Although you may not recognize its name, Blue Course Community Church has called State College home for decades. Now, following a self-initiated rebranding period, the local congregation is placing a larger emphasis on its efforts in the community.
Blue Course Community Church, which was previously named the State College Evangelical Free Church since 1987, debuted its new name in September as Labor Day rolled around. Church leaders say the updated branding provides a simpler overview of the congregation’s core values.
“It’s the idea of becoming a light in the community. A lot of groups use our building. Obviously, we host elections and blood drives here. Some groups even host bridge sessions in the afternoons,” said Keith Maurer, the church’s lead pastor. “It’s kind of like we’re going back to the idea of a ‘community church’ — part of one of the names of our predecessors. Our new name is now reflecting our current location on Blue Course Drive, but community remains the focus.”
While the church often offers its facilities at 1243 Blue Course Drive to local organizations, it also seeks to make an impact through childcare services and community events. Blue Course Community Church will host its annual fall festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, complete with bounce houses, family-friendly games, pumpkins and more. This year, the festival doubles as a chance to celebrate the church’s new name.
Community efforts aren’t a new focus for the Gospel-centered church. In fact, key advocates for the name change say the rebranding process hopes to align with its scriptures.
“We feel that Jesus’s ministry was all about community and people, and we want to be the same way,” said Tim Miller, a longtime churchgoer. “We want to be a church that’s involved in our community. If our church were to ever leave the community, it would be nice if people missed us, I guess. That’s one way to think of it.”
Blue Course Community Church’s new name also hopes to clarify the congregation’s mission. Miller said some community members and churchgoers were, at times, confused by the church’s previous name — perhaps both literally and figuratively.
“‘Evangelical Free’ sounds like you’re free of evangelism, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. That would confuse some people looking for an evangelical church,” Miller said. “‘Evangelical’ has also become sort of a political word in the last few years, and we want nothing to do with politics. We have our own opinions, but that has no part in our church. People of all views are welcome, and it’s a shame when people might think we are a political church if, in their eyes, you have a political name.”
“We wanted to have a name that’s more in line with our vision as a church – that is to be an important part of the community in which God placed us,” Maurer added.
Maurer noted that name changes have become increasingly common for evangelical churches across the country. But while the church’s title has changed, it remains associated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, which sponsors more than 1,600 churches across the country.
“We’re not changing our theology or disassociating from the denomination. It’s more about the name and its perception,” Maurer said. “Quite frankly, we’ve heard of many other churches that have done the exact same thing. These name changes often grant churches better opportunities to reach out in their communities.”
As the desire for a new name spread throughout the church, its leaders met to brainstorm names, discuss key goals and weigh their options. A church-wide vote in support of Blue Course Community Church was nearly unanimous, Maurer said. The change became official with a new website and an outdoor sign.
Although renaming the church was not the most difficult process, it inadvertently required a few years to take hold. Those discussions began before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they never stopped entirely. Long stretches of isolation in 2020 and 2021 helped church leaders reexamine the need for strong community relationships.
“A lot of things during the pandemic shut down or slowed down. The name change is one that we somehow managed to keep active, so we kept moving forward with it,” Miller said. “It’s been on our minds for a long time, but COVID-19 kind of put a magnifying glass on these issues of isolation that we see in our culture. If anything, it helped us double down on the direction we were already headed in.”
Blue Course Community Church’s name is just about a month old, but congregation leaders say the community’s reception has already met expectations.
“Most people in our church knew about it, so no one was too surprised by the change,” Miller said. “I know some people outside the community have commented on it. ‘Yeah, we know that church on Blue Course.’ Many knew us by our location and services rather than just our old name. So far, it’s been encouraging that people outside of our church are seeing us the way we’d like to be seen – as a member of the community.”
For more information about Blue Course Community Church, including its worship services and community events, visit its website or follow its Facebook page.
