Centerpoint does subscribe to a denomination, that of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. But then there’s the confusion. Within a five-mile radius of its site, there are four different Presbyterian denominations — Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and Presbyterian Church in America.

The elected elders of First Presbyterian Church of Roseville recognized a need and an opportunity to reach more people.

But doing so involved a risky move for a long-standing church, especially one that has
Been around since 1873 and prides itself on being th e first Protestant church in this suburb just north east of Sacramento.

In May, this place of worship on Sunrise Avenue, where it’s been since the 1960s, became Centerpoint Community Church.

“It was a long time coming,” said Senior Pastor Jim Barstow, who began his ministry there in 1999. “The name was a hindrance. We found out that people said, ‘I’m not (Presbyterian). So why would I go?’ It wasn’t inviting.”

The name change reflects a growing movement among religious organizations in the United States to appear nondenominational, meaning the church is not formally aligned with an established denomination, such as Methodist or Baptist.

“It used to be if you lived in a small town, there was the Presbyterian church on this corner, the Baptist church on that corner,” said Bill Clark, chief of staff of Bayside Church in Granite Bay. “It’s just a different era.”

Clark’s church, with a congregation of about 10,000 people, is officially called Bayside Covenant Church — a name not often used — and is part of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

“But you’d never know it,” Clark said. “That’s just not what we want to emphasize. We don’t want to emphasize loyalty to a denomination or group or live with the history of that’s who we were so that’s who we are now. We want to talk about loyalty to the kingdom of God and loyalty to Christ first.”

‘Who we are not’
Earlier this year, in a sermon to his congregation — which boasts about 11,000 people — Barstow explained the reasons for the name change, starting with the challenges churches face today.

Research shows that younger or “unchurched” people are more likely to go to a nondenominational church, which is the fastest-growing type of church, Barstow said.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]