FAQs About Changing the Church's Name

We haven’t heard anything about changing the church’s name for a while. Have we dropped the idea?

No, not at all. But we are not rushing into adopting a new name just to make a change. This is a serious and important decision, and we must make it carefully.

What progress have we made?

When we asked for suggestions for a new name, we had several hundred ideas submitted by members and ministers. We appointed a committee who looked at the suggested names and came up with a short list of possibilities.

Many of the names were unsuitable for a variety of reasons. Some were too long and cumbersome. Others sounded rather cultish. Some of the best suggestions were names already being used by other churches and groups and because of that, we could not use them.

The committee favored Grace Fellowship International, as it had all the elements that we felt were important: our transition from legalism to grace, the international nature of the church and the fact that we are indeed a Christian fellowship. Then we found that this name also was in use, making it unavailable to us. Even variations on this name could subject us to legal challenges. The next most desirable name, Grace International Communion, was met with mixed reactions when we announced it as a possibility.

Such as?

Many people told us they did not like the sound of the name. That is to be expected. Any new name will take some getting used to. Some people who initially did not like it have told us that they eventually warmed up to it. Several have written to tell us they would prefer that we reverse the order of the last two words, that is, Grace Communion International.

Some even wrote to tell us that the name sounds Roman Catholic. This is rather ironic, because our current name, Worldwide Church of God, when translated into some of the European languages, sounds like the ancient name of the Roman Catholic Church. We have actually received letters from Roman Catholic bishops objecting to our current name.

So, because we are a truly worldwide fellowship, adopting a new name is no easy decision.

All things considered, wouldn’t it be easier just to stay with what we have?

No, not if all things are considered. In some cases, our current name is a barrier to proclaiming the gospel effectively. Some people have an immediate negative reaction to our name because of our past, and they leave thinking we are the same church we once were. We have also been told that our present name sounds as if we are associated with one of a number of sectarian groups, or that we are a Pentecostal denomination. To some people, our name sounds pretentious or old fashioned.

When considering a name for our denomination, we need to consider the future as well as the past. Choosing a name for a church is not simply a spiritual matter. It has practical implications. The name becomes the church’s trademark, and helps people form a concept of who we are. What we call ourselves also has business and legal implications.

The name should not misrepresent what the church is. Older members will remember that our church has been known as Worldwide Church of God only since 1968. Before then, we were known as the Radio Church of God. This made sense at the time, as the church had pioneered religious radio broadcasting. In the thirties, forties and maybe even the fifties, a name that included the word “radio” sounded dynamic and modern. But by the ’60s, it had begun to sound quaint and out-of-date. Membership was growing, and congregations were established around the world. We needed a name that described what our church had become. So “Worldwide” was chosen, and it has served us well. But we need to ask if it is time for yet another “upgrade.”

Many well-established organizations, corporations and financial institutions have changed their ponderous old names to something snappier to reflect new realities.

But isn’t it more important that the name of the church sounds right to God?

In the past, we put much emphasis on the idea that the precise name of the church was one of the identifying marks of “the true church.” But were we right about that?

Even the name “Christian” was not divinely revealed. It was first used by the people of ancient Antioch to describe the followers of Jesus in their city (Acts 11:26). However, it was a good name, and it stuck.

Obviously, we would not choose a name that we thought would meet with God’s disapproval. But it is not a precise combination of words that makes any group “God’s church.”

Many congregations in the United States have already changed their names. Why doesn’t that solve the problem?

Those name changes are for individual congregations, based on local needs and considerations. They are relatively easy to make. However, we still need a corporate name for the denomination that identifies our entire worldwide body and meets the many legal and commercial criteria both in the USA and around the world.

Changing the corporate name is vastly more complicated today than it was in 1968. It isn’t just a case of coming up with some words with which we can emotionally and spiritually identify. We must take into account legal and business considerations, and we do not want the new name to have the same shortcomings as the old name. That is not so easy.

So where do we go from here?

The committee continues to receive suggestions and review names to discover which are appropriate and can be trademarked. The ideal name would be one that is modern sounding, unambiguous, catchy enough to be memorable, short enough to be a telephone greeting, able to be translated accurately, descriptive of who and what we are, and dynamic enough to reflect our mission. We have not found it yet. Please keep praying that just the right name will become evident to the church.

A new name is not the most urgent priority for our church. But it is important, and if we adopt a new name it must be the right one.

Copyright 2006 Worldwide Church of God