Andrew Stoker
Andrew C. Stoker is an American Senior Minister for the First United Methodist Church of Dallas.
[1]
He was raised in Texas, growing up in El Paso. He was raised in the tradition of United Methodism from a very young age. He received his Bachelor's degree in Communication studies from Texas Tech University, followed by a Master's degree in Divinity/Ministry from Southern Methodist University (SMU) and a PhD in Family Studies from Texas Woman's University. He also completed his seminar at the Perkins School of Theology at SMU in 2001.
He served in Henderson, Texas, and at Walnut Hill United Methodist Church of Dallas. He was later commissioned as an Associate Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Texas Conference, and at First United Methodist Church of Denton. For the next decade, Stoker held several positions throughout North Texas until a Methodist Bishop appointed him as the Senior Minister of First United Methodist Church of Dallas in 2013.
He has forged strong partnerships with the Dallas Mayor's Office, the Dallas Arts District, the Dallas Independent School District, and local and national education and literacy advocates. He is active in social justice, advocacy, community outreach, and racial reconciliation. He has served on the Boards of National Project Transformation, Dallas Project Transformation, the North Texas Food Bank, Methodist Health Systems, The Dallas Arts District, CC Young Senior Care, the Texas Methodist Foundation, Faith Forward Dallas of the Thanksgiving Square Foundation, and is currently Chair of the Board for the La Lydia Patterson Institute of El Paso.
He is best known for his friendship with Imam Omar Suleiman, the Imam at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center in Irving. The two initiated a co-produced video titled "An Imam, a Pastor, and a Dream", calling for unity among Christians and Muslims in the U.S. and around the world. [2][3] This prompted ISIS in early March 2017 to attack the initiative and call for the assassination of Imam Suleiman in a propaganda film titled "Kill The Apostate Imams". Suleiman responded to the threat stating, "I believe that their venom needs to be condemned. They’ve hijacked my religion." [4]
Personal life
In 1998, he married Megan Callahan, his longtime girlfriend from college and a registered pediatric nurse.[citation needed] The couple has two sons, Alex and Wesley.[citation needed]
References
- ↑ "First United Methodist Church Dallas | Ministry Team". firstchurchdallas.org. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ↑ "An Imam, A Pastor, and A Dream | Yaqeen Stories". YouTube. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ↑ "North Texas Pastor and Imam Try to Lead By Example - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth". nbcdfw.com. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ↑ Paul, Jeff (13 March 2017). "ISIS Calls For North Texas Imam's Assassination". CBS DFW. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
External links
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