How are churches named?
How should churches be named?
How was your church named?

Is there a Biblical text, historical precedent, or confessional standard that anyone can point to in how churches are named? Has it always simply been chosen by the elders or members pragmatically or by personal preference?

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John Blevins III
Chestnut Mountain Presbyterian Church
PCA
Gainesville, Georgia

In this country, Presbyterians tended to use geographic or numerical names and avoided saint names. I don't know of any rule other than general rules like avoiding superstition and offense.
I always loved the name of a Baptist church between here and Tyler which had apparently split off another church called Hope Baptist Church. They called their church Little Hope Baptist Church.

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Chris Coldwell, Lakewood Presbyterian Church (PCA), Dallas, Texas.
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I was in one church plant where we had lots of babies. Someone suggested as a name: "Our Lady of Perpetual Conception." Funny it wasn't selected ....

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JWithnell
Member Bethel OPC
Virginia
http://learningyesican.blogspot.com/

I don't think there are any rules.

It was interesting to discover after naming our new church (established one year ago) that the name we chose, "Keowee Presbyterian", a regional name, was part of the name of the first and original Presbyterian church in our area (Hopewell-Keowee) that was established in 1790. The building of that church still exists, but there has been no congregation there for some time.

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J Baldwin
Keowee Presbyterian Church, PCA
Pickens, SC
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

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Ours was named after the street we were on in 1840 (Aisquith Street Presbyterian Church). When we move off of that street (in 1935) we kept the street name (Aisquith) but dropped the word "street".

I figured that there was not any precedent on rules or a confessional how to. With that said should a presbytery or general assembly have oversight of church names when they are created? What would be some suggested guidelines that can be used?

We chose the name of our church, Providence Reformed Presbyterian, by popular vote. However, there is a reason of sorts behind this particular name. God, in His Providence, overcame many things and people who stood int he way of us organizing a reformed church in our town.


If I ever get the opportunity to participate in nominating names for another church I will insist that my new favorite name be placed for consideration: Miserable Sinners and Worms Presbyterian Church.

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James Helbert, Wytheville, VA
Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCUS
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