No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. (Genesis 17:5)
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:17-18)
As part of the process of moving from under the wings of St. Luke and becoming an independent organization, we must select a new name for ourselves. Our current name, St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church – South Campus, reflects our history and explains how we got here. When Dr. Zan Holmes took over as the senior pastor of St. Luke, he wanted to ensure the church’s name reflected its core values. Thus “Community” was added in the name.
The vision of Pastor Tyrone Gordon and the bishop’s desire to have an additional African American congregation in southern Dallas County led to the establishment of the South Campus.
Now, it is time for the members of the South Campus to establish our own identity, something that communicates our unique calling as a congregation to our mission field. To do this, we would like input from everyone at the South Campus. The process we will use is as follows:
- Take suggestions from everyone who would like to submit them
- Review and scoring of the submissions by the leadership team
- Presentation of the top 3 submissions to the congregations for additional input
- Final deliberation and selection of the name by the pastor and leadership team
As you prepare your submission, please keep the scoring criteria in mind:
- Conveys something about the mission of our church
- Has a positive connotation in the broader community of those with and without a church home
- Conjures up a visual element
- Is fairly short and memorable
Click here to send an email to the South Campus with “Name Suggestion” as your subject. Provide as many suggestions as you would like, and for each one, briefly jot down a few points on why you think it is a good option for our church name. Please send your suggestions soon, but no later than October 24th.
The Village is my vote for the new name. It has the same feel as Community but with a Village it says all of us are working together to do God’s work and to work for and with each other to lift everyone. Each one Teach one!!