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10 Insider Focused Ministry Names

The language we choose to use is important because it both reflects and builds culture at the same time.  And one of the most obvious ways to tell if a church is insider focused or outsider focused is the language that they choose to use. It either says that the church is “inclusive” or “exclusive.”

In helping churches get unstuck and make vision real I’ve run across a number of insider focused ministry names. In fact here’s a link to a post with a free tool that you can use as you begin to evaluate your own ministry names and language you’re using in your church. Remember it’s always more important to be clear than clever. Here’s a quick list of 10 insider focused ministry names to give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

Nation2Nine: A Young Adult Ministry in a church targeting people age 20-29. While it may be clear to people inside the church what this is, it doesn’t say anything to people outside of the church.

Romeo: “Real Old Men Eating Out,” a once a week gathering of old men who eat out together and talk about God’s Word together. Acronyms are the quintessential example of insider language. If your name or brand needs an explanation it’s not clear enough.

Men on Fire: A Men’s Ministry at a church. The only problem is people outside of the church don’t think the same way or have the same filter as people inside the church. While “church people” notoriously talk about being “on fire” for Jesus, that brand may elude to something different in the minds of people outside of the church.

Chicks with Sticks: A Quilting Ministry in a church. Yes this is real. This one came from one of the participants from a recent Leadership Coaching Network that I led. It was too good not to include in this list. Let’s just say people outside of the church aren’t thinking the same things as people inside of the church when they see this ministry name.

Girlfriends Unlimited: A Women’s Ministry in a church. Again while this may be clear to people inside the church any single 20-something young man is going to sign up for this one in a heartbeat. What young man who doesn’t know Jesus doesn’t want to sign up for unlimited girlfriends?

XYZ: “Extra Years of Zest,” a ministry to Senior Adults. This is another example of an acronym that doesn’t mean anything to anyone who isn’t an insider.

Body Builders: A Bible Study at a church. It may seem cute but when an outsider sees that name they’re probably going to be asking you where the gym is.

MOPS: “Mothers of Preschoolers,” a ministry to mothers of preschoolers…or is it a cleaning ministry? Again…acronyms are dangerous.

Equally Yoked: A Marriage Ministry at a church…or an egg ministry. Outsiders have no idea what the scriptures say so be careful about using Biblical names like this.

JAM: “Jesus and Me,” the name of a Student Ministry at a church…cute…just not clear.

I’d love to hear other examples that you’ve run across in your ministry experience, so leave a comment.


Posted in Leadership

14 Responses to “10 Insider Focused Ministry Names”

  1. Christian September 22, 2014 at 2:53 pm #

    Hi Paul. Great suggestions for what not to name ministries in church! We’re brainstorming what to call our Men’s Ministry, as (similar to what you’ve said in your post), we’re concerned that the word ‘Ministry’ would be misunderstood by men outside of the church environment. Any suggestions please?

  2. Bill Weisler April 5, 2015 at 10:42 pm #

    Not that I disagree, but as people come into the church, shouldn’t it communicate what these ministries are? Why are churches getting more and more adverse about talking about the ministries they have to serve their congregation?

  3. Paul Alexander April 6, 2015 at 11:28 am #

    The goal in naming ministries is not to be cool, but to be clear and understandable. So that those outside the faith can easily get involved and move towards Jesus. The last thing we want to do as the family of God is to unintentionally or unnecessarily create obstacles for people to get involved.

    • Ashley Bird April 8, 2015 at 12:00 pm #

      Hey,

      Thank you for this information. I am currently starting a special needs ministry at my church and I am looking for a name. I am struggling like most people do when they first start to look for a name I was wondering if it would be alright for me to toss a few of the names your way and get some feed back?

      • Ronnie November 11, 2019 at 2:23 am #

        When I started a special, we gave it the name God’s MUSIC, the acronym standing for Molding Unique Servants In Christ

  4. Joe February 18, 2019 at 7:00 pm #

    J.U.S.T. Ministries – JESUS Using Singles Too.

    H.U.R.T. Ministries – Healed, United, Redeemed and Transformed Singles.

    • Paul Alexander February 18, 2019 at 10:09 pm #

      …and the list keeps growing! Thanks for the additions Joe!

      • Cyndee February 9, 2020 at 5:45 pm #

        We just started a group at our church called OWLS ~ Older Wiser Livelier Saints! It’s for 55 years young and up!

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