How important is the name of your church? What are the reasons you might change it, and what do you need to think about to do it?
In this episode of In:Dependence, Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Head of National Ministries) is joined by Andy Rees, Lead Pastor at Surrey Chapel (now CityGates Church) in Norwich to discuss the importance of church names, the reason he changed the name of his church, and what the process looked like.
00:00 - Introduction
01:30 - Refurbishments for a better welcome
04:24 - Why is Surrey Chapel called Surrey Chapel when it's in Norwich?
06:22 - Popular church names
08:37 - Changing name to CityGates Church
15:36 - Changing name to ChristChurch Harborough
18:42 - Not changing name at East London Tabernacle Baptist Church
19:53 - Practical steps to changing names
24:52 - How is visual identity important for the church?
26:49 - Marking a church name change
This episode was recorded in August 2022. Surrey Chapel officially changed its name to CityGates Church in November 2022.
You can watch a video of this episode and access more resources for church leaders on the FIEC website.
About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear teaching and resources for church leaders from the FIEC Ministry Team and guests from FIEC churches and partners. You can access video podcasts by subscribing to the FIEC YouTube channel.
About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Being part of FIEC links you to a growing number of Independent evangelical churches and there are now more than 50,000 people who are part of churches affiliated to FIEC.
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