April 3rd, 2025
by Dr. Spencer Plumlee
by Dr. Spencer Plumlee
Our church is currently experiencing the greatest season of growth in the seven years I have been pastor. Giving is strong, leadership is unified and we are seeing more and more people come to Christ. Is this really the best time to tackle something as big as a name change?
I believe one of the reasons we are seeing growth is because of the posture of our church. There is something special that happens when any church opens their hands before the Lord to simply say, “We want to reach people with the gospel, even if it makes us uncomfortable.”
In today’s post, I would like to tackle the issue of church readiness. Are we really ready to change the name of the church? Let me offer a few reasons why I believe we are ready.
HEALTH OF THE BODY
The simplest answer to the question of readiness is health. I believe we are in a healthy place on a number of fronts, positioning us for a change like this. Here are a few dimensions to our health.
Doctrine. This church has historically been rock solid theologically. We have held to conservative doctrine and not drifted from the truth. We have built on this legacy through more robust commitment to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 in our Bylaws.
Financial. This church had one of its best giving years in 2024. We are still generously giving to the Cooperative Program, constantly paying down debt (it’s under 900k now!) and are investing in missions and community ministry at unprecedented levels.
Unity. There is a sweet unity in this body. It doesn’t mean we always agree on everything. But even in these moments, I see our people laughing, hugging, praying and serving together in unity.
Ministry Vitality. In every direction I look, I see thriving, growing ministries. Our next-gen ministries are making a huge impact on families in this community. We are seeing more and more students profess faith in Jesus. Our life group ministry continues to be the backbone of our church as people gather around the word in authentic community. Community ministry efforts like Embrace Grace continue to bear fruit. And, we are launching a worship service in Spanish on April 20, 2025.
Leadership. I wish everyone could see how amazing our elder and staff meetings are. It is groups of God called leaders who are rooting for each other, extremely competent, humble and kind. Because of the strength of this leadership community, I believe we are ready to pursue something as significant as a name change.
In fact, I would say that the move to Elder-Led Congregationalism was a necessary prerequisite to pursue a new name. I think it would be incredibly unwise for me as the senior pastor to have proposed a new name on my own. I also think it would have been unwise for me as the senior pastor just to work with a team and present a new name on our own. I believe we needed God-called, congregationally installed spiritual leaders who serve as elders leading the charge. I’m especially thankful for the way at key moments different elders have come to the microphone in large meetings to share their hearts. I’m equally thankful for the way our elders have engaged hundreds of our members in their life groups over these last few months.
Covenant Membership. We believe the church is a supernatural gathering of believers. We have sought to reinforce that by adopting a covenant that solidifies our commitment not only to each other but to God. To join this church you have to affirm not only doctrine but also our covenant, outlining how we will treat one another.
I believe this too was a necessary prerequisite for change. Clarifying what membership, and by extension the church, is was critical for a change like this. The process of cleaning up our membership rolls, tightening up our care for our members, and giving expression to how we want to treat each other through the covenant have all been huge wins for our church.
I believe the health of the church positions us to lean into a change like a new name. I also believe a motivating reason for this change is who we can be.
UNREALIZED POTENTIAL
Brother James Moore was pastor here from 1974 to 2002. It was under his leadership that the church relocated in the early 90’s. Over and over again, I have heard people say that what led him was a bold vision for the future. Namely, a vision of this church becoming a church of incredible regional impact for the kingdom of God.
As I have chronicled elsewhere, 1993, 2003, and 2015 saw three church splits. During those seasons, the church persevered and endured, but there were serious missed opportunities. During these very seasons of division, the community was growing. It was unfortunate that at key moments in Mansfield’s growth, we were dividing rather than growing.
The simple truth is this: we have missed some opportunities. As Mansfield grew, we missed the “low hanging fruit” of people moving to the area who were looking for a church. This is in no way to say that nothing good happened during these years. People came to Christ, mission teams were sent, and we built buildings.
But three splits in the span of almost twenty years means we missed opportunities. Often when it was easiest to grow, we weren’t prepared. The weight of this often hangs heavy on my heart. Despite this, together we have renewed our commitment to the next step God has called us to as a disciple-making church. Early on that was philosophy of ministry, then it became generosity through Launch, and then finally polity.
Now, the urgency of reaching people has risen to cause us to consider a name change. We may have missed opportunities in the past, but those days are over. Why is it the right time for a new name? Because there is potential we have not yet realized as a church. Location, resources, campus, and community have all positioned our church family to be a regional church that is a hub for health in the southern part of the metroplex. I believe the time is right for a name change because of what we have yet to accomplish as a body.
GROWTH OF MANSFIELD
Every cycle of local elections I watch candidates talk about the future of Mansfield. Much of the division locally is around the rate of growth and infrastructure to support it. Regardless of where you stand on these issues, the simple fact remains: Mansfield will grow over the next 5-7 years.
By most estimates, we have 20-25% of our land still undeveloped. In this land, some estimate as high as 50,000 more people moving into our community.
I believe a name change positions us to reach these new people and ride the wave of coming growth. As I said in my previous post, we are specifically trying to reach three groups: lost, de-churched and new residents.
Another trend I have noticed is social media groups including people who comment for feedback on a new church. It is common almost weekly for someone to comment saying this, “I’m new to the area and I’m looking for a new church.” As people move from places like California and Colorado, I believe we have a much better shot connecting with a church name that doesn’t include Baptist.
The last growth wave of Mansfield is happening right now and will continue into the future. I believe the time is right for a name change because of this.
DANGER OF COMPLACENCY
As I mentioned above, we have officially moved into a time of health and vitality as a church. Numbers aren’t everything, but they do paint a picture. Let me take some of the things I said above, and unpack them a bit more.
In 2024 we had one of the best financial years in our history. Not only did you give generously, we also were very careful with our spending, resulting in a very strong cash position for the church. Our life group to worship attendance continues to trend north of 85%. Most churches are thrilled if they have 70% or more. Baptisms in the first quarter of 2025 put us on pace to have more than double our number of baptisms last year. Worship attendance is roughly 10% ahead of where it was last year. No, numbers aren’t the only thing that matter, but they do paint a picture, and the picture they paint of our church is health.
Our health as a church is not just quantitative but also qualitative as well. As I mentioned above, there is a unity in our body, that is not the absence of disagreement (name change conversation has made that clear!) but the presence of love that shapes how we share different perspectives. Week after week I sense a love in our church family. People stay around and talk after service and life groups, because they genuinely enjoy being together.
When you put all this together, I would tell you we are in a healthy place as a church. But here is my concern: health can become complacency in the blink of an eye. Church complacency is a lack of urgency or vigilance around the things that matter. Churches naturally drift to this because we have so many tools and resources today making it very easy just to “do church.” It is so easy in a community like Mansfield for a church to become nothing more than a spiritual country club.
The heart behind the name change is a hunger to do more than just go through the motions as a church. It is birthed out of a desire to think more and more about those who do not know Christ, those who are disengaged from church, and those moving to town looking for a healthy church family. The more our hearts turn to those who do not know Jesus, the more I believe we steer far away from church complacency. I believe the time is right for a name change because of the need to turn our attention more and more to those who do not know Jesus.
I trust you are continuing to pray about the proposed name Christ Fellowship Church. As you do so, I hope today’s post has given you more to consider about how ready I believe we are for this change.
I believe one of the reasons we are seeing growth is because of the posture of our church. There is something special that happens when any church opens their hands before the Lord to simply say, “We want to reach people with the gospel, even if it makes us uncomfortable.”
In today’s post, I would like to tackle the issue of church readiness. Are we really ready to change the name of the church? Let me offer a few reasons why I believe we are ready.
HEALTH OF THE BODY
The simplest answer to the question of readiness is health. I believe we are in a healthy place on a number of fronts, positioning us for a change like this. Here are a few dimensions to our health.
Doctrine. This church has historically been rock solid theologically. We have held to conservative doctrine and not drifted from the truth. We have built on this legacy through more robust commitment to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 in our Bylaws.
Financial. This church had one of its best giving years in 2024. We are still generously giving to the Cooperative Program, constantly paying down debt (it’s under 900k now!) and are investing in missions and community ministry at unprecedented levels.
Unity. There is a sweet unity in this body. It doesn’t mean we always agree on everything. But even in these moments, I see our people laughing, hugging, praying and serving together in unity.
Ministry Vitality. In every direction I look, I see thriving, growing ministries. Our next-gen ministries are making a huge impact on families in this community. We are seeing more and more students profess faith in Jesus. Our life group ministry continues to be the backbone of our church as people gather around the word in authentic community. Community ministry efforts like Embrace Grace continue to bear fruit. And, we are launching a worship service in Spanish on April 20, 2025.
Leadership. I wish everyone could see how amazing our elder and staff meetings are. It is groups of God called leaders who are rooting for each other, extremely competent, humble and kind. Because of the strength of this leadership community, I believe we are ready to pursue something as significant as a name change.
In fact, I would say that the move to Elder-Led Congregationalism was a necessary prerequisite to pursue a new name. I think it would be incredibly unwise for me as the senior pastor to have proposed a new name on my own. I also think it would have been unwise for me as the senior pastor just to work with a team and present a new name on our own. I believe we needed God-called, congregationally installed spiritual leaders who serve as elders leading the charge. I’m especially thankful for the way at key moments different elders have come to the microphone in large meetings to share their hearts. I’m equally thankful for the way our elders have engaged hundreds of our members in their life groups over these last few months.
Covenant Membership. We believe the church is a supernatural gathering of believers. We have sought to reinforce that by adopting a covenant that solidifies our commitment not only to each other but to God. To join this church you have to affirm not only doctrine but also our covenant, outlining how we will treat one another.
I believe this too was a necessary prerequisite for change. Clarifying what membership, and by extension the church, is was critical for a change like this. The process of cleaning up our membership rolls, tightening up our care for our members, and giving expression to how we want to treat each other through the covenant have all been huge wins for our church.
I believe the health of the church positions us to lean into a change like a new name. I also believe a motivating reason for this change is who we can be.
UNREALIZED POTENTIAL
Brother James Moore was pastor here from 1974 to 2002. It was under his leadership that the church relocated in the early 90’s. Over and over again, I have heard people say that what led him was a bold vision for the future. Namely, a vision of this church becoming a church of incredible regional impact for the kingdom of God.
As I have chronicled elsewhere, 1993, 2003, and 2015 saw three church splits. During those seasons, the church persevered and endured, but there were serious missed opportunities. During these very seasons of division, the community was growing. It was unfortunate that at key moments in Mansfield’s growth, we were dividing rather than growing.
The simple truth is this: we have missed some opportunities. As Mansfield grew, we missed the “low hanging fruit” of people moving to the area who were looking for a church. This is in no way to say that nothing good happened during these years. People came to Christ, mission teams were sent, and we built buildings.
But three splits in the span of almost twenty years means we missed opportunities. Often when it was easiest to grow, we weren’t prepared. The weight of this often hangs heavy on my heart. Despite this, together we have renewed our commitment to the next step God has called us to as a disciple-making church. Early on that was philosophy of ministry, then it became generosity through Launch, and then finally polity.
Now, the urgency of reaching people has risen to cause us to consider a name change. We may have missed opportunities in the past, but those days are over. Why is it the right time for a new name? Because there is potential we have not yet realized as a church. Location, resources, campus, and community have all positioned our church family to be a regional church that is a hub for health in the southern part of the metroplex. I believe the time is right for a name change because of what we have yet to accomplish as a body.
GROWTH OF MANSFIELD
Every cycle of local elections I watch candidates talk about the future of Mansfield. Much of the division locally is around the rate of growth and infrastructure to support it. Regardless of where you stand on these issues, the simple fact remains: Mansfield will grow over the next 5-7 years.
By most estimates, we have 20-25% of our land still undeveloped. In this land, some estimate as high as 50,000 more people moving into our community.
I believe a name change positions us to reach these new people and ride the wave of coming growth. As I said in my previous post, we are specifically trying to reach three groups: lost, de-churched and new residents.
Another trend I have noticed is social media groups including people who comment for feedback on a new church. It is common almost weekly for someone to comment saying this, “I’m new to the area and I’m looking for a new church.” As people move from places like California and Colorado, I believe we have a much better shot connecting with a church name that doesn’t include Baptist.
The last growth wave of Mansfield is happening right now and will continue into the future. I believe the time is right for a name change because of this.
DANGER OF COMPLACENCY
As I mentioned above, we have officially moved into a time of health and vitality as a church. Numbers aren’t everything, but they do paint a picture. Let me take some of the things I said above, and unpack them a bit more.
In 2024 we had one of the best financial years in our history. Not only did you give generously, we also were very careful with our spending, resulting in a very strong cash position for the church. Our life group to worship attendance continues to trend north of 85%. Most churches are thrilled if they have 70% or more. Baptisms in the first quarter of 2025 put us on pace to have more than double our number of baptisms last year. Worship attendance is roughly 10% ahead of where it was last year. No, numbers aren’t the only thing that matter, but they do paint a picture, and the picture they paint of our church is health.
Our health as a church is not just quantitative but also qualitative as well. As I mentioned above, there is a unity in our body, that is not the absence of disagreement (name change conversation has made that clear!) but the presence of love that shapes how we share different perspectives. Week after week I sense a love in our church family. People stay around and talk after service and life groups, because they genuinely enjoy being together.
When you put all this together, I would tell you we are in a healthy place as a church. But here is my concern: health can become complacency in the blink of an eye. Church complacency is a lack of urgency or vigilance around the things that matter. Churches naturally drift to this because we have so many tools and resources today making it very easy just to “do church.” It is so easy in a community like Mansfield for a church to become nothing more than a spiritual country club.
The heart behind the name change is a hunger to do more than just go through the motions as a church. It is birthed out of a desire to think more and more about those who do not know Christ, those who are disengaged from church, and those moving to town looking for a healthy church family. The more our hearts turn to those who do not know Jesus, the more I believe we steer far away from church complacency. I believe the time is right for a name change because of the need to turn our attention more and more to those who do not know Jesus.
I trust you are continuing to pray about the proposed name Christ Fellowship Church. As you do so, I hope today’s post has given you more to consider about how ready I believe we are for this change.
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