A New Name

Longtime readers of the Confluence blog may have noticed a change recently. This blog has been written mostly by people who lead in various contexts within the Newfrontiers-USA family of churches, which is part of the global Newfrontiers family. This month, however, Newfrontiers-USA officially changed its name to Confluence. We’re still part of Newfrontiers and enjoy relationships with churches and leaders around the world. For several reasons, though, it was time to change our name.

Emphasizing Shared Mission

In the past, names like Newfrontiers-USA or Newfrontiers-UK identified different branches of the Newfrontiers family tree. Increasingly, however, these groups are building relationships outside their national borders and as they do, many have adopted names that emphasize the work they do together rather than their nationality.

We’ve been developing friendships with churches in other places, too, and we expect to partner with them more in the future. By choosing a name that emphasizes shared mission and doesn’t limit us geographically, we are leaving room for such partnerships to grow.  We’ve been using Confluence as the title for this blog for several years, and as we thought about potential names, this one stood out as the word that best encompasses what we value as a family of churches.

A “confluence” is a merging of two streams, and we believe in the merging of Word and Spirit, local and global, and the now and not yet of God’s kingdom. It also conveys the idea of partnership, of joining together, and of shared resources and fruitfulness. Confluence fits with our values and personality and most importantly, we believe it describes how God is shaping us for the future.

Going Forward

You’ll continue to see posts on this blog from leaders within Confluence, as well as posts from leaders within the broader Newfrontiers family. Our name has changed, but our mission is the same, so you’ll continue to see more of the same content you’ve enjoyed in the past. We’ll keep writing about mission, the church, and theology. To read more about the Confluence family of churches and what we’re doing together, click here.