Ok, I've always wondered this...

[laconicsax]

What's with putting "first" before the denomination on a church? You know, First Baptist, First Presbyterian, etc.

What makes them first? Why aren't there any second or third labels?

[stevedeshazer]

1. They do the same thing with banks.

+1

[SugarShack]

2. Maybe sermons based on FIrst Testament in the Bible? Just throwing it out there!

:shrug:

[CrispyQ]

3. ~lol. I read this years ago about banks.

Why don't you ever see Second Capital Bank?

[Towlie]

6. What, you never heard of the Fifth Third Bank?

Check it out: https://www.53.com/site/index.html?%3f

[CrispyQ]

11. I hadn't!

:rofl:

[begin_within]

4. When a particular denomination rolled into town,

the first church built of that denomination in the town would claim the "First" as part of its name. If another one of the same denomination was built, nobody wanted to be called "Second" anything, so they would think of another name, like "St. (name)'s" and then the denomination. I don't know why banks do that though.

[skepticscott]

5. There is actually a Fourth Presbyterian Church

in Chicago. No word on what happened to the first three, though...

[On the Road]

7. "First" Churches Were the First of Their Denomination

to be established in the particular city or town.

There are definitely examples of churches named Second, Third, etc. I believe there used to be more, but most of them changed their names at some point. Who wants to go to the Second when you can go to the First?

[laconicsax]

9. Well that's disappointing...

I was hoping it had to do with something more interesting.

[SheilaT]

8. With banks it has something

to do with how they are chartered, or how they are connected to the Federal Reserve or some such. I don't feel like trying to research it, but I once read all about it.

Banks can be Second or Third or higher numbers, but it doesn't happen very often.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

10. It has to do with the rapture and their place in line at the pearly gates