Stop With The Weird Student Ministry Names

Many student pastors need to rename their student ministries.

There, I said it.

Can we just admit that there are tons of confusing and weird student ministry names around the country?

For far too long churches have been using confusing names for their buildings, rooms, and programs. I’m ready to usher in some simpler wording for the sake of clarity … even if that goes against what we as student pastors have been doing for a long time.

Let me tell you a story.

When I arrived at my church, the room where the youth group meets was called the Alley.

Many of my students love that name. Some were around when the church started using it, and they are attached to it. It seems harmless, right?

Now imagine the look on a visiting dad’s face when a greeter called me over one morning and told him, “This is our family pastor, your daughter can just follow him to the Alley.”

And try to put yourself in the car with me a few months back when I saw a giant billboard for a brand new bar/club that has opened in our town.

What did they decide to name the new nightclub?

The Alley.

To kick off the grand opening of the bar, the Alley hosted a heavily advertised Halloween bash featuring Dennis Rodman and half-priced longnecks.

Needless to say, we’ve gotten rid of our “Alley” branding and have since started calling the building the Student Center. It wasn’t a popular decision, but we had to try to re-align the name of our student facilities with our core value as the church — to use every opportunity to lead people to Christ and not distract from the Gospel.

A lot is in a name. And for too many churches, the names of their programs, ministries, and buildings are confusing for those outside of their church.

2 Reasons That You Should Change Your Student Ministry’s Name

Weird Names Are Inwardwardly Focused

Let’s be honest, no one outside of your church knows what you are talking about. We live in a biblically illiterate culture and overusing Christian talk while naming our ministries creates a divide with outsiders. If students and parents can’t find their way around, they will not come back. Make it easy. Naming things Student Center, Worship Center, and Gym is not evil. You are allowed to call things what they are! It brings clarity to outsiders. After all, your ministry exist to bring people in. How will they come in if they don’t know where to go?

Weird Names Are Confusing

If you have to explain your name to every new person that you meet, your name can stand between someone visiting your group. Giving ownership to your students doesn’t mean you sacrifice clarity for the congregation and community. When areas or bible studies groups are named with trendy, flashy names, much can be lost in translation.  Clarity does not limit creativity. It simplifies things for anyone who is new to the group.

You can give your students ownership without sacrificing clarity.

Schools do not rename every room, building, and class. No principal is thinking of renaming the second-grade wing “Blossom.” They simply call it what it is and use other means to bring about ownership and foster creativity. Awesome decor, updated bulletin boards, and giving students and teachers a say in that process give a school the ownership they want without sacrificing clarity.

Now What?

What are some confusing ministry names you have seen in churches?