I walked over to the office this morning and was greeted by two gentlemen changing the signs at our church. Over the last few years, we’ve discussed rebranding for the purposes of properly representing who we are and what we’re about. Since we are ministering in multiple locations, it seemed like our name should not be tied as much to the City of Chicago, but adaptable to the neighborhoods and suburbs of Chicago as well. In addition, we wondered if First or for that matter Nazarene were effectively communicating to our local culture.
We asked Emery Agency, a company of professionals who do this kind of thing for a living to help us. They talked to insiders and outsiders, learned our history, and spent hours unpacking our mission, vision, and core values. I am very grateful for their help. What they discovered surprised us.
Legally, for a variety of logistical reasons, we decided to keep First Church of the Nazarene of Lemont Township as our corporate name, along with Chicago First Church of the Nazarene in denominational circles, but the larger question remained as to how we would brand ourselves to the cities and neighborhoods we are currently in and hope to be ministering to in the future.
However, what Emery learned through their exhaustive research surprised all of us.
Essentially, our community had already branded us Nazarene or The Naz. Whatever we did with the name, the word Nazarene had to be included. Their final research proved Nazarene simply didn’t have the negative denominational baggage they anticipated when they began.
So, we kept Nazarene, for two reasons. First, because it’s how our community knows us. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, because of what the word represents in a much larger historical and Biblical sense.
In October of 1895, after a night of prayer, J.P. Widney, physician, and former president of the University of Southern California, proposed the name Church of the Nazarene for our movement. According to the Los Angeles Times, Widney liked the appellation Jesus of Nazareth because it linked Jesus to the “great toiling, suffering, sorrowing heart of the world,” and identified the new movement with “the lowly, toiling, ministry of Jesus the Nazarene.”
The Chicago skyline will be the backdrop for a mural inside our foyer reminding us of our call to represent Jesus of Nazareth to the suffering and sorrowful throughout Chicagoland. In addition, our platform is designed to resemble the first Chicago storefronts we ministered in as a reminder of where God has called us to focus our work.
With Nazarene settled on as part of our brand, we began to wrestle with First. We were originally named First because we were the first Church of the Nazarene in Chicago. One hundred and seventeen years later we decided to retain it for a much different reason.
A few years ago, I was at a church planting meeting where I heard pastor Kevin Jack say, “As church leaders, why don’t we focus on being somebody’s first church instead of trying to be somebody’s next church.”
The thought stuck. When I shared it with leaders they agreed. So, we are First Nazarene Church. Every time we say our name, we are reminded of Who we serve and who we seek. Don’t get us wrong, we love it when believers come to our church, but our purpose here is to so live out our faith we see unbelievers come to Jesus. And they are!
The new branding is different than I imagined. I figured it would be something more artsy or slick or cool. But how much clearer can we be? I am moved every time I see the words First Nazarene Church and consider the legacy, past leadership and sacrifices of laity and clergy over her lifetime. May we be someone’s first church. May we be faithful ambassadors for Jesus of Nazareth.
