'Times are changing': Christian journalism association votes to drop 'Evangelical' name

Members of the Evangelical Press Association have approved a proposal to rename the organization the Christian Communicators Network, dropping “Evangelical” from its public identity after more than 75 years.

Of the 224 ballots cast, 57% favored the change, 42% favored keeping the name Evangelical Press Association and 1% abstained, the organization announced Thursday evening. Voting took place on a secure online platform over three weeks and closed Oct. 7.

The single resolution on the ballot read: “RESOLVED, that the membership of the Evangelical Press Association approves amending the Articles of Incorporation to change the legal and public name of the organization to Christian Communicators Network.” The approval authorizes the board to update governing documents, registrations, branding, websites and programs.

The association, which serves Christian publishers, editors, writers and journalists, first announced the board’s proposal in early September. Before casting ballots, members raised questions during a virtual meeting about dropping the word “Evangelical” and about the voting process itself.

Board President Dwight Widaman said the change was driven by a desire to reach more people in a transformed media landscape, not by any shift in beliefs.

“We were not looking to change who we are. We were looking at how we could reach more people. As you know, the media world has changed dramatically in 75 years. We needed to recognize that and who was serving in that industry,” Widaman told The Christian Post Thursday.

Despite the name change, Widaman said the group has no plans to change its faith identity.

“Some inside and outside of EPA saw dropping the name ‘Evangelical’ as synonymous with dropping our Evangelical beliefs,” he said. “That was never the case. We are still the same Evangelical organization.”

Widaman noted that the vote does not affect the organization’s Statement of Faith, which can be changed only by a unanimous affirmative vote. He also said more than 80% of Evangelical organizations do not use the word in their public-facing names.

Widaman also cited research showing that most younger Evangelicals hold Evangelical beliefs but do not identify as Evangelicals.

“Times are changing,” he said. “We are not living in post-war 1940s America. The question for us was: how do we reach these young people working in the fields of journalism, blogging, video, content creation, et cetera?”

Younger people tend to identify as Christian communicators, Widaman added, and most are “not looking for an association to join, but rather, networking opportunities with peers and mentors.”

“As a board, and now with a majority of our membership, we saw the name Christian Communicators Network responding to those aspirations and moving us into the future,” he said.