Tucked into a residential stretch of Leawood, Kansas, Leawood United Methodist Church has gathered on West 95th Street since 1956. The congregation lives by the tagline Be Known, Belong, Be Love, a posture that welcomes newcomers alongside longtime members, families with young children, and adults looking for a Sunday school class to call their own. With more than four hundred members, the church is large enough to support a full music program and a paid staff yet small enough that first-time visitors are remembered by name the second time they walk in.
Two Sunday Mornings on West 95th
Sunday worship at Leawood UMC takes two shapes. At 9:00 a.m. the Simple Service offers forty-five minutes of praise, prayer, and reflection, a quiet re-energizer before the week begins, while children head to Sunday school. At 10:30 a.m. the Main Worship Service runs about an hour and is streamed live on YouTube and Facebook. The later service is the musical heart of the week, blending congregational singing with contributions from the organist, the praise team, the bell choir, piano, and keyboard.
Holy Communion is shared on the first Sunday of each month, and children's messages are a weekly feature. Methodist practice at Leawood is an open table: anyone who wishes to participate is welcome, regardless of age or church background.
Open Table, Open Doors
First-time guests often wonder what to wear, and the answer is whatever feels right. Dress at Leawood ranges from casual to business casual, and no one is asked to get it together before coming. Members of the Welcoming Team wear name tags and serve as greeters, ushers, and question-answerers throughout the morning. An information station in the narthex, the gathering space just outside the sanctuary, holds printed materials about upcoming events, and cookies at the south end of the narthex invite lingering before and after the service.
Two driveway entrances, one on the east side and one on the west, lead to parking close to the front of the building for first-time visitors. Anyone who prefers to skip the stairs can ride the elevator near the ground-floor entrance just west of the main door or use the handicapped access entrance on the west end of the building.
What Methodists Believe Here
The beliefs statement at Leawood leans directly on the United Methodist Book of Discipline. Members confess one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and affirm that Jesus was both human and divine, that the risen Christ lives today, and that through Christ comes forgiveness of sins and abundant life. The Holy Spirit is named as the one who comforts in need and awakens believers to God's will.
Leawood teaches that the Bible is the primary authority for Christian faith and practice, that the church is the body of Christ in the world today, and that the reign of God is both a present reality and a future hope wherever reconciliation, restoration, and healing take root. Two sacraments are practiced: Baptism, by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion at any age, and the Lord's Supper, shared at the open communion table.
Children, Youth, and the Whole Family
Children's ministry at Leawood is built around a few simple commitments: keeping children safe physically and emotionally, sharing God's love in the community and the wider world, embracing all of God's children from generation to generation, and modeling the way of Jesus in word and action. A paid, fully certified nursery team cares for children from birth through age three on Sunday mornings from 9:00 until 11:30.
Youth ministry, led by Pastor of Family Ministries Jinhee Han, treats the teenage years as a serious spiritual journey. Middle and high school students are invited into mission trips, church clean-up days, volunteer shifts with Harvesters, the regional food bank, Vacation Bible School, children's church helpers, the sound booth, acolyte and liturgist roles, Confirmation, special worship music, and seasonal events like Trunk or Treat.
Adults have three Sunday school choices at 9:00 a.m. The J.O.Y. Class, the Spirit Class, and the Women's Faith Group each meet in the building for study, discussion, and fellowship before the second service begins.
A Music Ministry with a Berghaus at Its Heart
Music has long been one of the distinguishing features of worship at Leawood. The sanctuary houses a Berghaus pipe organ that celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2022. Director of Worship Arts Melanie Melcher Cuthbertson oversees a music program that includes the Chancel Choir, the Handbell Choir, the Intergenerational Choir, and a Praise Band. Audio/Video Director Gavin Lendt also composes for the choir and orchestra, including the Advent cantata "Dawn of Hope," premiered by the Chancel Choir and orchestra in late 2025.
The music page invites new singers and instrumentalists into any of the ensembles, an open invitation to anyone who has ever thought about ringing bells, joining the chancel choir, or playing in the praise band.
Outreach and the Wider Community
Coordinator of Outreach and Discipleship Ashley Murphy helps shape the church's engagement with the wider Johnson County community and beyond. Volunteer teams partner with Harvesters to fight food insecurity, support Vacation Bible School, and join in mission trips. The Stories of Grace project gathers written testimonies of how members have seen God at work in and through the congregation, an invitation held open to anyone who has a story to share.
Congregational care is coordinated by Melissa Edman and includes prayer support. Prayer requests can be submitted online; they are kept confidential and lifted up by the staff and prayer team.
Welcome for First-Time Visitors
Leawood United Methodist Church sits at 2915 West 95th Street, Leawood, Kansas, with office hours Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The church office can be reached at (913) 648-2131 or at office@leawoodumc.org. Giving is possible in the offering plate, by mail, or online through Tithe.ly. Worship bulletins and past sermons are available for anyone who wants to follow along with the service or revisit a message from the chancel. Senior Pastor Rev Dr. Tyler Kaufmann and the rest of the staff invite visitors to settle into a pew, share in communion when it is served, and stay a few minutes longer for the cookies and conversation that are part of every Sunday morning at Leawood.