Why ‘Atlas’? Why change at all? // Answering questions about the name change.
We understand there are legitimate concerns, frustrations, and confusions regarding the change of name in the ministry at 2406 Broadway. Though we have much precedent in changing names to match refocused missions–the Bible Chair, Campus Advance, Christ in Action Student Ministries–this precedent itself works against the name change in many ways: “haven’t we already changed the name enough already?”
In order to appropriately address your very legitimate concerns, we’ve put together a few Q&A’s for you as you sort through the decisions made over the last several years.
Why did you feel the need to change the name at all?
The first and most important answer to this is mission: our name change did not come first; instead, we began with a process of rediscovering the historic mission of Broadway’s campus ministry through the ages, and reframing it for a post-Christian world. The name change flowed out of the primary process of prayer, discernment, history, and reframing. Our question was not, “Should we change our name to something trendy and cool to attract more students?” Instead, our question was, “How do we follow our historic mission in a changing landscape? How do we articulate that mission in a way that resonates primarily with the un-churched (those who have never been Christians) and the de-churched (those who have left Christianity)?” (For more info on our process, see the following question below.)
As for why that process necessitated a change away from “CA,” there’s a little more to that story. Christ in Action Student Ministries communicated a lot of things very well: that we were a ministry primarily based in the action of Christ, with Christ, and on behalf of Christ; that we were a Christian organization; that we were focused on actually following Christ and doing his works. It also had the added bonus of keeping the long-used “C.A.” initials that alumni have known and loved.
While all of those were benefits, there were also downsides to the name in a post-Christian culture, the primary one being audience. Many students not associated with our ministry saw the name as primarily a place where students who were already Christians would come in order to put their faith into action, as if it were primarily a para-church service organization, or a campus foodbank run by Christians, or something along these lines. It did not communicate anything that would attract or resonate with the un-churched or de-churched; in fact, a name like this sometimes repelled these students.
Why not something that would work for “CA”? Well, the first answer is: we tried. However, it was not a primary priority, for the simple reason that “CA” serves insiders, but not outsiders– initials communicate only to those who already belong, and not to those who are lost and seeking belonging. We opted to move away from initials so that, even in the simple act of naming our organization in conversation, it would invite questions and resonate in a way that students might respond.
What was the process you used for changing the name?
As said in the answer above, the name change came as a result of a longer process of digging back into the historic mission of Broadway’s campus ministry, and then attempting to articulate this mission in a way that resonates in a post-Christian landscape. The name change came after a long period of prayer, research into our history, and bible study, all of which was preparation not for a name change, but for this re-articulation of the mission. In other words, our mission at 2406 Broadway has always been a good one; yet we felt it needed re-framing for the unique and difficult challenges that face us in an increasingly secular world. So the rearticulation of our mission preceded any name change. (For more info, see this blog post: “Lean Back, Push Forward: The (Continued) Mission of Broadway’s Atlas Campus Fellowship”).
Once we got clear on our mission, we then went to the drawing board on our name. It was clear to us (as you can see in the previous question), that Christ in Action would no longer work with this clarified mission. We worked with a Christian branding organization, Fruitful Design and Strategy on our name, website, and promotion materials. We brainstormed a number of names that all communicated our mission–”Making room for restless hearts to find home with Christ”--in a way that would resonate with the next generation of college students. After several weeks of discussion, brainstorming, prayer, and discernment, we landed on Atlas Campus Fellowship.
Why ‘Atlas’? Isn’t that a Greek god or something?
This question was our main concern too–you’re not alone.
Atlas was a Greek Titan condemned to hold up the earth for all eternity after an unfortunate incident. What could this have to do with Jesus, or campus ministry, or the gospel?
As we interviewed students in our mission discernment process, one idea came up more than any other:
Lostness.
Restlessness.
Aimlessness.
Homelessness.
Students feel lost, and not just non-Christian students. They live in a world that is all but impossible to navigate unscathed: the structures that gave meaning to previous generations are gone; religious identity is more contested and contestable than ever before; and students feel perhaps more pressure than they ever have to carve their own path–a call that is both freeing and binding, especially when the previous paths are far less trusted. The question for us, then, was how do we come alongside those who feel, above all, lost and homeless in a world that demands increasingly more of them?
Atlas, in this context, is more than just a Greek Titan–it is also the name of a collection of maps, a tool for finding one’s way. In our ministry, we want to be a place and a community where students learn to find their way with Christ, a ministry in which they are not just told the destination, but given a compass to orient their hearts and lives on their journey towards their True Home with Christ.
And as a bonus: in this context, the Titan Atlas actually helps provide a resonating framework for the model of life that the modern university gives our students–in their minds, each of them is a little Atlas, condemned to carry the weight of the world on their own shoulders, with no way out. Instead, we say, there is another who has carried the world on His own shoulders, in the shape of a cross, and He calls us to rest in Him rather than our own efforts. What we thought of as a liability–the allusion to the Greek Titan–is actually one of the greatest assets of this name: it calls out a resonate feeling and reality for many college students and gives us an opportunity to address the myths of the modern world with the hope and call of Christ.
We believe Atlas resonates with un-churched and de-churched–and even our ‘churched’ students–in ways that helpfully and purposefully point to the gospel of Christ in a post-Christian world.
Why isn’t “Christ” or “Jesus” or “ministry” in the name anymore? Are you trying to water down the gospel?
The short answer: no, we are not trying to water down the gospel message of Jesus. We opted for the words we did with “hospitality” to the outsider at the fore: how do we articulate our mission in a succinct way that is hospitable to those we are trying to reach, the unchurched and de-churched?
The choice to use “Atlas” is outlined above. As for “campus,” that is necessary to distinguish us from a free-standing church.
The main change is from “ministry” to “fellowship.” This was, in truth, something we batted around for a long time. In the end, we opted for “fellowship” largely because we exist and operate on a Tech campus that is filled with ministries of every kind; fellowship was our way of both differentiating ourselves from more traditional models of ministry, as well as communicating that the primary thing that we do is make room for a type of community intentionally oriented towards finding direction, purpose, and home together.
Why not something that could still keep the “CA”?
Why not something that would work for “CA”? Well, the first answer is: we tried. Moreover, though, keeping “CA” was not a primary priority, for the simple reason that “CA” serves insiders, but not outsiders–initials communicate only to those who already belong, and not to those who are lost and seeking belonging. We opted to move away from initials so that, even in the simple act of naming our organization in conversation, it would invite questions and resonate in a way that students might respond.
