Canadian Southern Baptists debate name change

TORONTO — The Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists has decided to study whether it should change its name.

During their annual meeting in Toronto, messengers voted to have their national leaders create a committee to study “the possibility of a name change … that will better reflect our mission in our nation and our world,” reported Baptist Press.

“When Canadians think ‘south,’ they think ‘America,’” said Ian Buntain, a professor at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta, who introduced the idea. “And so we’re called ‘the American denomination.’ That’s not helping us reach Canadians.”

The organization’s national board considered changing their name two years ago. At that time, however, a change was not made to the name.