Eric Reece
There was a recent church merger in Tennessee. One church's building was in need of a lot of repairs and the other church had plenty of space, so it made sense to join together as one congregation.
The churches selected a new name and everyone was excited about moving forward.
Names are important. Names communicate something. My home church was named Snow Hill United Methodist Church. The church was founded in 1838.
Snow Hill was the name of the community. The church was not on a hill, nor did it snow that often.
In some denominations it is the diocese or association that decides the church name. In the Roman Catholic church, churches are named after the Trinity or one of the saints. Our Catholic church is "Prince of Peace" – a title for Jesus. The same goes for many Episcocal and Lutheran churches, which select a saint of the church and their witness influences the church's story.
Solomon reminds us, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold" (Proverbs 22:1).
In the protestant church, most churches are named after the community they are in. The Graham Star's faith directory lists 21 churches with a community name. Three of our churches are named after Robbinsville: Church of God, First Baptist and United Methodist. If you go back before Robbinsville was selected for the town name, the Baptist and Methodist churches were named "Cheoah," after the Cherokee name for the community.
Other churches may pick a name that has significance to them. Three of our churches have the name "Grace." This is a reminder of God's grace available for all people.
Some years ago, someone came up with the idea to leave the denomination out of the church name. So, a church may be Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian but the sign would say, "Crossroads Church" or "Good Shepherd Church." The thought was having the denomination name on the sign was a hindrance to seekers. I do not know if this was good marketing, or just misleading.
In reading the history of our local churches, one name stands out to me. Dry Creek Baptist started out as New Born Baptist. When I hear the words "new born," I think of a newborn baby, the miracle of life and hope. When I think about the religious meaning, I think of a newborn Christian and the happiness they have in their heart for knowing our Savior.
A beloved hymn I don’t hear sung as often starts off, "There is a name I love to hear.”
There is also a hymn the Apostle Paul shared that reminds us of the most important name to know. “Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11 CEB).
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.