Un-branded churches proliferate

By Bruce Campbell

A new church has recently opened in the Abilene downtown area. “The Way” will be meeting in the Event Center at 201 Mesquite.

“The Way,” a Biblical method of describing Christian followers, is a “church plant” by the Church of Christ at Remington Ridge, according to one of the Remington Ridge elders, Ron McElyea. He said it started with about 60 folks from Remington Ridge and has already grown to over 100 in attendance.

That location is just around the corner from “The Well” church, which has been meeting for about 12 years in the building at 137 North First, formerly occupied by Zachry Advertising. “The Well” currently has three services.

Other churches in Abilene that don’t have a national denominational connection in their name include the “Mission-Abilene” church that meets at 3001 North Third Street and “The Bar Church,” which meets in the Freedom Fellowship building at South 10th and Chestnut.

Abilene’s largest church, Beltway Park, dropped its identification with the Baptist denomination several years ago, however it maintains a Baptist connection, according to a Beltway Park spokesperson.

The concept of using a non-denominational title is wide spread among religious groups in America. “Saddleback Community Church” in California, where Rick Warren preaches, is a mega-church with thousands of members. J.D Greear, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is the pastor for “Summit Church,” another large church in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In Texas several congregations that had earlier identified with the Church of Christ in their titles, have dropped the affiliation and instead use the names “The Hills” in Richland Hills, “The Branch” in Farmers Branch and “Oak Hills” in San Antonio, where Max Lucado had been the pulpit preacher.