The Evolution of Church Names

This post is just an observation I’ve had about church names recently.  Church names used to be based on two things:  Denomination and location.  Sometimes churches had a number in their name to represent that they were the “first” or “second” church of their kind in their town.  I’m pretty sure I saw a “third” Baptist church one time, but I can’t remember where.  You had names like Pendleton First Baptist Church, Bishop Branch Baptist Church(based on the name of the local community which was based on the road name), Central First Wesleyan Church, etc.  Then we went through an era of Community/Fellowship Churches.  I think this was a combination of a backlash against denominational names and the planting of non-denominational churches.  There was Downtown Community Fellowship(DCF), Willow Creek Community Church, North Point Community Church, etc.  I do know of a Community Wesleyan Fellowship which bucked all church naming trends as well as Redemption World Outreach Center.  Now, there seems to be a move toward one word church names.  Some of these have five letters with each letter representing one of the five purposes of the church.  I’ve heard of ALIVE, FLAME, newhope, Newspring, Arise, Thrive, Vintage, Revolution, etc.  Many of these churches do have a denominational connection, but it’s not on the sign or the literature.  Many planting pastors hope to capture the essence of their church’s mission in the name.  Who knows what is next?  Maybe it’s the five word or more church name.  You could have Thrive Wesleyan Fellowship Church of Denton or Tom’s Creek Rd. First Baptist Church of the Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ the Son of God.  One summer, I did an internship at Langley(town) Free(open to all) Baptist Church in England.  It was a great experience.  Even better was the article in my hometown paper about my trip.  It said I spent the summer at Langley Fire Baptized Church.  My prayer is that lives will be transformed at all of these churches whether the name is 5 letters or 5 words, 50 years old or 50 days old, contemporary or traditional, Wesleyan or independent.  As long as we’re never ashamed to be called “a” church or “the” church.