Doctors with Pastors’ Hearts
Dayo and Modupe Adeyefa want Jesus to be King over every part of their lives. But as medical doctors, they struggled to make him King over their calling, too.
The Adeyafas — US citizens of Nigerian descent — grew up in a thriving Atlanta-area church. But when they decided to practice medicine for a living, they weren’t sure how Jesus’ Lordship would extend to their highly technical line of work.
It took some prayer and wrestling, but they learned how to make Jesus King of their vocation, too. As they got to know others in their profession — especially their colleagues at Houston Medical Center — they realized something crucial.
They weren’t the only ones who struggled to forge a connection between work and faith. And they wanted to do something about it.
Connecting Faith to Calling
Churches are plentiful in Houston. But the Adeyefas realized their educated colleagues, many of them immigrants, hadn’t engaged in church since moving to Houston — even if they had a Christian background.
The hospital and the surrounding Galleria District in downtown Houston turned out to be a ready mission field in the middle of the Bible Belt.
The couple, who are also parents of four children, began ministering to colleagues on the job and discipling them during off-hours. They saw changed lives as they engaged in meaningful conversations around work, culture, and faith.
That’s when they realized God was calling them to start a church. The couple enrolled in master’s degree programs at Dallas Theological Seminary and began creating theologically rich (and beautiful-looking) video content. They also contacted ArtSpeak Creative for coaching, branding, web, and fundraising.
Related: How Steve Pike of Next Wave Helps Church Planters Reach More People
What Would Happen If Jesus Were King in Houston?
First, an ArtSpeak team member worked with the Adeyefas to develop their mission, vision, and core values. Then, their strategic brand messaging addressed the idol at the center of their profession: control.
In our core story, we spoke to those who are successful but stressed. The story goes on to offer the Adeyefas experience:
“Every treasure we ever acquired took on the tarnish of anxiety. And Jesus, the humble and gentle King, promised to bring genuine peace. We discovered, under His lordship, we didn’t lose our edge, become ‘religious,’ backward, or soft. We didn’t collapse in ruin or watch all our labors turn to dust. Instead, we found His sovereign reign brings freedom, peace, health, and life in all we do.”
For their logo, we created a crown atop a stained-glass-inspired K that reaches out in all directions. We centered their color palette around a bright, optimistic yellow: a kingdom that’s glorious and shining, not domineering.
A flowing background texture evokes a waving cape or flag. And the headline font, Oswald Bold, is tall and towering, yet the variation in stroke width makes the font feel both majestic and playful. We also juxtaposed large and small brand elements to emphasize the idea of being part of something big — the kingdom of God.
Related Article: How to Create a Church Logo that Feels Like You
Preparing for Launch
Since completing branding, the Adeyefas have been working toward a full launch of their church and partnered with us for a custom website and fundraising page.
They also wrote an engaging Gospel Track curriculum for anyone interested in their launch team. ArtSpeak designed it into an on-brand booklet. And they continue to create compelling content, which they post to their Instagram account.
As of publication of this article, King’s City Church is on track to launch in-person services in January of 2022.
Want a look behind the scenes? See the mood board that inspired this brand.A Complete Suite of Solutions
“We love our new brand! The ArtSpeak team gave us a complete suite of solutions to get us off the ground as a start-up church. The discovery process helped us define what we hoped to do as a church. Our Messaging Blueprint captured what we want to do as pastors and helped us put it into words.
Then the design team created visuals that look like who we are as a church — diverse, bright, and connected. Since then, we’ve been able to lean on the ArtSpeak team to get us ready for our launch, and we’re excited to start services!”
Dayo and Modupe AdeyefaKing’s City Church
Houston, TX
