Enid (Oklahoma) MB Church has changed its name to Crosspoint Church following a membership vote in late April.
Lead pastor Asher Griffin says the congregation desires to be consumed by and promote the gospel, and the name had become a barrier to that mission in conversation.
“We’re a group of Christians who want to be known by nothing other than Christ and him crucified,” Griffin says. “We continually saw that our name was not immediately communicating to people the God we worship, our King who saves and his church as an embassy of heaven in a lost world.
“For about a year, members kept coming to me and bringing up the subject of their evangelizing or inviting people to church and how our name was an immediate conversation stopper and barrier to people coming through our doors,” he says.
Discussion surrounding a name change began among church elders in fall 2020. Elders held conversations with individuals over the winter before presenting a name change proposal for membership vote on March 27. Members voted to affirm the name change, and after seeking input from members, church elders proposed three names on April 12. Members voted to select the new name on April 25.
“We were encouraged by the overwhelming number of positive votes to change the name and select a new name,” Griffin says. “The Lord has provided an incredible amount of joy and unity in Christ during this season.”
Griffin says the hope is the new name represents the church’s desire to point themselves and others to the cross of Jesus.
“We aim to be known as a church who cherishes the gospel, loves people and lives on mission for God’s glory,” Griffin says.
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor. She joined the CL staff in September 2017 with six years of experience as a professional journalist. Shafer is an award-winning writer, having received three 2016 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence and an Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals award in 2022. Shafer graduated from Tabor College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in Communications/Journalism and Biblical/Religious Studies. She and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
