Removing Barriers and Sharing Vision Helping People Find and Follow Christ
1. What has the Council on Ministries decided regarding our church name? The Council on Ministries has decided to initiate a process to engage the church family in the selection of a new operating name for the church.
2. What led the Leadership Team and Council on Ministries to discuss a new operating name and to decide to initiate this process now? On many occasions in the past, the question has been raised whether our core purpose of helping people find and follow Christ would be best served by changes to our operating name. This question has never been more relevant and timely than it is now, because we are in the process of expanding our reach to new areas of Miami and to people around the world through the launching of another physical location and church online this fall. If we believe that an operating name change will improve our ability to win as many as possible, as soon as possible, by the most effective means possible, we should do it now, as we begin a new era sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with new and greater numbers of people in multiple locations, by multiple forms of communication, and before we begin producing signage, promotional pieces, information sheets, etc., for the larger local and global audience that will be reached.
3. Are we going to remove “Baptist” from our church name? The motion that will be brought to the church will not change our incorporated name, which is The University Baptist Church of Coral Gables, Inc., nor will it change our denominational affiliation, doctrinal conviction or our involvement with the Miami Baptist Association. That being said, based on our research, our purpose and where we are going, we don’t believe using the words “University” or “Baptist” in our operating name is the most effective means to help us reach more people for Christ. We are not associated with a University any more, nor will this name be relevant as we move to multiple locations. LifeWay Research (formerly Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention) conducted a study in September of 2011, surveying a representative sample of the U.S. adult population. The results of 2,114 responses included the following: + When asked their level of agreement with the statement, “When I see Baptist in the name of a church, I assume it is not for me,” 29% strongly agreed and 21% somewhat agreed, which means 50% of the respondents assumed that any church with the word “Baptist” in its name was not for them. (Note: Other denominational names had negative reactions as well, with 51% assuming that any church with the word “Methodist” in its name was not for them, 53% assuming the same thing for any church with the word “Catholic” in its name, and 57% assuming the same thing for any church with the words “Southern Baptist” in its name). + When asked “If you were considering visiting or joining a church, would knowing that the church was Southern Baptist impact your decisions positively, negatively or have no impact?” responses were 44% negative, 36% no impact, 10% positive and 10% not sure. In other words, 80% found it either negative or not helpful.
4. If we adopt a new operating name, will we still be a Baptist church? Yes. Our core beliefs and practices will not change, in affirmation of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Mission Statement. » http://www.ubcmiami.org/1963-baptist-faith-and-message This action also does not remove us from the Southern Baptist Convention. In fact, many SBC churches, including our own church plants, Bay Community Church and Lighthouse Church, have chosen not to include the denominational affiliation in their title. The Southern Baptist church of former SBC President Dr. James Merritt -- Cross Pointe Church outside Atlanta – left its denominational affiliation out of its name, not because it was trying to hide anything, but in order to broaden the church’s appeal and bring as many people to Christ as possible. Even the SBC itself changed the name of its publishing house from “Baptist Bookstores” to “LifeWay Christian Resources” to broaden its reach and impact.
5. Our purpose is to help people find and follow Christ - how does this help? In January 2010, our Senior Pastor Bill White preached about Jesus cleaning out the temple and removing barriers so that more people could find Him. Bill said, “The main thing is to help people who are far from God find and follow Him. The main thing is to make room for those not yet inside to find their way to Him so that they can follow His call to come...Religion goes bad when it gets in God’s way of doing that.”
If our research and our own experiences show that our name may be a barrier to helping people find and follow Christ, we should follow Christ’s example and remove that barrier in order to reach as many as possible, as soon as possible, by the most effective means possible. The Apostle Paul not only changed his name (from Saul), but made himself “a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (to the Jews he became like a Jew, to those under the law he became like one under the law, to those not having the law he became like one not having the law, to the weak he became weak). “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. In the same way, changing our name to reach more people for Christ will help spread our beliefs and message, not compromise them. We know it may be hard for some of us to embrace this change, but we must remember that our church – Christ’s church – does not exist solely for those of us who are already in it. We exist for Christ and for His purpose of saving the lost.
6. What is the process? June 16/17 » Vision is shared with the congregation during weekend services. We begin to accept submission of potential new operating names through July 2 based on the following criteria: + communicates vision - Jeremiah 33:3, Isaiah 54:1-3 + enduring - Jeremiah 32:40 + simple - John 3:16-17 + clear - 1 Corinthians 14:8 + globally friendly - Mark 11:17 + not location specific - Matthew 18:18-20, Acts 2:5-11 June 23, 30 & July 7 » Prayer Meetings - 7:15-8:00p June 24, 27 & July 1 » Town Hall Meetings - 6:00-8:00p July 2-10 » Leadership Team and Council on Ministries work with Communications to review submitted names that meet the listed criteria and determine a recommended direction regarding name selection July 11 » Special Called Business Meeting (discuss but not vote) - 6:00p July 14/15 » Vote on adopting a new operating name during services by ballot of members July-August » New operating name will begin being implemented. We pray that this will be a time for us to reach out to our community in new ways and to celebrate within our church.
Questions If you have other questions, please email them to questions@ubcmiami.org
Resources A list of resources can be found at ubcmiami.org/name
How may I submit a name suggestion? We’re glad you asked. Simply complete the lower portion of this page and turn it in at a tithe box in the worship center, in the offering container, at the front office or online at ubcmiami.org/name. Deadline for name submissions is July 2.
Before you submit a name, may we suggest… 1. Review the criteria (above) and the scriptures that go along with them 2. Pray for wisdom (James 1:5)
My name suggestion(s) is(are)
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