Grace Presbyterian Church sits on Calvin Drive in Lawrence, Kansas, within easy reach of the University of Kansas. The church began in June 1988 as a mission congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, with Bill Vogler called as its first pastor in September 1989. In April 1990 the group was constituted as a particular church with about 50 worshipers and its first elders elected. After Pastor Vogler's retirement in October 2021, George Boomer was called as the congregation's second pastor in May 2022. Today Grace is a worshiping community of approximately 500, including children and university students, served by seven full- and part-time ministry staff along with four support staff.
Grounded in the Westminster Standards
Grace anchors its identity in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The congregation understands itself as a particular people of God shaped by the Reformed reading of Scripture, whose chief end is to glorify the triune God and enjoy Him forever. The mission of the visible church is to be the body of Christ, and the local congregation's task is summarized in Jesus' great commission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all that He has commanded.
Four values frame the congregation's life. They value the worship of God through liturgy and the gospel of grace. They want people young and old to know and love God. They believe the gospel is best understood and lived out in community. And they hold out freedom, not legalism, as the air the church breathes, a community of people who love God from the heart and seek to live upon His grace.
Sunday Morning: Liturgy, Scripture, and Song
Sunday worship at Grace gathers at 10:15 in the sanctuary. The order of service moves from God's holiness to the congregation's need, on to forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ, then to Word and Sacrament, and finally to being sent out to bear witness. Scripture readings, historic creeds, prayers, catechism questions, and a steady diet of hymns and songs carry the service. A printable Order of Worship is posted online each week so visitors can follow along ahead of time.
Congregational singing holds a central place. The church teaches that the cumulative effect of believers singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs over many years is to strengthen faith, increase joy in worship, and please the God who delights in His people. A Spotify playlist of songs used on Sundays is shared for visitors who want to listen ahead of time.
Sunday School for all ages runs from 9:00 to 10:00, September through the first week of December and again January through the first week of May. Adult classes rotate through biblical survey, theological topics, worldview studies, and financial stewardship, while a College Sunday School class brings together students served by three campus ministries for breakfast, Scripture, and discussion. The fall 2026 offerings include a six-week Grace 101 membership class taught by elders, a study on aging well from Psalm 92, and a survey of the first-century Roman background to the New Testament.
Grace Kids: Sunday School, Children's Church, Catakids, and Choir
Grace Kids is treated as an all-church calling. On Sunday mornings during the school year, children from infants through fifth grade gather for Sunday School, then into Children's Church during the 10:15 service. Infants through preschoolers go directly to their classrooms. Kindergarten through fourth graders begin in the sanctuary with their parents and are dismissed about 25 minutes in for a large-group Bible lesson from The Gospel Project for Kids, then break into small groups by grade. The infant through preschool rooms work through the Bible in three years, with storytelling, songs, games, and crafts calibrated to each age band.
On Wednesdays, Children's Choir meets from 5:15 to 6:00 with rhythm, melody, harmony, and old hymns. Catakids runs from 6:30 to 7:30, using a children's version of the Westminster Catechism in a question-and-answer format, paired with team-based community time. Family Dinner Nights in September, October, and November move the kids into their own dining rooms at 6:00, where Team Leaders pick them up at 6:25.
Safety is built into the program. Every volunteer and paid caregiver completes a background check and training in first aid and child protection. A two-person rule keeps children out of one-on-one situations with non-custodial adults, and the Realm secure check-in system makes sure children are released only to designated adults. A nursing mothers' room is open during all church events.
The Sunflower Program for Children with Disabilities
The Sunflower Program is Grace's ministry to children with unique needs and their families. Dedicated caregivers and an on-site sensory room give the program space to work, and Children's Ministry staff spend time getting to know each child before pairing them with a one-on-one aide. Parents are then trained alongside teachers to support their child's specific needs, and volunteers can serve alongside a friend during Sunday services or Wednesday nights.
Youth of Grace: YoG Nights, Retreats, and Mission Trips
The Youth of Grace reaches students from middle school through high school. Wednesdays bring YoG Nights filled with singing, teaching, and small-group discussion broken into Middle School Boys, Middle School Girls, and High School groups led by volunteer leaders. Sunday mornings add a parallel round of Sunday School during the school year.
Two retreats are staples. Reality Weekend is the fall high school retreat, held at the church and around Lawrence, with worship, small groups, a guest speaker, games, and a community service component. The Spring Retreat takes middle schoolers to YouthFront in Edgerton, Kansas, for an overnight weekend of worship, prayer, small groups, and biblical instruction.
Summer brings two mission trips. The VBS Mission Trip for seventh through ninth graders runs a week of serving the church's own Vacation Bible School by day and camp at Chihowa Retreat Center by afternoon, finishing with a Thursday at Worlds of Fun. The St. Louis Mission Trip for ninth through twelfth graders partners with New City Fellowship (PCA) and pairs youth with a student for tutoring in the morning, sends teams out for service projects in the afternoon, and runs evening Bible clubs in a local park.
College Ministry on the Hill
With the University of Kansas next door, Grace has invested in being a church home away from home for students. Three campus ministries meet weekly at KU and bring their students into the life of Grace. Reformed University Fellowship meets Thursdays at 7:00 PM in the Capital Federal Building, room 2001. Navigators meets Thursdays at 7:00 PM in Wescoe Hall, room 4047. Cru meets Wednesdays at 7:00 PM in Stauffer-Flint, room 100. Students who need a ride from campus to Grace can arrange one through the campus ministry staff.
Women's Ministry: Know God, Get Connected, Be Equipped
Bible study is the cornerstone of the women's ministry at Grace. Studies run on a nine-month cycle, Fall from early September to early December and Spring from January to early May, offered at six different times throughout the week so that women can pick the one that fits. Thursday mornings include childcare. Every five years, the women of Grace read through the whole Bible together in a Read Through Year; the 2026-27 read-through is titled Rehearsing Our Story and traces the one story of God's covenant love from Genesis to Revelation.
A men's-ministry podcast, prayer groups, meal ministry service, and connection groups (a Game Group, Coffee Group, Walking Group, and Play Group with Littles) round out the women's ministry. Annual touchpoints include a Christmas Tea, summer book clubs, and a spring women's conference.
Men's Ministry: Bible Studies, Hikes, and F3
The men's ministry centers on Bible study, with eight recurring weekly options: Mondays at 6:30 AM in the South Lobby, Tuesdays at 7:00 PM in Room 7, first and third Tuesdays at 7:00 PM in Room 5, alternating Wednesdays at 6:30 PM at the Harvat's Barn in Eudora, alternating Thursdays at 6:00 AM at Zebs in Eudora, Fridays at 6:30 AM in Room 16, first and third Fridays at Flory Design, and Saturdays at 7:00 AM at the church. Morning Prayer adds two weekly slots, Tuesdays at 6:30 AM in the sanctuary and Wednesdays at 6:30 AM in Room 5.
Each fall the men take a multi-day hiking trip to the Colorado mountains. Other touchpoints include quarterly breakfasts, an annual Dadventure, and a summer fish fry. The ministry also partners with F3, the Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith outdoor workout movement, which meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in Lawrence.
20s & 30s, Prayer, and Life Groups
Anyone single or married beyond their undergraduate years is invited to the 20s & 30s Bible Study, which meets on the first and third Monday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at a home in Lawrence.
Prayer is woven through the week at Grace. Tuesdays at 6:30 AM gather anyone for prayer in the sanctuary. Wednesdays at 6:30 AM gather men in Room 17. Wednesdays at 7:00 AM gather women on Zoom. A weekly prayer email goes out on Fridays, with requests received by Thursday noon included in that week's edition.
Life Groups are the small-group backbone of the church, informal gatherings of eight to twelve people who meet in homes a couple of times each month for study, conversation, encouragement, and fun. Anyone looking for a group can fill out a Life Group interest form or contact the connections coordinator.
Mercy Ministries Across Lawrence
The Mercy ministry extends the mercy of Christ to neighbors across the community. Grace partners with Freedom Home on the first Saturday of each month to provide a meal, prayer, and conversation to Lawrence neighbors who are homeless. Grace teams up with the Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging to provide respite care on Tuesdays and Fridays for caregivers of people in the early stages of dementia or Alzheimer's. On the second Sunday of each month, volunteers lead a worship service for residents at Meadowlark Estates.
Two support groups are housed at Grace. GriefShare is a thirteen-week, biblically based grief support program. Celebrate Recovery meets Thursdays from 6:15 to 8:00 PM, providing a Christ-centered path through hurts, habits, and hang-ups for anyone willing to be honest about their pain.
Angel Tree, a ministry of Prison Fellowship, works year-round at Grace to keep children connected to their incarcerated parents, through a Back to School supply drive and event in August and the Angel Tree Christmas gift delivery in December. Grace also supports Safe Families for Children, the Kansas chapter working to keep children safe and families together through host families and volunteers during times of crisis.
Missions: Local, National, and Across the World
The missions ministry seeks to join God as He fulfills His promise to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to establish disciple-making churches among them. Locally, Grace partners with Insight Women's Center in Lawrence and Young Life in Douglas County. At the University of Kansas, the church supports missionaries with Cru, Navigators, and InterVarsity. Globally, Grace supports missionaries with Cru in Spain and San Diego, the Jensens with Mission to the World in Nagoya, Japan, the Puttcamps with Global Outreach in Mississippi, the Mayes with the Navigators at KU, and others serving in undisclosed locations, including several families on church planting and campus ministry teams.
Worship Resources, the Directory, and Giving
Order of Worship bulletins are posted each week under the Worship Resources section of the church's site. Past sermons are stored in an archive that can be searched by speaker and series, including the long-running Acts series and the Ezra & Nehemiah series. The sermon podcast is also available through Apple Podcasts.
Members can access the church directory through Realm, the secure online platform that handles giving, event registration, volunteer sign-ups, and the children's check-in system. Visitors who want to support the church financially can also give through Realm on the giving page.
Leadership
The pastoral staff is led by George Boomer, Lead Pastor, and includes Tyler Clements (Associate Pastor of Youth & Worship), Ryan Mayo (Associate Pastor of Christian Education & Worship), and Mark Winton (Associate Pastor of Men's Ministry & Mercy). Lindsay Clements serves as Women's Ministry Director and Connections Coordinator. Jenny Lichte serves as Children's Ministry Director, with Corey Snyder as Children's Ministry Coordinator and Ashton Bartlett as Youth Ministry Coordinator.
The Session, the congregation's elders, includes Phil Oberzan (Clerk), Michael Boulton, Larry Burmingham, Trent Flory, Don Griffin, Kevin Hinegardner, Todd Koch, Mark Lange, Jason Lichte, Clay Phillips, Scott Rask, Darby Ritter, and Mike Wuthrich. Several are currently on sabbatical.