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Village Presbyterian Church Draft

Village Presbyterian Church is a PC(USA) Church located in Prairie Village, Kansas. The church was founded in 1949 with 282 members, and has since grown to be one of the largest Presbyterian Churches in America with a reported 4,789 members in 2013. The church’s mission is “to see and relate to every person in our communities and the world as loved by God.”

History

Village Presbyterian Church was founded in February of 1949 by Dr. Robert H. Meneilly. Prairie Village was a developing suburb in the 1940’s with a high concentration of young families, and no Presbyterian Church in the area. Dr. Meneilly went door-to-door in the emerging suburb to encourage residents to visit, and begin building a congregation before the building was complete. When the church opened it’s doors for it’s first service on Sunday, February 13, 1949, they drew 282 members to the congregation. In a report from Walter Cronkite which was described in a 1994 article in the Washington Post, Cronkite described Village was described as an “absolute perfect example of what is happening to churches all over the United states today in the split between the evangelical right and the more mainstream.”

Membership

in 2013, Village Presbyterian had a total of over 4,789 congregational members, which was significantly larger than the average PC(USA) congregation of 175 members. Located in Mission Hills, Kansas, a high socioeconomic area, the congregation regularly donates large sums of money to the church. In 2013, the congregation contributed a total of $4,147,189, compared to the average PC(USA) church’s annual contribution of $243,563. The church reported a total enrollment in their Christian education program of 2,642 compared to the average 99 in 2013. The average worship attendance in 2013 was 1,050.

Community Involvement and Programs

Village Presbyterian Church Food Pantry

Located off-site site from the church itself, the Village Presbyterian Food Pantry hosts more than 300 volunteers each month. The pantry serves anyone in the area who completes an application and is near the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The pantry consists of a grocery-store-style area where clients receive provisions like bread, pasta, pastries, produce, and toiletries, as well as a clothes closet in which clients can get necessary items like dresses, shirts, and undergarments.

Dominican Republic Partnership

Doctors and nurses from the Village congregation as well as the Kansas City area make four annual trips to La Romana on a medical mission to provide health care to the impoverished residents of rural bateyes and urban barrios. The church's youth department began an annual spring break mission trip to La Romana in the 1990's to work on construction projects like the Joe Hartman School.

Front Porch Alliance

Front Porch Alliance is a partnership between Village Church and the Ivanhoe neighborhood of Kansas City. Front Porch Alliance provides mentor programs, home repair, and career services to residents of the east side neighborhood. The program was founded in 1999.

Environmental Action Committee

The Environmental Action Committee (formerly the Sustainable Sanctuary Task Force) was formed and renamed in 2007. The committee encourages the church to recycle, buy environmentally responsible products, make sure the church's facilities are maintained in an environmentally-friendly way, and assists in the education of the church about environmental issues. Additionally, the committee assists with the annual Earth Day sermon.

Staff

• Tom Are, Senior Pastor (ordained in February 2004)

• Jenny McDevitt, Pastor of Pastoral Care (ordained in September 2012)

• Len Caroll, Pastor of Pastoral Care (ordained in August 2015)

• Zach Walker, Pastor of Youth Ministries (ordained in 2013)

Construction and Rebuilding

Village Presbyterian began reconstruction of the main church space in April of 2015. The mission of the rebuild was to install a new organ, make the church's sanctuary more accessible for disabled congregants, and install a new entrance and welcome center. The building is still under construction, with a proposed completion date of December 13, 2015.