One Church, Two Campuses Across Cass County
Heart of Life Church describes itself as a group of ordinary, flawed, and forgiven people gathered around a single phrase: "Jesus, His family, His mission." That motto shows up in everything from weekend services to mission partnerships, and it shapes how a single congregation lives across two campuses in Cass County, Missouri.
The Garden City Campus sits at 96 Old Highway 7 in Garden City. The Harrisonville Campus is on the south side of Harrisonville at 709 South Butler Drive. A third address, 100 East Pearl Street in downtown Harrisonville, belongs to The Vault, a student center that also houses the church offices. From there, weekday staff keep regular hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
Worship That Feels Like Coming Home
Heart of Life keeps a steady weekly rhythm at both campuses, with shared meals woven between services and Bible study hours. On Sunday mornings in Garden City, breakfast runs from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m., followed by worship at 9:30 a.m. and Bible study at 11:00 a.m. Nursery, preschool worship, and children's worship are available during the 9:30 a.m. service.
In Harrisonville, the week starts with a Saturday gathering: Bible study at 4:30 p.m., a shared meal at 5:15 p.m., and worship at 6:00 p.m., with nursery, preschool worship, and children's worship offered alongside. Sunday brings a fuller day, with breakfast at 7:30 a.m., an early worship service at 8:00 a.m., Bible study at 9:15 a.m., a meal at 10:15 a.m., and a second worship service at 11:00 a.m. Nursery and children's programming run during both Sunday services.
Worship at both campuses is led by an in-person band with in-person preaching. Visitors are encouraged to wear whatever feels comfortable; most people come dressed casually. Services are livestreamed online so those at home can follow along, and sermons are also posted for later listening.
HOL Kids: A Safe Place for the Youngest
Heart of Life's children's ministry is known as HOL Kids, and its goal is simple: help kids meet Jesus and grow deeper in their understanding of who God is and how much He loves them. Teaching is rooted in Scripture, built around interactive lessons, and paired with regular opportunities for kids to put their faith into action by serving others.
The nursery welcomes children from birth through 36 months in a safe, nurturing environment where biblical principles are taught through stories, conversation, music, and play. Preschool Kid's Worship, for ages three through five, uses the First Look curriculum, an engaging web-based program that introduces young children to the wonder of God's love.
Elementary Kid's Worship, for kindergarten through fifth grade, follows the 252 Basics curriculum, which invites children to discover who God is, how He sees them, and how much He loves them, then to live out that understanding with the people around them. All volunteers and leaders are screened and supervised, and a security process is in place to reassure parents while their children are in the building.
Beyond Sunday programming, HOL Kids runs seasonal events for the whole family. LifeChange Camp in Clinton is open to students who have completed third through fifth grade, with swimming, lake activities, campfires, cabins, and nature as part of the experience. A Basketball Camp serves boys and girls in kindergarten through sixth grade on the Garden City Campus each March. Vacation Bible School is held each summer at both the Harrisonville and Garden City campuses. Other stand-alone events include a Princess Power Sleepover for kindergarten through fifth grade girls, built around the theme of a relationship with the Heavenly Father, and a Men and Boys Campout.
Student Ministry and The Vault
Student Ministry exists to help students become followers of Jesus, grow in relationship with Jesus and others, and build a strong foundation that equips them to live out their faith boldly. Leaders say the ministry addresses real-world issues students face today - temptation, relationships, identity - and works to give students a biblical worldview, fellowship with like-minded peers, and mentors who stick with them.
Middle school students in grades six through eight and high school students in grades nine through twelve meet together on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Vault on the Harrisonville square.
The Vault itself does double duty. It serves as the student center for Heart of Life and as a hub for community projects in the Harrisonville area. After school on Tuesdays during the school year, the building opens from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. for middle school students who want to hang out, play games, get help with homework, join a cooking class, or just grab a free snack in a safe, supervised place.
Each year, the student ministry looks forward to a few anchor events. Fuge Camp, held in June in Mobile, Alabama, blends traditional summer camp fun with a supervised mission opportunity in the metropolitan area. A float trip happens once a year for grades six through twelve, and mission trips have previously sent students to Taiwan, Myanmar, and Mexico. The Student Superbowl fundraiser is a hands-on project where students help run every part of the event and receive proceeds toward camp and mission costs based on their participation.
Re|engage: Building Stronger Marriages
Marriage Ministry at Heart of Life is led by Shawn and Audrey Gibbs with a clear goal: to develop a culture of growing marriages that declare the greatness of God. The main expression of that vision is Re|engage, a discipleship-based enrichment program for every marriage - the healthy, the struggling, and the broken.
Re|engage meets on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 9:15 a.m. at the Harrisonville Campus, and on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. at the Garden City Campus. Each season, an Open Group is available to any couple during the Bible study hour, and a Closed Group follows the official Re|engage program and timeline.
Women's Ministry and Bible Study
Women's Ministry is described as rooted in Christ, growing together, and serving the community with purpose. It is meant to be a welcoming, grace-filled space where women of any age can find genuine connection, encouragement, and support.
A weekly Women's Bible Study meets on Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. in the basement of the Harrisonville Campus, and a second group gathers at 11:00 a.m. in room 102 of the Garden City Campus. The ministry also hosts Bunko nights during the fall at the Harrisonville Campus and a Ladies Retreat each year.
Beyond women's studies, Bible study offerings at the Garden City Campus on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. include a Men's Bible Study in the library working through the book of Acts, taught by Kevin Zeller, and a Couples Bible Study in the fellowship hall taught by Cliff Bennett. At the Harrisonville Campus on Sunday at 9:15 a.m., a group led by Troy Wilson and Greg Guthrie is studying the book of Revelation. These classes run alongside the Re|engage marriage study at the same hour.
Small Groups, Communities, and Life Teams
Small Groups, or Life Teams, are gatherings of up to twelve people who meet outside the weekend services to grow deeper in community. They are described as a place where people can experience God showing up and changing lives through relationships and Bible study.
The local mission strategy expands that idea outward through Communities, groups of believers who act as the church in specific geographic areas and across various demographics. Communities include Life Teams across the region, along with activities focused on particular groups such as senior adult ministry.
Another local expression is Adopt a Block, a program in which Heart of Life members adopt specific streets or neighborhoods and make intentional personal connections with the people who live there. The aim is for neighbors to know they do not have to do life alone, and to share the love and hope of Christ with them in practical ways.
Heart of Life also partners with Uplift Ministries and serves in the Argentine District of Kansas City through projects that build relationships and minister to the surrounding community.
Togo: A Church and a Clinic in Kouloumi
Heart of Life's work in Togo, West Africa, began in 2007. In 2015, the Togo Baptist Convention asked the church to focus its effort on a specific people group considered unreached - a group distinguishable by language or culture that is generally less than 2 percent Christian and lacks the resources to evangelize itself. According to Joshua Project, that group has reached 1.1 percent.
In 2019, Heart of Life planted a church in Kouloumi. A full-time pastor now holds services there every Sunday, and the congregation is growing steadily. The church is also finishing construction on a medical clinic, intended to be fully operational to serve the surrounding community, and runs an after-school facility where the goal is to give children the academic support they need while sharing the love of Christ with them.
Giving to the Togo work is set up as a dedicated support channel for those who want to come alongside the mission.
Across Asia: Taiwan, Myanmar, and Project Nic
Heart of Life has been dedicated to spreading the gospel in Asia since 2009, beginning in Taiwan and expanding to other Southeast Asian nations, including Myanmar. The team's approach is to teach English in schools using personal God stories, building relationships with students that continue even after the team returns home.
Each summer, Heart of Life hosts Taiwan students, placing them in host homes so they can experience American family life. The visitors also spend a week at LifeChange Camp, where they can learn more about Jesus alongside Heart of Life's own students.
In Myanmar and other Asian nations, Heart of Life partners with Project Nic to provide shelter, food, medicine, and the gospel to those in need.
Counseling at Heart of Life
The Heart of Life Counseling Center exists to support spiritual, emotional, and psychological growth. The team describes itself as clinically trained and Biblically focused, consistent with Scripture as well as current research-based clinical standards of practice.
Counseling is offered for marriages, parenting, grief, depression, anxiety, abuse, pornography, and more. Appointments are scheduled through the Counseling Pastor, Gabe Cantrell. The first appointment is typically used to review paperwork and understand goals for counseling, with later sessions focused on working toward those goals.
A Staff Rooted in the Region
The pastoral team is led by Lead Pastor Jeff Funderburk. Matt Cox serves as the Garden City Campus Pastor, and Troy Wilson serves as the Harrisonville Campus Pastor. Gabe Cantrell is the Counseling Pastor, Jason Riel is the Worship Pastor, and Shawn Gibbs serves as a Deacon and Campus Leader alongside his work with Marriage Ministry. Pam Hustad directs the Student Ministry and coordinates The Vault, and Andrea Sutcliffe coordinates HOL Kids.
Office hours at The Vault in downtown Harrisonville run Monday through Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and visitors are welcome to stop in, reach out by phone or email, or join any of the weekly gatherings at either campus to see for themselves what life at Heart of Life looks like.