Hello Fort George!!

Based on some feedback the leadership team has received we'd like to explain some things about the presentation of a name change for Fort George Baptist Church. 

Questions raised:

1.) Where did the name change idea come from?  Who wanted it?  And why?

In early 2023, the leadership team started discussing a name change for two reasons.  First, our church is no longer situated in the “Fort George” part of the city.  And second, our congregation has undergone a significant transformation recently.  As such it was thought that a new name might better reflect who we have become as a church.

2.) The current name might be really important to some people in our church?  Has this been considered? 

Yes.  After much prayer and discussion the leadership team decided that before we introduced this idea to anyone else, our seniors should be consulted.  Many of our seniors have been part of our church for decades and so we thought they would be most likely to have the strongest feelings in favor of our current name.  A discussion took place during the early summer (2023) at one of the Tuesday afternoon Bible studies and the seniors were supportive of the idea. 

3.) What has the process been for discussing the name change with the congregation? 

After the seniors were approached in the beginning of the summer the leadership team selected our Fall Church Retreat at Ness Lake to introduce the idea of a name change to our congregation.  At the retreat people had the opportunity to brainstorm name possibilities and write them on a white board.  Then in October the whiteboard was put at the back of the sanctuary and everyone in the church was given the opportunity to add their ideas to the brainstorm.  After this the leadership team whittled the list down to four options.  Our plan is to bring this forward for a vote at our AGM at the end of March(2024).

The four possible names include:

            ~Prince George Baptist Church

            ~Lighthouse Baptist Church

            ~Living Hope Baptist Church

            ~House of the Lord Baptist Church

4.) Is there a chance we could keep our current name?

Yes.  There will be two questions about this posed to our membership at our AGM this March.  The first will be “Are you in favor of changing the name of the church?” Yes/No.  The second question be “Indicate your first and second choice from the four names proposed.” If the majority vote “yes” to question 1 then the name with the most votes will be adopted.

5.) Who will get to vote on this decision?

All church members will have the opportunity to vote.  If you aren’t a member yet but would like to become one, please talk with someone from our leadership team.

6.) Are there costs associated with changing our name?

Yes.  There are nominal costs connected to registering a new name with the government.  But then there will be significant costs connected to things like updating our signage at the church.

We look forward to continuing this conversation with you. 

Sincerely,

Pat Duncan,

On behalf of the Leadership Team