Baptists are either very optimistic or a bit competitive – just look at how we name our churches! Out of 178 churches with the CBWC, at least 33 are named First Baptist. Most likely this is because we know God’s kingdom is expanding and – one day -- there may be second, third and fourth Baptist church down the street. So far, there are no Second or Third Baptist churches within the CBWC, but they do exist in American Baptist denominations. The name Calvary Baptist runs a distant second, with 6 churches! Another very popular naming practice is to identify with the local community and take the name of the town or district where the church is located.

Focussed on giving glory to God, Baptists usually avoid naming institutions after individuals, hence the long-standing practice of naming churches numerically or by location.