Growing in Gratitude at Grace Presbyterian Church
When we give to Grace Presbyterian Church, we are doing far more than supporting a building or funding programs. Together, our gifts create opportunities for worship, nurture faith at every age, care for people in times of need, welcome our neighbors, and carry God’s love into Wichita and beyond.
Every act of generosity becomes part of a larger story: music offered in praise, a lesson shared with a child, a meal served after a funeral, assistance for a neighbor facing hardship, or work toward a more just community. Through our shared giving, we participate in the ministry God is growing among us.
Where gratitude grows, generosity blooms.
Worship That Draws Us Together
Worship is at the heart of our life together. Each week, we gather in contemporary and traditional services to hear God’s Word, lift our voices in prayer and praise, and be renewed for lives of faithful service.
Our Chancel Choir, directed by Sean Foster and supported by accompanist and organist Kelsey Wise and paid choral section leaders, enriches our worship. Kakopħone, led by Bryce Mulkey, brings paid musicians and congregational volunteers together to lead our 9:00 a.m. contemporary service. Bryce also directs the Carillonneurs bell choir, which regularly shares its music at 11:00 a.m.
Guest musicians, congregational musicians, and celebrations such as Bluegrass Gospel Sunday bring many musical traditions into our praise. Our Arts Team creates banners and backdrops, while original dramas invite us to encounter Scripture through imagination as well as words.
Room for Celebration, Sorrow, and Hope
From Ash Wednesday and Good Friday to Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas Eve, worship carries us through the seasons of faith. Shared services with the South Sudanese congregation, Wichita Korean Presbyterian Church, and First Presbyterian Church remind us that we belong to a wider body of Christ. Our Silent Night service offers a gentle space for people carrying grief during the holidays.
Audio and visual volunteers help make worship accessible in person and online. Livestreams, sermon clips, and music shared through our website and social media carry these gifts to family, friends, and neighbors near and far.
Faith That Grows at Every Age
Through study, prayer, fellowship, and service, people of every age are invited to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
- Children: Sunday school, led by Caitlin Harrison and Dale Haury, helps children encounter the stories of our faith.
- Youth: Under Kirk Anderson’s leadership, young people ask questions, develop friendships, serve others, and discover how God is at work in their lives. WyldLife offers additional fellowship and faith formation for middle school students.
- Adults: Weekly Bible studies, seasonal studies, and worship series encourage continued growth. Opportunities have included Pastor Kevin’s Ephesians study, an Advent devotional drawing on Scripture and C.S. Lewis, and Lenten prayer cards.
- Life together: NOGs, the “Not Old Group,” offers young adult fellowship. Steamers and Windjammers Life Groups gather for meals, conversation, and mutual support.
Our youth mission team traveled to Black Mesa, Arizona, in the Navajo Nation, serving alongside others and encountering a different community and culture. They discovered that mission is also a way God changes us.
Care Through Every Season of Life
Grace’s ministry of care reaches children, families, older adults, and people walking through difficult seasons.
Children and Families
Jacob’s Learning Ladder serves more than 85 children from approximately 70 families. Every weekday, our building is filled with learning, play, and growth in a caring environment. Preschool chaplain Pastor Cheryl Hoops shares Bible stories, songs, and prayers with children and provides pastoral care to families and staff.
Companionship and Compassion
Our Deacons support people unable to join us regularly on Sundays and bring people together through gatherings such as the Super Senior Luncheon and all-church picnic. GriefShare offers companionship through a 13-week group and a “How to Survive the Holidays” workshop.
Heart Strings volunteers have prepared and served funeral receptions for four families. These meals offer a welcoming place to remember, gather, and receive the care of the church.
Much of our care happens quietly: a visit, a prayer, a ride, a meal, or a word of encouragement. Ushers, greeters, teachers, musicians, caregivers, and volunteers share their gifts to embody Christ’s compassion.
Serving Our Neighbors Near and Far
Mission begins with paying attention to the needs around us and responding with generosity, compassion, and a commitment to justice.
- Helping Hands: Assistance with urgent needs, including rent, gasoline, utilities, and furnishings for a new apartment.
- Bus Ticket Ministry: Approximately 150 bus passes distributed to more than 50 people, helping them reach work, appointments, services, and other essential destinations.
- Good Neighbor Team: Yardwork and light home repairs that help neighbors remain safely in their homes.
- Yellow Bag collections: Food for Covenant Presbyterian Church’s pantry, animal shelter supplies, items for Simply Hygiene, and backpacks and school supplies.
- Refugee support: Partnerships in Wichita that help newly arrived families build new lives, including back-to-school supplies and other assistance.
Partnership Across Borders
Our relationship with Placetas Presbyterian Church in Cuba reminds us that the body of Christ extends beyond national borders. Grace members made two trips to Placetas, carrying medicine and supplies while strengthening relationships with our siblings in Christ.
Working Together for Justice
As a founding member of Justice Together, Grace joins more than 50 faith communities across the Wichita area to work for systemic solutions to homelessness, the shortage of affordable housing, and gun violence. Together, we join our voices and influence so that compassion can lead to meaningful change.
Grace members also serve the wider Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through Presbytery and Synod committees. Sophia Randle represented the church as a Young Adult Advisory Delegate to the General Assembly. These connections deepen our shared witness and mission.
A Place of Welcome and Belonging
Throughout the week, Grace becomes a place of learning, support, recovery, service, and connection. Sharing our building is one way we offer hospitality to Wichita.
Our doors open to a Girl Scout troop, Gamblers Anonymous, Gam-Anon, and a monthly support group for caregivers of people living with dementia. More than 150 members of ACAP gather here each month for presentations, travel opportunities, food, and fellowship.
PEO and Delta Kappa Gamma meet at Grace, supporting women’s philanthropy and educators. We host City of Wichita meetings and listening sessions, author events in partnership with Watermark Books, and elections as a longtime polling place.
People may never attend a worship service and still experience Grace as a place where they are welcomed and valued.
Celebrating Life Together
Christmas and Easter brunches, the all-church picnic, and fellowship around our worship services bring generations together. Around tables and in everyday conversations, relationships deepen, newcomers find belonging, and we recognize one another as siblings in Christ.
Generosity Makes Ministry Possible
Behind every ministry are people who pray, plan, teach, sing, cook, repair, welcome, lead, listen, and serve. Our shared financial gifts keep the building open, compensate staff and ministry leaders, provide materials, sustain partnerships, and make new opportunities possible.
When we invest our time, talent, and treasure, we become part of this whole story. Our gifts help children discover that they are loved by God, help grieving people find companions, provide practical assistance to neighbors, fill worship with beauty, and carry God’s Word beyond our walls.
Will You Add Your Leaf?
Our goal is 100 pledges. Each pledge represents a commitment to grow in gratitude and share God’s abundance. Every pledge matters, whatever its amount.
As you consider your commitment, pray with gratitude for the gifts God has entrusted to you. Reflect on how you are called to share your time, your talents, and your financial resources in the coming year.
Make your pledge and become part of the ministry God is growing at Grace.
Rooted in grace. Growing in gratitude. Bearing fruit. Sharing abundantly.
