Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, drops Baptist from its name, becoming Myers Park Covenant

Over the years, visitors to Myers Park Baptist Church increasingly introduced themselves with some version of “I never thought I’d set foot in a Baptist church.” Church leaders heard it often enough that they began to ask whether the name was still doing its job. If people had to get past the word “Baptist” before they could learn what the church was like, the question went, was the name still serving the congregation?

The question would have been unlikely for earlier generations of Charlotteans. For decades, church affiliation was part of the city’s identity. “What church do you go to?” was as much a social question as a spiritual one, and churches such as Myers Park Baptist, Covenant Presbyterian and Myers Park United Methodist carried histories that longtime residents understood without explanation.

Hundreds of thousands of newcomers have since arrived in Charlotte from across the country, bringing different religious experiences, politics and assumptions. Church leaders say visitors increasingly did not hear “Baptist” as a centuries-old tradition that emphasizes religious liberty and local church autonomy. The church itself had not changed, but leaders came to believe that what its name communicated to a changing city had.

Marcy McClanahan, whose father spent three decades as minister of music at Charlotte’s St. John’s Baptist Church, grew up learning the Baptist freedoms she still holds. She says Baptist was part of her family’s identity, not simply a denomination. McClanahan, a member for nearly 25 years who recently chaired the church’s deacons, said she “grieved a little bit” when the church decided to drop the name. She also said she understands that many people hear “Baptist” and think of a more conservative, Southern Baptist approach. She described the name as “a real barrier” for many people, adding that several had told the congregation they would never have visited a Baptist church unless they had been invited.

Earlier this year, the congregation voted to remove “Baptist” from its name, and McClanahan supported the decision. In June, the church chose “Myers Park Covenant” as its replacement. About 80% of the congregation backed the “Covenant” label. The vote to stop calling itself “Baptist” was closer and barely passed, with just over the 60% supermajority required. McClanahan now serves on the committee searching for the church’s next senior pastor.

The difference between the two votes reflects the tension members describe. The harder question was not what to call the church next, but whether a religious identity that still meant something important to many members had come to mean something different to people outside the congregation. Those outside the church’s doors lived in a Charlotte that looked very different from the city in which Myers Park Baptist was founded.

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