Many Christians might not think much about the name of the church they attend.
To others, however, a church name defines their congregation just as much as their personal name defines them.
Perhaps that is why in recent years a growing number of pastors and congregations are changing the names of their churches.
In Indianapolis, for instance, First Samuel Missionary Baptist Church recently changed its name to First Samuel Holistic Ministries.
“A name means something, and there’s so much that goes into it,” said Peter Fenton, pastor of First Samuel. “Through prayer and seeking God, we realized that we needed something that would bring enlightenment and enrichment when people hear our name.”
Fenton noted that the main goal of First Samuel, established in 1952, is still to promote salvation through Jesus Christ. However, he added, the church’s mission has evolved to offering spiritual guidance and meeting the needs of the “total man.”
Fenton said First Samuel realized that human beings have been made with both spiritual and physical attributes. Therefore, the church offers not only spiritual teachings, but also programs to meet physical needs such as a monthly clothing giveaway, food served every Wednesday, affordable day care for working parents and GED courses.
“We want to reach that ‘total man’ and teach him not only how to be a Christian, but also how to manage his family, neighborhood, finances, job and relationships,” Fenton said. “We needed a name that matches our mission.”
First Samuel is only one of several churches in the area that have undergone a recent name change.
The historic Second Baptist Church has been known publicly as Purpose of Life Ministries since 2009. Its pastor, David Greene, said the church wants to make sure its not locked into a denominational label by visitors.
“Denominations have certain stereotypes, so some people may not fully evaluate your ministry,” said Green. “They might say, ‘OK, so you’re Baptist. Well, I’m looking for something besides that,’ and they’ll move on.”
Greene, who has served as senior pastor since 1995, added that during the time of its name change, the church had a teaching series designed to help people identify their purpose in life, along with a television ministry.
“We didn’t want the church and the television program having different names, so one was selected that reflected our mission,” Greene said. “That mission is to help you find your purpose, live your purpose and share your purpose.”
More traditional churches, noticing the growth and success of newer, nondenominational congregations, are opting to stop associating with a denominational organization, at least when it comes to their name, said Arthur E. Farnsley II, associate director of the Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture, located on the campus of IUPUI.
“Whether a church changes its name really depends largely on the kind of polity, or structure, it has,” Farnsley said.
Churches generally fall into two categories – episcopal and congregational.
Name changes are less common among churches with an episcopal structure, such as those associated with the Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, historically Black Methodist groups (AME, CME, AME Zion) and Pentecostal organizations, such as the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW).
“These churches are part of an episcopal structure where church leaders are accountable to a bishop or hierarchy of senior leaders,” Farnsley said. “Therefore, name changes would likely have to be approved by superiors.”
On the other hand, congregational style churches have a high level of autonomy and often make their own administrative decisions. That is why name changes occur more frequently among churches in this category, such as those that are Baptist, Church of Christ or non-denominational.
“These churches have structures in place along with the pastors, including a deacon board or group of trustees, that can approve any changes deemed necessary,” Farnsley noted.
Sometimes a pastor and other church leaders may encounter a little resistance from members hesitant embrace changes such as a new name.
Fenton, who has been pastor of First Samuel since 1990, said that was not the case there.
“We didn’t try to force anything; we just let the word (Bible) and prayer work,” Fenton said. “We took everyone through the book of Acts, which talks about how the church should be building people and how that goal is scripturally sound. As a result, the congregation was favorable towards it.”
Greene said he experienced a little resistance. He added, however, that his congregation, which traces its history back to 1875, is still technically Second Baptist Church, although it is known as Purpose of Life Ministries. The congregation simply chose the name as its “Doing Business As…” name.
“Legally, you can have multiple names that you can do business as,” Greene said. “So when it comes to our entity report with the state, Second Baptist Church still exists. Underneath that name, we can still also operate under another name, such as Purpose Life Ministries. It gives us flexibility in both marketing and articulating a vision.”
Both Fenton and Greene said changing the name of their congregations have been good decisions so far.
“We wanted people to focus on the type of ministries that we have at First Samuel,” Fenton said. “We didn’t want to just put new wine in old wineskins.”
Greene said that since its name change, the church is enjoying a new era of growth.
“We are more diverse in terms of people with different backgrounds becoming a part of the ministry,” Greene stated. “We have the opportunity to open our doors a little wider and minister to a broader range of people, instead of just those interested in Baptist churches.”
