From a Basement in Overland Park to Two Sunday Gatherings on Strang Line Road
Heartland Community Church sits on a wide stretch of Strang Line Road in Olathe, Kansas, where more than a thousand people file in each weekend for services at 9 and 10:30 AM. The building is unremarkable from the curb, but inside it is organized like a small village: a central auditorium, a coffee bar in the Atrium, a Welcome space called The Hub, a youth venue called The Dock, a flexible community room called The Garage, a study called The Lounge, and a quiet classroom wing called The Study where the senior adults meet. Everything on the property is shaped around one sentence that the pastors say constantly: Make Jesus first.
That sentence is also the simplest summary of Heartland's history. The church began in 1986 when a few dozen people gathered in the basement of a home in Overland Park to plant a church "for their friends who didn't like church." Four decades later, Heartland describes itself in much the same way. "We've been on the front row of watching God change people's lives for decades," the church says. "We've found that our most meaningful lives rely on meaningful relationships." The mission that the leaders still point to is the same one those basement planters wrote down: "To make space for building relationships to make Jesus first."
What Sundays Look Like
Two identical services are held on Sunday mornings, one at 9 AM and one at 10:30 AM, in person and online. Both stream live on the church's YouTube channel and on its website, where the sermon archive is also kept. Anyone with a smart TV or streaming device can search "Heartland Olathe" inside the YouTube app to watch on a bigger screen.
Heartland calls its Sunday gathering the most natural entry point for newcomers. The order of the morning is built around a coffee bar in the Atrium, free coffee, and a welcome team in lanyards who answer questions and direct first-time families to the Kids area. The Hub, a dedicated welcome space, is staffed before and after each service so visitors can ask anything they need. There is a 20-minute campus tour on the first Sunday of each month called First Steps, and a periodic "Dinner at Heartland" evening where newcomers hear the church's story and vision over a meal.
The teaching team is led by Dan Jacobsen, the Leadership and Teaching Pastor. Heartland teaches through books of the Bible in series that follow a long arc; a recent run through the Gospel of John produced messages such as "The Good Shepherd," "What keeps us from believing?," and "This Is Eternal Life." A weekly study guide called The Journey follows the same passages, so small groups, families and individuals can read the same texts in the same week. A conversation card is posted with each message to help people turn the teaching into practical next steps at home, at work and in their neighborhoods.
Next Generation: Birth Through High School
Heartland's next-generation ministry is built as a single, age-stepping pathway that begins the moment a child is born and ends when a high school senior walks across a stage.
Heartland Kids (Birth through 3rd grade) serves children during both Sunday services with age-appropriate rooms, large-group music, storytelling and curriculum designed to "build a foundation that lasts." Michelle Pemberton, the Heartland Kids Pastor, leads the team alongside Susan Wells (Elementary Director), Laura Buchman (Coordinator), Jonathan Stahl (Special Care Coordinator) and Jen Busch (Check-In Coordinator). Every volunteer is background checked, and rooms are secured once classes begin. Two nursing mothers' rooms are available, including one with a view of the auditorium and one near the Kids check-in desk. For children with diverse abilities, the Kids area offers a sensory room in the hallway between the Dock and the Lounge, where a family can watch the service together.
MiX (4th and 5th graders) meets on Sundays at 9 or 10:30 AM in The Lounge and is positioned as the bridge between children's ministry and student ministry. "MiX is where faith and fun collide," the church says, with activities, interactive lessons and small-group discussion. Brinna Ream, the NextGen Associate Pastor, oversees MiX alongside the rest of the NextGen team.
MOVE (6th through 8th graders) meets on Sundays at 9 or 10:30 AM on the Dock. Each week includes games, dedicated student pastors, peer discussion and small groups, plus monthly events, an annual retreat and summer camp.
MVMT (9th through 12th graders) is the most structured of the four. It meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 PM on the Dock and in the Backyard, and brings together students from more than 15 high schools across Kansas City. The night follows a set rhythm: a free home-cooked dinner, ice-breaker games, live worship led by a student band, a teaching rooted in Scripture, and small groups divided by grade and gender with background-checked adult leaders. Doors open at door 7 on the southeast corner of the building. MVMT also runs retreats, leadership trainings, summer events and summer camp, and high school students are encouraged to worship with their families in Sunday services and to serve on one of the church's volunteer teams.
Heartbeats: How Heartland Thinks About Discipleship
Heartland organizes everything it does around four "Heartbeats," described on the church's "Who We Are" page as four desires the leaders have for the people who walk through the doors.
- Help people find God. "We believe that God isn't hiding and wants to be found." Heartland's primary invitation to newcomers is to Follow Jesus through a series called Navigate, a four-week course offered on Sunday mornings that helps people take the next step on their journey with faith.
- Help people find their people. Heartland's small-group ministry is called Communities. Groups meet in homes, parks, coffee shops and on campus, and come in every shape and size, from affinity groups that gather on trails to small groups around tables. Brad Herndon, the Communities and Discipleship Pastor, leads this work. Anyone can start a community, and the church provides coaching for new leaders. Several existing communities are listed publicly: Adult Community (50+) at Heartland on Sundays at 10:30 AM in The Study; Crowded Table in Overland Park; Dads + Donuts in Olathe; F3 Heartland (a fitness, fellowship and faith workout for men) in Olathe on Wednesday mornings at 5:30 AM; Makers Community in Olathe; Men's Journey, a men's Bible study that meets Friday mornings from 6:30 to 7:30 AM at Homer's Coffeehouse in Overland Park; ROAM Adventure Community across the Kansas City metro; Tether'd In in Olathe; and the Heartland Young Adults community for people 18 to 30-ish.
- Help people make a difference. This is the volunteer and outreach heartbeat. Heartland channels this through formal volunteer teams (Creative Arts, Connections, Kids and Students, Care, Group Leaders, Young Adults) and through a set of local and global partner organizations.
- Help people make Jesus first. The other three Heartbeats are arranged under this one. "What you put first in your life determines the quality and direction of everything else," the church says. Courses like Making Jesus First (offered separately for women in the morning, women in the evening and men in the evening) walk people through a structured season of prioritizing Jesus at the center of home, work and relationships.
Care and Counseling
Heartland's Care Team describes itself as a place for "the thousands of moments, including celebration and struggle" that make up a life. Care at Heartland has three main entry points.
The first is care groups that meet throughout the year. A twice-weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting gathers on Tuesdays at 7 PM in The Garage. GriefShare, a 13-week grief recovery program, runs in seasonal sessions. DivorceCare, also 13 weeks, is offered at various times of the year. Other short-term groups address caregiving, marriage enrichment, and seasonal needs such as "Caregivers Lunch Box," a monthly lunch for people carrying the weight of caring for a loved one.
The second is the counseling program. Heartland hosts graduate-level marriage and family therapy interns from Friends University, who provide free individual, couples, family and child counseling in private rooms on campus and online across the Kansas City metro. Meghan Hemenway, the Counseling Director, oversees this program. For clients who need a professional match outside the church, Kayla Greene, the Care Director, maintains a long list of vetted clinicians and therapy practices in Johnson County, Kansas City and beyond, and the church shares its own Psychology Today article "How To Find A Therapist" as a starting point.
The third is prayer. A Prayer Team prays over email requests throughout the week, and members are available after each Sunday service for one-on-one prayer. Prayer requests can be submitted anonymously.
Heartland also offers premarital counseling, officiant services for weddings, and Better Together, a six-week course for couples who are dating, engaged or early in marriage, built around a personalized Prepare/Enrich assessment and facilitated by two Marriage and Family Therapist interns.
Local and Global Outreach
Heartland supports a long list of partner ministries, both near Strang Line Road and across the world. The leadership frames the philosophy this way: "God is at work in the world, and at Heartland, we want to partner with him by meeting the physical, spiritual and relational needs of our local and global neighbors."
Locally, the church partners with Mission Adelante, an urban ministry in Kansas City, Kansas, that works alongside immigrants and refugees with youth programs, language classes and job training, and runs the Adelante Thrift store. Gifts From the Heart supports foster families and children entering the child-welfare state. Heartland Food Pantry provides emergency short-term food assistance to Olathe families facing food insecurity, staffed by volunteers who pack and distribute grocery boxes at the church's drive-up door on Sunday mornings. The Olathe Schools partnership supports classroom volunteers, tutors, mentors, back-snack bags, and teacher appreciation through the Olathe School Foundation. A jail ministry rounds out the local network.
Globally, three long-term relationships anchor the work. A Bright Future for Kids preserves families in Ethiopia and Kenya with holistic support for vulnerable children and is supported through local events and mission trips. Colegio Mark in the mountains of western Guatemala provides education and medical assistance. Team World Vision brings together a community of runners, walkers and supporters who raise money and train together to provide clean water in Africa; weekly Saturday morning training runs gather at 6:30 AM at Heartland from mid-June through early October. Together these local and global partners are funded through a General Fund, a Food Pantry Fund and a Compassion Fund that the church asks Heartlanders to consider supporting above and beyond their regular giving.
What Heartland Believes
Heartland describes itself as modern in style and traditional in belief. Its essential beliefs are drawn from the Westminster Confession of Faith. The church affirms the Bible as the infallible, fully inspired word of God and the supreme and final authority on everything it speaks to. Heartland believes in one God, eternally existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, infinitely perfect and the sovereign creator and sustainer of all things. It teaches that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified for sins, raised bodily on the third day, ascended into heaven, and now serving as high priest and mediator. The Holy Spirit convicts, indwells, empowers, guides and seals them for the day of redemption.
On salvation, Heartland teaches that humanity is estranged from God and wholly dependent on his free grace, and that God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation. The church practices believer's baptism by immersion as a public symbol of an inner decision, and offers child dedication as a separate tradition for parents of infants. The visible church is composed of all who have saving faith in Jesus, with a local congregation as her visible expression. The church teaches the personal, visible and bodily second coming of Jesus to consummate God's eternal plan, and calls all believers to a life of self-denying love, service and disciple-making across every nation.
How Heartland Is Led
Heartland is led, under the authority of Jesus Christ, by a body of elders that the church has divided into three teams.
The Lead Pastor Team consists of co-equal lead pastors who share the responsibility of guiding the staff and ministries. Brad Herndon serves as Communities and Discipleship Pastor. Dan Jacobsen serves as Leadership and Teaching Pastor. The Lead Team is supported by the Board of Directors, which oversees the long-term organizational and financial health of the church, approves budgets, initiates audits and reviews, and provides accountability for the Lead Team. Current directors are Abby Doyle, Mark Chrislip, Eric George, Brooke Hodnefield, Mike Sears, Chad Tebbe and Ben Morrill. The Pastoral Elders serve alongside the Lead Team and Board as shepherds of the mission and community of Heartland, providing spiritual guidance, care and protection; current Pastoral Elders are John Auld, Karen Koller, Brian McBride, Denise Perkins, Kathy Plant and Darrin Plant.
Around that core, a staff of more than twenty carries the day-to-day ministry. Anna McCracken leads worship; Mike Pulgarin leads Creative Arts; Lisa Zulke directs communications; Kevin Plant coordinates video; Jen Agena coordinates media; Karina Urena coordinates digital content; Ryan Heckman manages facilities; Rod Lincoln runs sound; Steve Fisher oversees operations; Patty Johnson manages the office; Britton Gregory directs Connections; Suzette Bunselmeyer and Joy McBride handle accounting.
Generosity and Giving
Heartland describes giving as "Uncommonly Generous." The church encourages regular, cheerful, planned giving as a faith practice, and offers online giving, recurring giving, in-person giving at green boxes at the back of the auditorium and in the Atrium, and stock and crypto giving. The church's primary fund is the General Fund, which supports Kids and Student Ministries, adult discipleship, Sunday services, Care and Counseling, missional endeavors, special events, staff and the free coffee. Above-and-beyond funds include the Compassion Fund, which offers timely practical help in moments of crisis, and the Food Pantry Fund, which stocks the food pantry.
Heartland is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, undergoes an annual third-party audit that reports directly to the Board of Directors, and posts its bylaws as a downloadable PDF for transparency. Annual contribution statements are emailed at the close of the calendar year.
The Journey Study Guide and The Heartland App
Two tools connect Heartland to its people outside Sunday services. The Journey Study Guide is a weekly Bible-reading guide published alongside the current teaching series. Each week includes Scripture readings for Monday through Friday and three steps of Bible engagement (observe, reflect, apply) that walk people through reading, praying and living out what they encounter. Recent Journey series have walked readers through the Gospel of John, with weekly posts titled "What keeps us from believing?," "The Good Shepherd," "When Life Can't Get Any Worse," "Lazarus was dead to begin with," and "This Is Eternal Life."
The Heartland App, available in the Apple Store and on Google Play, carries the sermon archive, the Journey study guide, online giving, and sign-ups for courses and events. A separate Apple Podcast feed carries the sermon audio. The church also publishes The Weekly email newsletter, with separate opt-ins for KIDS News, MiX news, MOVE news, MVMT news and The Journey weekly Bible study guide.
Visiting Heartland
Heartland is at 12175 S. Strang Line Road, Olathe, Kansas. Doors open each Sunday well before the 9 and 10:30 AM services, and anyone in a Heartland lanyard can help with directions. First-time families are encouraged to arrive about ten minutes early and head for the New Family Check-In sign in the Kids area, where a team member will register the child, walk the family to the right room and answer questions. There is no formal dress code; people wear what they would wear to a coffee shop, and the welcome team serves free coffee at the Cafe. Communion is served on Sundays by the Prayer Team. A Quiet Room is available for nursing mothers and parents with little ones who need a calmer space to watch the service.
Anyone exploring baptism can fill out a short interest form on the Baptism page; baptisms are celebrated throughout the year as part of Sunday services, and Heartland practices baptism by immersion. For marriage, Heartland offers officiant services and premarital counseling for couples who want to host a wedding on site. For families with children who have special needs, Jonathan Stahl, the Heartland Kids Special Care Coordinator, is the first point of contact, and the sensory room is open every Sunday. For anyone walking through a hard season, the Care Line at (913) 341-5820, extension 330, and the email address care@heartlandchurch.org are the two confidential ways to reach the Care Team.