfully obvious that someone was trying too hard to be hip, cool, or relevant.
Remember when everyone was naming stuff after “The Matrix?” Where are those churches now?
What makes a church’s name meaningful anyway? The actual name or the quality of the community it represents? If it’s the quality of the community, then why do church planters spend so much time obsessing about the name of their church?
My preference is a simple name that doesn’t say too much or try to hard, but has some depth to it too. I also think a typical guy should be able to say the name without cringing.
For example:
(if I could come up with an example I’d have the name for the church wouldn’t I?)
What do you think? How important is the name of a church?
Got any suggestions for a simple, yet theologically profound name that doesn’t try to hard and yet is also winsome, especially to that hard to reach 20 to 30 something male demographic?
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