A Sunday Morning Home on 127th Street
Located on 127th Street in Overland Park, a suburban stretch of the Kansas City metro, Grace Fellowship Church gathers each Sunday morning around a simple description of itself: Biblical, Relational, On Mission. The congregation meets at 10201 West 127th Street in a building that has become a steady presence for families, singles, and retirees from across Johnson County who are drawn to a church that takes the core doctrines of the Christian faith seriously while leaving room for personal conviction on the non-essentials.
Worship on Sunday Mornings at 9:45
Worship at Grace Fellowship begins at 9:45 AM on Sunday mornings. The service opens with musical worship led by a team of vocalists, acoustic, bass, and electric guitars, keyboard, and drums. The time is set aside for communicating with God from the heart; some attendees sing along with the songs while others reflect quietly on the words. After the music, Lead Pastor Jason Briggs preaches a relevant, straightforward message grounded in Scripture and aimed at everyday life. Recent sermons are posted online for anyone who wants to catch up.
The congregation observes the Lord's Supper together on the first Sunday of each month. All followers of Jesus are invited to participate. Grape juice stands in for wine, and the bread and cup represent the body and blood the Savior gave so that sins could be forgiven.
Each week a financial offering is taken. Guests are not expected to give; the offering is an act of worship for regular attenders who sustain the Gospel ministry of the church. Giving can also be made online through the church's PayPal page.
A Welcoming Place for First-Time Visitors
From the moment newcomers arrive, greeters and ushers are on hand to answer questions and help families find their way. People of all ages and walks of life fill the auditorium, and seating is open; an usher can guide anyone who prefers a little direction. Slides rotating on the screen at the front announce the events and activities happening at the church.
The dress code is whatever feels right for worship. Most attenders dress "corporate casual," though many wear jeans. Parents with infants will find a Parent and Child Room just past the foyer, furnished with comfortable seating and a video feed so parents tending to fussy or nursing children can still follow along; dads are asked to give moms privacy during nursing.
Children at Grace Fellowship
Children are woven into the life of the church from the start. Those in preschool through fifth grade begin the worship service with their parents. Midway through, the pastor gives them a short message and dismisses them to Children's Church for age-appropriate lessons and activities. Children's Church runs from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM and is divided into Children's Church for ages three through first grade and Junior Church for second through fifth grade. A nursery is available for infants and toddlers during the service; parents are also welcome to keep their children with them in the auditorium.
On Mondays during the school year, Awana meets from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM for children ages three through high school. The four-part evening moves through music, team games, large-group teaching from God's Word, and handbook time, where children work to earn badges. Grace Fellowship has hosted Awana for many years and counts it as one of the ministries that defines the church's reach into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Other family traditions fill out the year. The children present a Christmas program each December, learn the joy of service by serving the adults a Love Breakfast in February, attend Vacation Bible School in the summer, and may attend summer camp at Camp Quaker Haven near Wichita for a four- or five-day stay. Each child is paired with an adult prayer partner who commits to praying for them year round.
Child safety is taken seriously. All workers and volunteers have completed a certified background check, and a detailed child protection policy is available from the Children's Ministry upon request.
Grace Garden Preschool
The church operates Grace Garden, a preschool ministry serving children ages two-and-a-half to five during the school year from September through May. Classes run Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 11:45 AM, with an extended day option until 1:00 PM. Classrooms are divided into carefully planned learning centers, and class sizes are kept to ten to twelve students so that one-on-one teaching is possible.
The curriculum weaves weekly themes, Bible stories, letters, numbers, colors, and shapes with art and music opportunities. Staff aim to encourage a love of learning and to stimulate spiritual, emotional, physical, social, and intellectual development in a way that respects each child's pace. Throughout the year, special programs and community visitors add variety to the classroom.
Doris Holthaus directs the preschool. Tuition payments are accepted online through PayPal, and registration materials for the school year are available on the church's resources page.
Youth Ministry on Wednesday Nights
Grace Fellowship's youth ministry welcomes middle schoolers (sixth through eighth grade) and high schoolers (ninth through twelfth grade). On Wednesday nights from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, students gather for a two-hour program that mixes fellowship with a deeper engagement in Scripture. Lessons build on foundational biblical truth and cover topics like prayer, apologetics, doctrine, and real-life application. Students are invited to submit anonymous questions that help shape the curriculum.
Sunday mornings offer a parallel rhythm. After the worship service ends at 11:00 AM, youth and adults head to Connection Groups from 11:15 AM to 11:55 AM, where middle school and high school students have their own Sunday school classes that dig into the Word and apply it to life as a teenager.
Special events punctuate the year: wilderness retreats, lock-ins, summer groups, and community outreach opportunities. The youth also participate in the EFCA Challenge Conference in Kansas City every two years, a week-long gathering designed for the youth of the EFCA.
Adults: Connection Classes, Small Groups, and Daily Devotionals
Connection Groups meet every Sunday from 11:15 AM to 11:55 AM after the morning service. Three classes run during the fall and spring semesters, with a break in the winter and summer months: a study of a specific book of the Bible with attention to historical and cultural context, a Marriage and Family class that draws on Christian scholars to explore Gospel-centered family life, and an Apologetics class that prepares Christians to give an account of their faith in a changing culture.
Small groups of three to four couples or single adults meet weekly in the evenings, typically in a member's home, to study Scripture together, pray for one another, and offer support. The Women's Ministry, known as The Well, hosts Bible studies, an encouragement and prayer group, and women's retreats, and gathers on the second Saturday of each month at the Flanery home for a time to listen, share, and pray. A men's study meets on the second and fourth Saturday from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM at the Hy-Vee at 135th and Antioch.
Every weekday morning from 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM, the church hosts a daily devotional over Zoom, with the password "weredevo." Anyone can join the meeting using the link on the Adults page.
A Biblical Foundation
Grace Fellowship holds to the EFCA Statement of Faith, which it identifies as the doctrinal core of the church. The church confesses belief in one God, Creator of all things, existing eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is received as the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, complete in its revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority over every area of life.
Humanity, in the church's teaching, is created in God's image but alienated from Him by sin, and only the saving work of Jesus Christ can rescue and renew. The church confesses Jesus Christ as God incarnate, fully God and fully man, born of the virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, raised bodily, and seated at the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates, indwells, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone, manifest in local congregations whose membership is composed of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Christian living, in the church's view, joins justifying grace with sanctifying power, calling believers to love God supremely and others sacrificially, to care for the poor and seek justice for the oppressed, and to make disciples among all people. The church looks forward to the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ and to the bodily resurrection and final judgment that follows.
Leadership and On Mission
Lead Pastor Jason Briggs anchors the pastoral team as the church's primary preacher. He is supported by five elders: Chet Toole, Howard Holthaus, Nathan Flanery, Pete Reitz, and Rob Hoskins. Each leader has a favorite passage of Scripture that shapes his ministry; together they exercise the spiritual oversight of the congregation.
Grace Fellowship identifies itself as a church on mission. The congregation partners with several local ministries to serve the metro Kansas City area, and visitors can find more information about these partnerships in the foyer. Globally, the church walks alongside the EFCA's Challenge Conference, the Awana ministry, and Camp Quaker Haven. The church's vision, simple and direct, is to be a biblically-centered family co-laboring with Jesus Christ, intentionally cultivating relationships to evangelize and disciple their world for God's glory.
Practical Information
Grace Fellowship Church meets at 10201 West 127th Street in Overland Park, Kansas. The church office can be reached at (913) 681-3003 or communications@fellowshipofgrace.org. Worship is at 9:45 AM on Sundays, with Connection Groups for all ages following at 11:15 AM. Sermons are available online, and giving is accepted through the church's PayPal page. During the winter months, the church posts weather-related updates online if any activities are moved online or cancelled.