From King's House to Dream City: Name-change ready

James Beaty, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·2 min read

Sep. 19—It's almost time for a major change for one of the largest churches in McAlester.

On Sunday, Sept. 24, King's House will henceforth be known as Dream City Church — McAlester.

"We feel like this is our next step in order to better position ourselves for current and future needs and being able to meet those needs," said Connections Pastor Blake Jennings of King's House, where Mark Hennen is church pastor.

With Sept. 24 a Sunday, plans are to hold a special celebration following the church's second service, which begins at 11 a.m.

We're celebrating our last Sunday as the King's House," Jennings said, along with celebrating the new name of Dream City Church — McAlester.

"We're celebrating all the past and looking to the future," he said.

The celebration is expected to begin shortly after noon, around 12:30 p.m. Plans call for everything from inflatables to cornhole games to be set up for the celebration.

Asked how the name change came about, Jennings said about two years ago, local barber Lance Yeley asked Pastor Hennen if he would like to have a guest speaker.

Yeley mentioned Luke Barnett, pastor of the Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

"Mark said 'we would love to have Luke, but 'I don't think we can get him to come to McAlester,'" Jennings said.

"Within 30 minutes, we got a text from Luke saying he would love to come visit," Jennings recalled.

Shortly after meeting Barnett, the church leadership felt the connection could lead to lots more than simply having a guest speaker at church, Jennings said.

"We knew there would be more than we initially thought," he said, relating how the church leadership decided to pursue something deeper with Dream City.

Pastor Hennen presented the Dream City connection to the Church Elders, who unanimously agreed, Jennings said. He said the congregations is on-board, too.

"This is a 1,000 percent partnership," Jennings said of the King's House and Dream City connection. "We can do it better together."

Dream City's larger organization can help the McAlester church with things it's been wanting to do, Jennings said, including community outreach.

"They've already done this," he said. "We don't need to reinvent the wheel."

Jennings said Dream City — McAlester will be the ninth location for a Dream City Church.

That's not counting Dream City Centers around the nation, said King's House Community of Hope Director Jessica Brenner. "They have over 200 Dream Center across the U.S.," Brenner said.

Jennings and Brenner extended an invitation to the Sept. 24 services and celebration.

"We welcome or invite anyone who's looking for a church home," said Jennings.