Saturday, February 04, 2006
We have a name!
I'm excited to announce that our new church plant in Yorkville finally has a name! We have decided to call ourselves...
"Via Christus" of course is Latin for "The Way of Christ"; and we think it really expresses our approach to faith. We don't want to just be a church that teaches people to believe the right things. We want to be a church that teaches and trains people to live in the right way, in the way of love, compassion, reconciliation, service, and joy that Christ commanded and modeled for us.
Now a name like Via Christus is certainly not the most "seeker sensitive" of names. It's not a generic, non-threatening subdivision type church name like "Rivers Edge" or "Timber Ridge" or anything like that. Instead we went with a name that was a little different, that would be intriguing, that would stand out... perhaps at the risk of not being immediately accessible to unchurched people. But, as one of our Vision Team members said the other night, if our goal as the church is to be active in the community, to be known for our acts of service and compassion, then it's not going to matter so much what our name is. People will know us by what we do, not just by what we call ourselves. Personally I'd rather have a name that gives a real sense of identity, than just another generic sub-division name (or a trying-too-hard-to-be-hip "emerging church" type name for that matter).
Anyhow, I want to ask all of you to be praying for us as we truly do attempt to be a church that seeks to live in the way of Christ.
Via Christus Community Church
"Via Christus" of course is Latin for "The Way of Christ"; and we think it really expresses our approach to faith. We don't want to just be a church that teaches people to believe the right things. We want to be a church that teaches and trains people to live in the right way, in the way of love, compassion, reconciliation, service, and joy that Christ commanded and modeled for us.
Now a name like Via Christus is certainly not the most "seeker sensitive" of names. It's not a generic, non-threatening subdivision type church name like "Rivers Edge" or "Timber Ridge" or anything like that. Instead we went with a name that was a little different, that would be intriguing, that would stand out... perhaps at the risk of not being immediately accessible to unchurched people. But, as one of our Vision Team members said the other night, if our goal as the church is to be active in the community, to be known for our acts of service and compassion, then it's not going to matter so much what our name is. People will know us by what we do, not just by what we call ourselves. Personally I'd rather have a name that gives a real sense of identity, than just another generic sub-division name (or a trying-too-hard-to-be-hip "emerging church" type name for that matter).
Anyhow, I want to ask all of you to be praying for us as we truly do attempt to be a church that seeks to live in the way of Christ.
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posted by Mike Clawson at 9:14 AM | Permalink | 
3 Comments:
At 2/05/2006 01:43:00 AM, 
Mike Clawson
Wow! Really? Are you guys serious?! You really want to come and be a part of the core? That's fantastic! That's really, really great!
(Can you tell I'm really excited?) :)
I hope it will be a good experience for all of you guys too. I hope it will be exactly what you all need for your marriage, your family, and your faith at this point in your lives.
Hey Mike,
I do like the name. And I want to let you know that Kim,Carissa and I want to be part of your Core Group. Kim is still tied up for a couple weeks, but then hopefully we will making the drive to Yorkville to be part of Via Christus! And just so you know, it was that Sunday at LifeSpring that really made Kim see the vision and want to help you get off the ground. We are excited!