About
Formed in union with God and one another.
Why this church. Why now.
Pastor Parris Howard did not set out to build a platform. He set out to close a gap he kept finding in the church: people tended in one dimension and left hungry in another. Gift without formation. Doctrine without the Spirit. Spirit without the whole person.
The Union is his answer to that grief: a multi-ethnic community in Louisville where the DISCIPLE values are not a slogan but a pastoral commitment. Every letter a value. Every value a commitment to the whole person.
Vision
To be a people formed in union with God and one another in Christ, embodying His transforming love and truth.
Mission
To live out our union with Christ by loving and serving others and equipping them in their identity and purpose in Him, so that the world may believe and come into relationship with God.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
What we are building
Every vision needs a physical expression. These are the three primary initiatives through which The Union Louisville will demonstrate whole-person discipleship when it is fully embodied.
I
Ministerial Development
Ephesians 4:11–12 · Romans 12:6–8
We believe that the health of the church is inseparable from the health of its leaders. This ministry is committed to raising up men and women who are both gifted and formed. Called and competent. Passionate and prepared.
II
Educational Development
Proverbs 22:6
We desire to build an academy where every child is known by name, formed in faith, sharpened in mind, and awakened to the full measure of the gifts God placed within them. Education at The Union Louisville is a covenant with the next generation.
III
Wholistic Health & Wellness
3 John 1:2
A people made whole in body, mind, and spirit, reflecting the fullness of God's design for human flourishing. This wing exists to say: all of you matters to God.
DISCIPLE
The framework that holds the whole person.
- D Discipline
- I Identity
- S Servanthood
- C Communion
- I Intercession
- P Purpose
- L Love
- E Ecumenism
Louisville is not a backdrop.
Parris is from this city. The Union is being planted here, not as a franchise of somewhere else, but as a people formed in this place, for this place. Until a permanent facility is secured, gathering details will be shared as we approach launch. The invitation is already open.
Launching October 18, 2026
Led by Parris Howard
Leadership at The Union Louisville is not a title, it is a function of grace. Rooted in the servant model of Jesus Christ and ordered by the church of Acts and the Ephesians 4 gifts, every leader in this house exists to equip the saints for the work of ministry, not to be served, but to serve. Our structure reflects our conviction that the church is not an institution to be managed, but a living organism to be shepherded relationally, spiritually, and with deep accountability to God and one another. Authority flows from character and calling, not from position or pedigree. Every role in this ministry exists to make the mission possible and to make the people whole.
The Union is still in its planting season. Named leadership beyond Pastor Parris will be appointed as the house is formed. Until then, the posture is already set: authority flows from character and calling.
Step into this Union.
You did not find this ministry by accident. If you are willing, you are already home.