Why the Name Change?

On Sunday March 16, 2014 the members of United Baptist Church of Ashford voted to change our name to Living Proof Church. Why change the name?  The name of a church is important; it communicates the heart, the direction and the flavor of a church. Over the course of time, churches change their names and ours is no exception. In 1848 our church was planted as the South Center Baptist Church; in 1926 its name was changed to the Warrenville Baptist Church; and in 1993 it joined together with the Ashford Baptist Church (est. 1780) and was renamed as the United Baptist Church of Ashford. Over the course of time a church might change its name to reflect a location (South Center and Warrenville), to reflect an agreement (United Baptist Church of Ashford), or it might change its name to reflect its direction (Living Proof Church).

Today our heart is that we would “Help People Discover the Love of God.” Jesus described one of the primary ways this would happen in John 13:34-35 when He said, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  Although we are in no way claiming to be perfect, we do believe that experiencing the lives of true Christians will be Living Proof of the love of God and His desire to rescue lives. Our new name reflects our heart- that we would love each other as Jesus loved us, and that it would be evident that His love is in us and changing us. Many of us have a past that we are not proud of; we lived in a way that was far from God or in rebellion to God. Although we are not perfect, we are grateful that God redeemed us by sending Jesus to pay the cost of our sin and offer us forgiveness.

Living Proof isn’t a place full of perfect people; it’s a place for sinners to find a perfect God. We want to invite you to come and join us! Even if you have never been to church before, come give it a try. If you have been here in the past but either got away from it or decided it wasn’t for you, then we invite you to join us again for the first time, because we are a new church!  You might not recognize us. We are a new people and many of our members are new to us. We look different too; we are just finishing a renovation of our Sanctuary, something that hasn’t been done in over 60 years. We also have a different style. We don’t follow a checklist of traditional rituals. We come together to worship God from our heart and learn from His Word.  We would love you to come and give us a try. We believe there is nothing better than the joy of knowing the Lord and worshiping together in love. We have room for you, so come discover what God is doing in Living Proof Church!

Click HERE to see RENOVATION PICTURES!