I had to make sure that this got posted before I laid off for the Sabbath. COG Writer reports that it is now official that the “WCG Changes Name to GCI!” I wouldn’t have known of this any earlier, as I just don’t subscribe to anything WCG does. The only reason I’m reporting on it is because I am glad that they are finally making it official. They have not been a real COG for some time now.
In a letter dtd April 2009, Joseph Tkach outlines that the official name “Grace Communion International” was picked out 20 December 2005, but some had “mixed reactions” at that time. Actually, as I recall, the name was more along the lines of “Grace International Communion”, and the objections were that the initials would sound like “gick”.
They will be keeping “Worldwide Church of God” for purposes of copyright and for the convenience of the international congregations. They also will keep wcg.org, although at some point it will just be made into a redirected link to their new official site.
Perhaps now there will be less confusion to those outside the Church of God movement, and it will allow the true COGs to stand out in the religious Babylon of our day.