Disciples Connection - February 1

gkccampcoordinator
5 days ago
9 min read

Around the Region

Celebration of Life Rev. Ted Satterfield

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Rev. Ted Satterfield for Saturday, Feb. 14th at 11 am at Emerson Park Christian Church. (1501 S 40th St, Kansas City, KS 66106)

Pastor Ted was an amazing resource for his congregation and to the Region.

Read his full obituary here.

ALEX 2025 Yearbook Reporting is Open!

Alex reporting has opened up for all churches through March 31st.

To help support those who are responsible for submitting the reports, the region is offering the following:

The ALEX Help Center is SUPER HELPFUL - go here first with your questions. This Help Page has been greatly improved in the last 12 months.
Our www.kcdisciples.org site is updated with the reporting form. Go to Our Churches, scroll down to find the form's link.
Check back to this space by Friday, Feb. 6, for additional helpful tips.
GKC Region ZOOM calls are available weekly on Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.
ZOOM Link
This is not training, it's a highly flexible "call in as needed" to ask questions. Claudia Kauffman will be on the Zoom to help or find the resources you are needing if you are stuck.
Use the Contact Us form at the bottom of our website to submit your questions IF the ALEX Help Center does not provide the information you're looking for.

THANK YOU for all the work you do to support and nurture your church families!

Regional Minister Search Committee Update

Greetings from our Greater Kansas City Regional Minister Search Committee! We have received complete search and call materials from all candidates who have chosen to move forward in this process. We give thanks for the care, prayer, and discernment that each candidate has brought to this process.

The committee is now entering a season of careful and prayerful review. We are reading and reflecting on candidates’ responses to the essay questions, their Search and Call Profiles, and the additional materials they have submitted, including sermon recordings and introductory videos. This phase allows the committee to gain a deeper understanding of each candidate’s sense of call, leadership experience, theological grounding, and vision for regional ministry within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

This review period is centered on discernment, listening closely for the movement of the Holy Spirit, and thoughtfully considering how each candidate’s gifts align with the needs and hopes of the region that you all told us about in the listening sessions we held at the beginning of the search process. The committee is committed to approaching this work with integrity, confidentiality, and prayer on behalf of the whole church.

The next step in the process will be to identify candidates for initial interviews. These conversations will provide an opportunity for deeper mutual discernment and for the committee to learn more about candidates’ leadership style, pastoral presence, and understanding of collaborative regional ministry.

We ask for your continued prayers for the candidates and for the committee as we move forward together, trusting God’s guidance in this important season.

Blessings,

The RM Search Committee

Design our 2026 Summer

Camp Shirts!

Calling all creatives!! This year, we are enlisting the help of all designers in the Greater Kansas City area to help us create our summer

camp t-shirts.

Our summer camp curriculum is "In the Wilderness." The wilderness can inspire us and guide us, assuring us of God’s constant presence.

All are welcome to submit a design to gkccampcoordinator@kcdisciples.org in jpg or png form bySunday, March 1st.

From there we will ask our community to vote on their favorite designs.

Sponsor our Camp Shirts

This year, we are asking for the support of churches and organizations across the Greater Kansas City Region to help cover the cost of our summer camp shirts. In an effort to keep our camp registration fees accessible, we are asking for help from our community. With a donation of $100 your church or organization name will be featured as a summer 2026 camp sponsor on the back of our shirts.

This is a great way to support the youth and children's ministry in our Region!

If you or your church would like to be a sponsor, please mail a check payable to "Greater KC Christian Church" with "2026Shirts" on the memo line to the Regional Office at Merriam Christian Church, 9401 Johnson Dr., Merriam, KS 66203.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our camp and Conference Coordinator, Kylie Graham.

Thank you to Rev. Money

Rev. Money donated his robes and stoles to the Greater KC Christian Church Disciples of Christ Regional Office.

If you would like any of the stoles pictured below, please reach out to the Regional Office by email or phone at (913) 432-1414.

Purple (Violet): Represents penitence, royalty, and preparation; used for Advent (waiting) and Lent (penance before Easter).

White/Gold: Signifies purity, joy, light, and glory; used for Christmas, Easter, and other major feasts.

Red: Symbolizes God's love, the blood of Christ, fire, and martyrdom; used for Pentecost, Holy Week, and feasts of martyrs.

Upcoming Regional Events

Volunteers Needed - Regional Office “Closet Cleaning”

If you like to do any of the following: organize, straighten up, sort, throw out - the Regional Office has a whole room that needs your help.

When: Thursdays in February Any 2-hour (or longer) timeframe from 10 am to 3 pm

Who: YOU and a friend or two

Where: Merriam Christian Church 9401 Johnson Dr, Merriam KS 66203

Why: The basement office needs cleaning out! There are oodles of office supplies and books to organize for donation to our regional churches. And there are files to go through and sort too.

How: Please call Office Manager Claudia at 913-432-1414 and leave a message if you’re interested!

Greater Legacy Society Launch

Sunday, February 22nd, 2:30 pm at Country Club Christian Church

All Greater Kansas City Disciples are invited to join us for the launch of our new Regional Endowment Fund we are calling the Greater Legacy Society. This new partnership will allow individuals to consider ways they can leave a legacy for our Regional Ministry to continue well beyond our lifetimes.

This in-person launch will be a social gathering to hear more about the work of the Region and ways we can all invest in our shared future. Disciples who love the Church can participate with outright and blended gifts. Kirby (Gould) Hughes of the Christian Church Foundation will be present to answer questions around estate planning and including your congregation/ Region in that planning.

All givers who participate by the end of March 2026 will be named as Charter Members of this new Society. Please join us for an hour as together we celebrate the ongoing ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Greater Kansas City.

Much gratitude to our Task Force members who have developed our Gift Policy and Endowment Policy and are hosting this event: Ashley Cheung, Kirby Hughes, Rick Hueghy, Vicky Kumorosky, Ron Routledge, and Lem Whitmer.

Job Opportunity: Children's Ministry Director at Living Water Christian Church

Living Water Christian Church is currently seeking to hire a part-time Children's Ministry Director. Please see the ministry description below. Send resume to:

Pastorfred@livingwaterchristian.org

Primary function: to oversee children’s ministry (birth-5th grade) at LWCC and recruit, train, and develop a growing volunteer children’s ministry team

Reports to: Fred Herron & LWCC Council

Responsibilities:

1. To oversee children’s ministry at LWCC

2. To develop a strategic plan and outreach for children’s ministry which implements the vision, mission, and goals of LWCC

3. To recruit, train, and develop a volunteer team for children’s ministry

4. To implement creative children’s curriculum

5. To partner with families to raise children to love God and follow Jesus

6. To manage children’s ministry budget and facilities

Hours and pay will be negotiated

Educational Opportunities

Community Listening for Church Growth Webinar Series

In this three-session webinar, you will learn how to grow as a connection-rich congregation where everyone can make a friend and no one goes through life's hardest moments alone.

Each webinar includes times for discussion to explore how community listening applies in your specific ministry, and to identify practical next steps you can take.

Led by Ministry Consultants Joy Skjegstad and Heidi Unruch with KC's Associate Regional Minister for New Church, Rev. Amy Shoemaker. Joy and Heidi team up to help churches make God's love and justice visible through creative ministry, especially in ways that put relationships at the center. They co-authored the book Real Connections: Ministries to Strengthen Church and Community Relationships (Judson Press, 2021). Amy is excited to be joining Joy and Heidi to bring these crucial skills to the KC Disciples.

The Art of Dialogical Preaching

February 3 | 6pm CT

Led by the NSP Nightingale Cohort #1

When we hear the word sermon, we often imagine pulpits, platforms, and a single voice.

But what if we imagined tables instead? Living rooms. Circles. Communities. Many voices. Many interpretations.

Join us as we explore preaching not as monologue, but as collective—reimagining the homiletical moment as a shared, dialogical practice.

Dialogical Preaching: A Conversational Reclamation

February 10 | 6pm CT

Led by the NSP Nightingale Cohort #2

When life brings lemons, it doesn’t always bring the rest of the ingredients for lemonade.

This showcase features a facilitated conversation on reclaiming power amid grief, transition, and uncertainty—exploring what it looks like to hold both the weeping that endures the night and the courage required to move toward morning’s joy.

2026 Faith and Justice Summer Academy

At a moment when authoritarian movements are gaining ground and democratic norms are eroding both at home and abroad, we believe that moral and courageous faith leadership is needed more than ever.

Since 2022, the Center on Faith and Justice has run a Summer Academy program designed specifically for pastors, seminarians, graduate students, and those serving in ministry at the intersection of faith and public life. The program equips participants with a faith-based vision and practical skills for effective civic engagement, advocacy, and nonviolent civil resistance.

It serves as a bridge between academic theology and public prophetic witness and brings together participants across the diverse traditions and theologies of Christianity.

In addition to immersive experiences like congressional office meetings and engagement with members of Congress on Capitol Hill, participants will have workshops on a range of topics oriented around faith leadership and public life, rooted in the liberative tradition of faith-based advocacy and nonviolent resistance.Together, these experiences equip leaders to confront the forces of division and despair with a resilient, justice-oriented faith.

The in-person summer academy will be held June 14-18, 2026. The program cost is $3000, which includes all meals, lodging, and activities.

For more information about the Summer Academy, including how to apply, please visit the Academy website: https://www.faithandjusticeacademy.com/

DCEF Green loans

Whether your place of worship is lacking adequate insulation or its heating systems are out of date, Disciples Church Extension Fund can help your community of faith—no matter if it’s a congregation, camp, seminary, or regional ministry—ensure that is facilities are warm this winter.

Receive up to $150,000 in renovation loans to:

Replace or repair drafty windows and doors
Rewire or weatherproof structures including sanctuaries, fellowship halls, dining halls, cabins, and more
Improve operations that contribute to increased energy-efficiency

Contact Jim Michel, our Building and Capital Services Advisor, about how your faith community can become environmentally friendly.

Save the Dates

Spiritual Care Volunteers

The University of Kansas Health System is seeking compassionate lay leaders and clergy to volunteer with our Spiritual Care Team. We would love if you would forward this to your ministry colleagues and lay leaders.

We train our Spiritual Care Volunteers to offer a listening ear, devotional materials, or perhaps a prayer to our patients—depending on each of their unique preferences and needs. This helps extend care to patients within our Health System, allows Staff Chaplains to provide more focused care for the most critical among us, and enriches the lives of our Volunteers who better align their faith with action. At this time, we are especially looking for volunteers to serve at our KCKS Campus at 39^th and Rainbow, our Olathe Campus (formerly Olathe Medical Center), and a couple of smaller outpatient clinics.

The next Spiritual Care Volunteer Orientation will take place on the morning of

Friday, March 6.

There are some small onboarding steps to complete prior to attending the orientation. Thus, RSVPs are required. Anyone interested can RSVP or ask questions by emailing jstegner@kumc.edu. We’ll then send more pertinent details for that day directly to them.

We are excited to collaborate more effectively with other members of the KC Metro community of faith in caring for our friends and neighbors.

Thank you for your continued support of our patients, and the compassion you bring to Kansas City.

With gratitude,

Chaplain Jeff Stegner, M.Div, BCCC

The University of Kansas Health System

4000 Cambridge St.

Kansas City, KS 66160

Office: 913.588.3277

Registration Now Open for Lead(HER) 2026: Empowering Female Clergy

Lead(HER) brings together female clergy from across denominations for two and a half days

of worship, practical skill-building, and authentic community. The expanded 2026 format includes Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon programming, responding to attendee feedback emphasizing the importance of connection and networking among clergywomen.

"For women, by women. Celebrating women. Healing women. Strengthening and encouraging women in their leadership, their ministry, and their lives."

Learn more and Register