By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

In an article a few weeks ago, I explored the subject of "church names." Since that time, people from all over the country have sent me the names of churches that they find unusual or interesting.

For example, In Sarasota, Fla., there was a new group calling itself "The First Non-Judgmental Church." Somebody must have pointed out the glaring contradiction, because they soon changed it. Obviously, to identify one's church as being the very first one to be non-judgmental, means judging all other churches for the last 2,000 years to be judgmental!

Cal Beverly, the publisher of this newspaper, noted that "I have personally passed beside the Kaolin Baptist Church in Sandersville, Ga." Kaolin, a kind of white clay, is a mineral mined in the area and a contributor to the area's economic prosperity. So, yes, there is a church named after dirt.

Or, how about the Macedonia Baptist Church, located within a stone's throw of the "Greater Macedonia Baptist Church," in Houston, Texas? Think there's a story behind those two names?

One reader said, "When I grew up in Chicago there was a "Dike Dutch Reformed Church of South Holland" (a suburb five miles south of the Chicago city limits). Another reader said, "I knew of a church in Chicago when I lived there in the '80s called, The Church Without a Spot or Wrinkle. I didn't join it so it could stay that way."

Another wrote, "When visiting Oklahoma City, Okla., years ago, I was looking in the Yellow Pages church section and found one that intrigued me called The World Headquarters of the Church of God WHHPWHOB, Inc. Curiosity got the best of me so I called the number listed and spoke with the Chief Apostle, who informed me, 'That is the Church of God Which He Hath Purchased With His Own Blood, Inc!'"

In Jacksonville, Fla., there is a Harmony Separate Baptist Church. How's that for an oxymoron?

There's also The Church of the Living God the Pillar and Ground of the Truth, a name so long that you never can finish reading it if you're doing the 40 mph speed limit down the road it's on.

In Fort Lauderdale, we find Committed to the Cause Ministries, Jerusalem Bound Holiness Church, Church of Christ Holiness unto the Lord Deliverance Temple, Little Church by the Wayside for Jesus, and the Lord's Prison & Street Ministry Healing & Deliverance.

Jump Off Baptist Church is near Sewanee, Tenn., and On Fire Church is near Murphy, N.C. Ever heard of St. Mary's in the Moonlight? It's a small Episcopal church on an Indian reservation in the Four Corners area where Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico meet.

In Latin America, there's John 3:16 Church, Everything Is Possible Church of God, Sea of Galilee Church, Door of Heaven Church, and Christian Brothers United in the Road Church. In Nigeria, there's Resurrection & Life Church, Be Ready Church, Anglican Pentecostal, Christ Arrival International, Christ Internal Redemption of Souls Church, and Broken Promise (of Satan) Church. (Yikes! What a name!)

In Kansas City, there are a number of interesting names, including: Church of Excitement, Church Alive, Full Faith Church of Love, Greater Metropolitan Spiritual Church of God in Christ, Refreshing Water Worship Center, Kansas City Revival Generation Church, Victory Way of the Most High God Church, Church Rock of Gibraltor (sic), and Christ's Church of the Jesus Hour.

In Michigan, there's the Detroit World Outreach Church, the Detroit Church of Christ, and the Detroit Laestadian Congregation none of which are actually in Detroit.

And, of course, there are those churches whose names do NOT indicate the road on which they are located: Cherry Hill Baptist Church, on North Gulley, Grand River Baptist, on 6 Mile Road, State Street United Methodist Church which is nowhere near State Street, and Main Street Baptist, on Morton Taylor Road.

A reader wrote, "The strangest name for a church I have seen is Weeping Mary's Baptist Church, just of U.S. 601 South in Kershaw County, S.C."

Somewhere in South Georgia, heading from Vidalia over toward Lumber City, there is a sign which reads: "Welcome All God's People to the Church of the Reviving Tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth, Inc."

There is a Church on The Way, a Church in The Now, and a Cathedral of Tomorrow. A number of churches have the words, "tabernacle," "temple," or "cathedral" in their names. Yet, strictly speaking, a tabernacle is a tent, a temple is a place of sacrifice, and there can't be a cathedral unless there is also a bishop present.

But here's my personal favorites: There is a Meansville Baptist Church in Meansville, Ga., and a Demonsville Baptist Church in (I think) Alabama. Question: When the Baptists from Demonsville and Meansville get together, does all hell break loose?

[Father David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church in the Coweta/Fayette County area of south metro Atlanta. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at www.ctkcec.org.]

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