Geneva church drops 'Baptist' from name, rebrands itself Chapelstreet

GENEVA – After 120 years, the First Baptist Church of Geneva has rebranded itself to be called Chapelstreet Church, dropping the denomination from its name in order to be more welcoming to people, officials said.

"We are remaining a Baptist church," Pastor Jeff Frazier said. But taking "Baptist" away from the church's formal name "removes an unnecessary barrier to experiencing God's grace."

“We know and love what it is to be Baptists – and it’s a wonderful thing. But the culture at large – for many, not all – it’s a bit of a deterrent," Frazier said. "There are all kinds of associations. The perceptions in the culture are negative. Baptists are known by what they are against in our culture. … We wanted a name that removed unnecessary barriers and sounded inviting and lined up in some way with our mission as a church.”

The word “chapel” refers to a smaller house of worship connected to a larger body, he said, which was perfect for how the Geneva church sees itself.

“We are not changing who we are in our heritage and tradition,” Frazier said. “We are not changing our identity.”

This is not the first time the church has changed its name, as when it was founded in 1894 by a group of 10 Swedish immigrants, it was the First Swedish Baptist Church of Geneva, officials stated in a news release.

The church's own denomination, Baptist General Conference, also dropped "Baptist" in a name change to Converge Worldwide in 2008, and then renamed itself again in 2015 to Converge, according to its website, converge.org.

With 1,800 to 2,000 attending worship every week at the Geneva church, the congregation was just too large for a formal vote on a name change, Frazier said.

Instead, the congregation offered name change submissions for consideration to its board and leadership team, which ultimately decided on Chapelstreet Church, Frazier said. The church also hired an outside marketing firm to help communicate the rebranding, he said.

“For many people in our community, we have a good reputation,” Frazier said. “And people on the inside love who we are. We are changing the name for those who are not here yet.”

No one has left the church over the name change that he knows of, Frazier said.

“They might have quietly left, but most are pretty excited about the change,” Frazier said.

Carrie Petersen of Elburn said she and her husband supported the name change and rebranding.

“We are super excited about the change and what God is doing through Chapelstreet Church,” Petersen said. “ We love the new name, as we feel it is welcoming to all. … We feel like God is on the move and great things are happening at our church.”

This fall, the church also will launch the opening of a third campus at 1S455 S. Mill Creek Drive in Blackberry Township in the Mill Creek subdivision near Geneva, Frazier said.

“The First Baptist Church of Batavia moved to Mill Creek as Faith Baptist of Mill Creek,” Frazier said. “They approached us almost two years ago this summer and … we absorbed that congregation and merged with them.”

The congregation was not able to expand as it had planned, Frazier said.

“One older member said, ‘It’s not what we envisioned, but we can do more together than apart. Maybe this is God’s way of achieving our purpose of moving out there,’” Frazier said.

The Mill Creek campus will open once the addition of a 300-seat worship center is completed, as well as an expanded nursery space, he said.

The other two campuses – at 2300 South St. in Geneva and at 3435 Keslinger Road in Geneva – also are undergoing remodeling and construction, Frazier said.

The worship center at the Keslinger campus is being remodeled, and the nursery space is being expanded, while the South Street campus is increasing space for the Shepherd’s Heart food pantry ministry, Frazier said.