What does the name Twelve 5 Church mean?

Twelve Five Church. I know this is a little different name for a church. It's definitely unique, but we have strategically chosen this name for a purpose.

As a matter of fact, we have a number of reasons why we like this name. First and foremost is we get it from Romans chapter 12 verse 5 which says,

So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another.

So we thought as we get ready to launch a new church, a new body of believers here, what better way than to sit right at our front door, a constant reminder as to what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.

That we're not called to live individualistic lifestyles, but we are called to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are not our own.

We're to bring our gifts and our abilities that God has given us to better the body of Christ with Christ as the head of that body.

So that's the first reason we've chosen this name. Secondly, it's because we're planting a church in Jonesboro, Arkansas, which some refer to as the

City of Churches. It seems like there's a church on every corner here, and so we felt that we needed something to differentiate ourselves, something that was a little unique that broke free from the white noise of the religiosity of the area and some of the terminology and names that are just commonplace for this particular location.

And then lastly, which is tied in very closely to that second reason, is because this is such a churched area, such a religious area, there's an element of being a burned over area.

And what I mean by that is there are so many people in this community that have over the years been harmed, been hurt, been broken by religious people, by church people, by churches themselves that are not acting as the body of Christ is supposed to act.

And because of that, we just wanted to remove any obstacle or barrier there might be in them coming to hearing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ in hopes that the

Holy Spirit would awaken them and bring them to himself. So that was just one area that we thought we could sacrifice some of our terminology and put a name forward that hopefully catches attention but also is not a barrier for people who

God is drawing to us. So we appreciate your prayers.

Hopefully this answers your question as to why such a different name like 12 .5 church and we pray that God uses it for his glory.