The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC) unveiled a new name and logo on Tuesday November 7th in a live stream video event from Akron, Ohio. We were glad that our own Mike Jentes could represent our region at the event.
Leaders present in Akron, Ohio for the unveiling of the new name Charis Fellowship.
Charis Fellowship is the new “doing business as” name for the network of evangelical congregations in North America. It comes after many months of brainstorming sessions, research, and professional input.
Charis means “grace” in Biblical Greek and is representative of the congregations and ministries that affiliated with the Grace Brethren movement. Most churches within the fellowship already use the word “Grace” in their title, but it also is found in the names of other congregations not partnered with the FGBC.
A word that means “grace” creates an identity for a fellowship that shares a common commitment to understanding the word of God (biblical truth), living as the people of God (relationship), and fulfilling the purposes of God (mission).
Charis is also a nod to the global movement with which the network of churches is aligned – the Charis Alliance, a network of similarly-focused groups of evangelical believers around the world who seek to share experience and resources, and to partner with one another in ministry.
Panelists prepare for the live stream announcement of the new name and logo for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Inc. Left to right are Mark Artrip, Tom Avey, Keith Minier, Jeff Bogue, and Barb Wooler.
The word “fellowship” has been retained to be consistent. The FGBC has frequently been referred to as the “Fellowship” by its members. Keeping the word in the title allows for continuity with the past and is a freshening of the current name.
“Our Fellowship places a high value on biblical truth, biblical relationship, and biblical mission,” said Tom Avey, fellowship coordinator. “This mission drives us to actively start new churches, develop leaders, and do good in our communities for the sake of the Gospel.
“The name, Charis Fellowship, calls to where we have come from and assures that we are only getting strong in these values and mission,” he added.
As a part of the rebrand, a new logo was introduced. The graphic C in the logo consists of three sweeping flags that represent the core elements of biblical truth, biblical relationship, and biblical mission. The colors of the logo, steel blue, sage, and sky, correspond with each of the elements.
The Charis Fellowship began in 1939 as the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches, though its roots reach to 1708 when a small group of sincere Christ-followers committed to form a church that would be faithful to the teachings of the New Testament. The name changed to Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in the mid-1970s. The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Inc., will continue to be the legal name of the group.
Today the movement is made up of more than 260 autonomous churches in the United States and Canada, more than 30 national and cooperating ministries, and 20 cooperating districts. Outside of the North America, more than 20 evangelical groups are part of the Charis Alliance.
More information from the rebranding team and video of the unveiling event are online at the new website CharisFellowship.us.
(Article by Liz Cutler Gates and posted on GraceConnect.us November 7, 2017)
SPECIAL NOTE about Our Church:
The above information is shared to keep our church family informed about the progress being made in our Fellowship of USA Churches. To be clear, this does not mean our church is changing it’s name to include Charis Fellowship. Our association with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Inc./Charis Fellowship, is of our own choice as a church family.
The National Fellowship has put an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to help clarify the most common questions on how this name change works: http://charisfellowship.us/page/charisfellowship
If you have any questions further about how this relates to Los Altos Grace Brethren Church, please contact Pastor Phil Helfer or Mike Jentes.
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