On the east side of Kearney, Missouri, at 1000 East State Route 92, First United Methodist Church has built a reputation for something simple and specific. Its own tagline, Know Christ. Grow Together. Go Serve the World., sets the rhythm of everything from Sunday worship to a senior Saturday morning ministry for new parents. The congregation describes itself as "a community of unlikely friends following Jesus together," and that language of unlikely friendship runs through nearly every ministry the church offers.
Four Sunday morning services, two styles of worship, a weekday preschool, a children's ministry that runs from birth through fifth grade, a student ministry for grades six through twelve, and an outreach program that reaches from Kansas City neighborhoods to Haitian classrooms give First United Methodist a wide footprint for a church of its size. Generous guest parking near the front entrance, a sign-in desk in the lobby, and coffee and refreshments before each service set a tone that the pastors describe as casual. First-time visitors who stop at the "I'm New" sign in the lobby receive a small gift and a chance to chat with someone on staff.
Four Sunday Mornings, Two Ways to Worship
First United Methodist is unusual among Methodist churches in offering four Sunday services rather than two or three. Each one follows the same basic shape: prayer, preaching from God's word, a response through generosity, and worship in song. The difference is the music.
- 8:00 AM, Traditional. A smaller early service that uses traditional hymns.
- 9:00 AM, Modern. A full band leads current worship songs.
- 10:00 AM, Modern. A second modern service with the same band-led style.
- 11:00 AM, Traditional. The late traditional service adds a full choir to the hymns.
Both the 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM services are livestreamed, and recordings of every service are available afterward as a sermon library and as a podcast on Apple and Spotify. Recent sermon series have walked through 1 and 2 Samuel book by book and have explored what the church calls Atomic Habits - small spiritual habits like Sabbath, community, responding instead of reacting, and prayer. A weekly devotional is emailed out to walk alongside the Sunday sermon with discussion questions for small groups and families.
First Kids: Birth Through Fifth Grade
First Kids is the children's ministry for everyone from newborns through fifth grade. The nursery is open during all four services for ages three and under. Children's worship and small groups for preschool through fifth grade meet during the 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 services. When families arrive, First Kids check-in is to the right of the lobby; coffee and refreshments are to the left before heading into the sanctuary.
The children's ministry is built around small groups. Each age group has its own small group with peer leaders, so children build friendships with the same group of kids and the same adults each week. Lessons are designed to be creative, hands-on, and engaging, with the goal of giving children their first introduction to the story of God. Parents who want to know what their kids are learning can sign up for the First Kids monthly newsletter, and special events like the Third Grade Bible presentation are scheduled throughout the year.
Vacation Bible School is a hallmark of summer for First Kids. The church has run a yearly VBS for many years and plans to continue doing so.
IMPACT Student Ministry: Grades 6 Through 12
Middle and high school students are part of IMPACT Student Ministry. The name fits the vision: making an impact in students' lives, in their families, and in the wider community. The ministry's stated strategy is to combine the influence of church and home. The youth team notes that they spend about forty hours a year with a typical student while parents spend more than three thousand, so IMPACT uses the Orange strategy to partner with parents rather than replace them.
Most Sunday evenings during the school year, IMPACT meets from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM. Each gathering includes worship, games, a large-group lesson, and small-group time split out by grade level. The summer schedule shifts to service projects, camps, and special trips, including tubing trips with worship at camp, a Fall Retreat, and a Great American Lock-in that has included rock climbing in past years.
Confirmation is offered for students in grades 8 through 12. The class is built around the idea that students will eventually take the baptism vows for themselves, make a public confession of faith, and become full members of the church. The youth team asks families to talk with their students first to make sure the timing is right. Yearly permission and health forms are required for participation.
Group Life: Small Groups for Every Season
Small groups, called Group Life, are the main pathway for adults to build community at First United Methodist. The church organizes groups into four categories.
- Study Groups. Meet throughout the week to dig into biblical content, sometimes book by book (the Gospel of John has been one recent study) and sometimes through books by Christian authors like John Ortberg.
- Affinity Groups. Gather around a common interest, from pickleball to knitting blankets for newborns to exercise groups.
- Support Groups. Help people through specific struggles. Alcoholics Anonymous meets at the church on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM and is open to anyone. Other groups address addiction recovery, trauma, and grief.
- Community Groups. Built for relationships and spiritual growth. Some meet on Sundays to discuss that week's sermon; others are men's or women's groups.
Groups are listed through the Church Center app, where each member can see a directory of available groups and sign up. Many groups meet in homes, and some meet at the church.
Joyful Noise Preschool
Joyful Noise Preschool is a weekday ministry of First United Methodist and one of the more visible programs the church runs. It serves preschoolers age three through five in a hands-on, play-based environment grounded in the Project Construct curriculum, one of four early childhood curricula approved by the state of Missouri. The school follows the guiding principles of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Early Learning Goals.
The school's philosophy emphasizes active, creative, hands-on learning. Children explore art, math, science, literature, and music and movement through play and experimentation. A weekly chapel time of ten to fifteen minutes introduces an age-appropriate Bible story, a couple of songs, and prayer. Spanish lessons are part of the Pre-K classes, and Music and Movement is taught weekly.
Joyful Noise runs two tracks. Preschool classes for ages three and four meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:30 AM at a tuition of $150 per month. Pre-Kindergarten classes for ages four and five meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at a tuition of $200 per month. The school year follows the Kearney School District calendar, with the school year beginning in early September. A non-refundable $50 enrollment fee per student is due at registration.
LoveKC and LoveHaiti: Outreach Near and Far
Outreach at First United Methodist runs on two tracks. Locally, the church and its partners run a collection of ministries called LoveKC. Globally, the church runs a signature partnership called LoveHaiti.
LoveKC brings the congregation into relationships with ministries across the Kansas City area that serve vulnerable populations: the homeless, the hungry, young parents, the sick, the elderly, the incarcerated, and children of the incarcerated. Three outreach efforts are unique to First United Methodist and run through its own volunteers.
- The Gracemoor Elementary Ministry. Ongoing partnership with an underserved local elementary school.
- Garden of Eatin'. Produce grown on church property and donated to the local food pantry.
- Knit and Crochet. Hand-made hats, mittens, and prayer shawls distributed to those in need.
LoveHaiti is a partnership with Partners In Education Haiti, a nonprofit that was started at First United Methodist in 2011. The program provides educational opportunities for some of the most vulnerable Haitian families, with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty. The church has been involved with the program since its founding, and the partnership has produced many success stories over more than a decade of work.
Two regular outreach touchpoints run on a monthly rhythm. Baby Grace meets the second Saturday of each month from 9:30 to 11:00 AM at Turney United Methodist Church and supports new parents. Liberty Tree House Meal takes place on the third Wednesday of each month, when volunteers provide a meal for residents of the Liberty Tree House.
Care Ministries: Walking Through Life Together
Pastoral care at First United Methodist is handled by the pastors and a team of trained Care Ministers. They meet with individuals, couples, and families by appointment, offering a listening ear and next steps, and can connect people with mental health clinicians and outside agencies when needed.
Weddings at First United Methodist are treated as worship services. The pastors will perform weddings for any couple they are pastoring and work with families to plan the ceremony.
Funerals are coordinated through the church office. When a death is pending or has occurred, families are encouraged to contact the office so one of the pastors can support the family and help plan a service that honors the loved one.
Support ministries extend pastoral care beyond one-on-one conversations. The church hosts groups dedicated to recovery from addiction, healing from trauma, and finding hope through grief. Hosting Alcoholics Anonymous at the church on Tuesday and Thursday evenings is one of the most visible pieces of that support.
Every week, the pastoral team prays over every prayer request submitted through the church's prayer request form, whether the request is shared publicly on the prayer chain or kept confidential with the pastors.
Methodist Beliefs at the Center
First United Methodist identifies itself as part of the United Methodist tradition and states its beliefs in classical Wesleyan language. The church holds to the historic Christian confession of one God who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: distinct persons in one eternal essence. Jesus Christ is confessed as truly God and truly man, the eternal Word made flesh, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, buried, risen, ascended, and coming again. The Holy Spirit proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son, convincing the world of sin and righteousness, leading believers into the church, and guiding them into all truth.
The Bible is received as the rule and guide for Christian faith and practice, sufficient for salvation, and to be interpreted through the Holy Spirit. The church emphasizes that whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy Scriptures is not to be made an article of faith or taught as essential to salvation.
The church teaches that human beings are fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of Jesus Christ, are inclined to evil and unable, in their own strength, to do good works pleasing to God. Influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit, however, people are responsible in freedom to exercise their will for good.
Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ rather than by works or merit. The church describes regeneration as the renewal of the believer in righteousness through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and acknowledges that a believer may still depart from grace and fall into sin, and may also, by the grace of God, be renewed again in righteousness.
Two sacraments are recognized as ordained by Christ: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is understood as entrance into the household of faith, a sign of repentance and inner cleansing, and a mark of Christian discipleship; children of believing parents are received as acceptable subjects for baptism and become the special responsibility of the church. The Lord's Supper is described as a representation of redemption, a memorial of Christ's sufferings and death, and a token of love and union among Christians.
The church describes itself as called to make new disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, a mission drawn from Matthew 28:18-20 and carried out through three emphases: knowing Christ (Philippians 3:10), growing together (Matthew 18:20), and going to serve the world (Acts 1:8). The church emphasizes that the sacraments are means of grace by which God works invisibly in believers, quickening, strengthening, and confirming their faith.
The Leadership Team
First United Methodist is led by a pastoral staff supported by directors across ministry areas. Adam Mustoe serves as Senior Pastor. Wesley Spargo serves as Associate Pastor. Dale Lewis serves as Care Pastor.
Ministry directors lead specific areas of congregational life. Mitchell Buhman directs the youth ministry. Cassie Guinn directs children's ministry. Caleb Slivinski leads modern worship, and Jeremy Schneider directs traditional worship and the choir. Debbie Buzard directs outreach ministry, and Amy Irsik directs Joyful Noise Preschool.
A leadership team of elected lay leaders provides additional governance and direction for the church. Members of that team include Tiffanie Bevan, Dana Brundage, Bob Cotter, Eddie Graves, Nicolle Hamilton (Chair), Veronica McKinney, Sydney Millum, Forrest Myers, Glen Sharp, and Jay Thommason.
Staying Connected Through the Week
The church runs a regular stream of communication beyond Sunday morning. A weekly devotional by email walks through the same passage as the previous Sunday's sermon with discussion questions for small groups, families, and individuals. A monthly newsletter for parents covers what children are learning in First Kids. A separate email list for parents of students covers the IMPACT Student Ministry schedule.
The Church Center app, available on iOS and Android, ties everything together. Members of the church can sign in to find a directory of small groups, register for events, give online, and submit prayer requests. Newcomers are welcome to set up an account with a phone number.
Worship is livestreamed on Sunday mornings and remains available afterward. The sermon library is searchable by speaker, topic, and book of the Bible, and the most recent messages are released as a podcast on Apple and Spotify. The church is active on Facebook and Instagram, with a Vimeo channel for video content.
Generosity is part of how the church describes its calling. Members and visitors can give online, place a gift in the offering baskets during any Sunday service, or mail a check to the church office. The church's stated reason for giving is simple: generosity fuels the ministries of the church so more and more people can become disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
First United Methodist Church sits in Kearney as the kind of place it claims to be: a community of unlikely friends following Jesus together, with room for the next unlikely friend who decides to walk through the door.