I am writing to bring you up to date on our relaunch work. We have completed the first phase, which was focused on discerning God's mission and vision for our church and choosing a new name.
Having focused on the Benediction that we say every week, we have distilled that vision down into the concise statement:
There will be much more on this in the weeks and months to come as we flesh this out with specific programs and objectives.
On Sunday, we unveiled the new name...
After talking about it at three subsequent meetings after worship, we had narrowed it down to about three options. Each one was a good name and many people had their preferences. But more than our preferences, we wanted a name that would be intriguing and inviting to folks that might be looking for a church. Therefore, it was suggested that we poll people outside of the church and see what they think.
So, we did that and here is what we found. The first name, "New Life Church," sounded like a Baptist church or was a church they were already familiar with since there are so many by that name. "Church of the Vine," the second option, sounded just different enough that folks didn't quite know what to make of it. But the majority liked and were intrigued by the third option, "Discovery Church."
They were even more interested when it was explained to them how we wanted to lay out a plan and invited people to 1. Discover God, 2. Discover God's gifts, and 3. Discover community and service. These steps were laid out weeks ago in the second of our meetings. See http://claytonpc.com/node/657
It will probably take you a week or two to get used to the new name, but we are convinced that once you do, you'll love it too.