Getting to know Casey Teater, our new Children's Ministry Director!

We are so excited to be adding our very own Casey Teater to the team as our new Children’s Ministry Director!

Casey is married to Troy and they have 5 kids (4 girls and 1 boy), ranging in age from 9-20. As a family, they enjoy competitive game nights (anything from trivia to Uno) and relaxing movie nights. Personally, Casey enjoys gardening, reading, and taking crafting classes.

Casey and her family have been regularly attending Grace for more than 10 years now. During that whole time, Casey has been serving in the full scope of the GraceKids ministry - from nursery to Sunday school to Awana - in a variety of roles - from helping with check-in to being a helper and a teacher and a director. There is always a lot to learn when starting a new job, but Casey is coming into this new role with a load of valuable experience and an understanding of how the various branches of GraceKids operate.

Casey’s journey to taking this position was one that required deep trust. For nearly the last year, Casey has felt God telling her that He had something else in store for her. She initially inquired about the office administrator job, but felt God close that door. Then she inquired about the Executive Director of Ministries job, but again felt God close that door.

Yet the feeling was still there - that God had something else in store for her.

Then the Children’s Ministry Director position came open and Casey finally felt confirmation that this was what God had in store. It was a scary step in faith to take this job, but Casey could tell God was telling her to do it. (And we are glad she listened!)

Casey is thankful to be stepping into a thriving GraceKids ministry. She is excited to continue the good work of grounding our kids in God’s love and His truth, while exploring opportunities to take this ministry to the next level. Leading the team of awesome volunteers will be a big part of Casey’s job and she is really looking forward to getting to build relationships with the volunteers who make GraceKids happen.

We are thankful to God for providing for our need of a new Children’s Ministry Director with such a good fit from within our own church family. Please join us in welcoming Casey to the church staff, and please pray for her as she dives headfirst into a busy season of recruiting volunteers and planning for the start of the new year in just a few short weeks.

If you are interested in joining Casey’s team and being part of what God is doing through GraceKids by volunteering to serve in nursery, kids Sunday school, or Awana for this coming school year, please let us know through the Connect With Us button.

By serving in one of the available spots, you would be such a big blessing to Casey and to our church as you help lead the younger generations to love God, love people, and lead others to do the same!

5 Things We Want You To Know about Juli as XDM

We are thankful to announce that our very own Juli Dirks has accepted the new role of Executive Director of Ministries! In the wake of this news, here are 5 things we want you to know about Juli taking this new role:

1. Juli’s title will be Executive Director of Ministries

   As the Executive Director of Ministries (XDM), Juli will help to communicate, mobilize, and implement the vision for our church as given by the Elders at Grace. Hers will be a vital role in bringing unity to the many ministries happening under the Grace Community Church umbrella. For more details on her specific job description, check out this page.

2. This has been a long, thorough process

   Our elder board has been talking for years about an executive pastor, but the search began in earnest during fall 2017. Over the course of numerous months, the search team received many resumes and interviewed a number of candidates, but none of them felt like the right fit for one reason or another. Then, in fall 2018, the search team and the elders reevaluated our needs and felt God leading us to consider the possibility of an executive director. Once we expanded the search to include executive director candidates, we received 12 applications. From those 12, we identified and interviewed our top 3. From those, Juli clearly rose to the top. The search team then recommended Juli to the Elders, who had their own interview with her.

3. The Elders are unanimous in their support of this decision

   After interviewing Juli, the Elders reached the joyful and unified conclusion to offer Juli the position of Executive Director of Ministries (which we are so thankful she accepted!). Through interviewing Juli, it became obvious to the Elders that she is gifted with organizational skills and that she has a humble servant’s heart. Hiring Juli for this position is the culmination of many hours of prayer and discussion, earnestly seeking God’s will for our church.

4. We believe God has called Juli to this position at this time in the life of our church

   At the same time God was taking our church on a journey to be ready to receive Juli in this role, He was taking Juli on a journey to prepare her to take this role. Over the last 18 months, God has been revealing to Juli that He wants her to move from being a “manager of doers” to a “leader of leaders.” It wasn’t until one search team meeting when the question was raised, “Is there someone already in our church who God has gifted to fill this role?” that Juli began to wonder if this was the new role that God had been preparing her for. And, as it turns out, we believe it is! We are so thankful for the way God has provided for our needs, and that He did it from within our own church family.

5. GraceKids is in good hands

   Juli’s first day as XDM is tomorrow, March 1st. That leaves us temporarily without a GraceKids Director, but we are confident that because God moved Juli into a new role He will also bring in someone who will take GraceKids to the next level. In the meantime, Juli’s team of leaders will take up some extra responsibility and the awesome team of volunteers will remain in their roles. Meanwhile, Juli and her search team will be accepting resumes, interviewing candidates, and praying that God brings the right person to be the next GraceKids director in His good timing.

If you missed last Sunday’s service - or simply want a refresher - you can watch the video below to hear more details about the process, the job, and how God has been at work throughout from several of our elders and Juli herself:

Finally, we want to thank you, church, for praying through this process over the last 18 months. Although the journey to get to this point was unexpectedly long, we can clearly see how God was at work preparing both Juli and us as a church for this next season of ministry. We are grateful to our good and loving Father for His wise provision!

Ultimately, it is our prayer that God’s kingdom would grow as a result of Juli’s ministry as our Executive Director of Ministries. Would you join us in that prayer?

Introducing Julie Marshall as Office Administrator!

We are excited to introduce Julie Marshall as our office administrator! Julie’s first day in the office will be January 2. Since Julie will be the new friendly face of the office, we wanted to give you the chance to get to know her a little bit.

Julie and Brad Marshall have been married for almost 8 years. They have a Brady Bunch-type family with 6 kids: 3 boys and 3 girls, from ages 27-17. They are very much a basketball family - most of their free time is spent watching 3 of their kids play (2 in college, 1 in high school).

Julie has been attending Grace for most of the last 13 years. Together, Julie and Brad serve on the worship team, at the Connection Desk, and at the annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner. They are also involved in a Community Life Group and enjoy attending other Grace events like Christmas Caroling (hope to see you there this Sunday!).

Julie is coming to us after 13 years of working as a dental assistant at Tippin Dental Group. She thoroughly enjoyed her time there assisting Dr. Andy Friesen. She felt the Lord telling her it was time for a change, and she is excited to take on this new challenge.

As the office administrator, Julie will be serving as the front door to the church by answering the phone and greeting people as they come to the office, while also supporting the staff and maintaining the functions of the office.

While serving the church in this way, Julie is excited to expand her skill set, to support the staff, and to get to know the Grace community. She invites you to grab coffee and come sit at her desk and chat!

Summer Quest 2018 recap

Executive Pastor Update

Our most recent candidate for Executive Pastor has declined the position offer. Good news: his three reasons had nothing to do with our church family, and he made it a point to emphasize that his only regret was not being able to work with our church staff. We took this as great encouragement. We will regroup later in the summer and keep you all informed. We pray, "Give us wisdom and clarity. And no matter what, may Your will be done." Thanks for your prayers church family.

Pastor Jack

Praying His words from your heart for our church

Father, based on Your Gospel of grace and Your amazing love and compassion, make Grace Community Church prosper and be in good health just as our souls prosper (3 John 2).  Lead us away from temptation and deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13).  Make our hearts like good soil so that we would receive Your Truth and it would bear fruit in our lives (Matthew 13:23).  Put Your laws in our hearts, and write them on our minds (Hebrews 10:16).  Help us to grow in wisdom and stature and favor with You and with men (Luke 2:52).  

Bless us and keep us. Make Your face to shine upon us, and be gracious to us. Lift up Your countenance toward us and give us peace (Numbers 6:24-26).  Equip us with everything good that we may do Your will. Work in us that which is pleasing in Your sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever (Hebrews 13:20-21).  Enable us to live a life worthy of Your calling. Give us the power to accomplish all the good things our faith prompts us to do (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

Bring people to Grace who will love us and grow with us for a life-time, serving in one spirit (Philippians 2:2).  Send out our people to share Your gospel and lead others to follow You (Matthew 9:37-38). May our elders and pastors be blessed by us, and be a blessing to us (Hebrews 13:17).  Use each Grace facility as a house of prayer that will forever change the Newton area for Your Kingdom (Isaiah 56:7).  Gift the worship and tech teams by Your Spirit to move our hearts to worship, and reach the hearts of those who are separated from You (Acts 17:26-27).  Use us to spread a passion for Jesus, and a joy in Jesus through creative arts. 

Start a revival in Newton and Kansas that will echo through the rest of our Nation.  Move within the schools and universities.  Reach young people through Loren and Juli and their leaders. Bless Igniter and our GraceKids ministry with wisdom, protection, and a heart for planting gospel seeds.  Put a hedge of protection around each child that is under our care.  Send your angels to minister and protect where we are unable or unaware.  Be a father to the fatherless, and a defender to the widow (Psalm 68:5).

Please give believers peace in our communities so they would not be hindered from sharing the Gospel and loving their neighbors.  Give the governing officials wisdom and concern for religious liberty so that the next three generations would be free to share the Gospel and send missionaries to other nations and peoples (1 Timothy 2:1-6).  Give every pastor of every Bible-believing, Jesus-following church the power of your Holy Spirit so that Your Kingdom would grow (Acts 4:29-31).  

Please forgive us for our evil and adulterous ways (James 4:2-4). Send us revival from Your Spirit so that none among us will die in our sins (John 8:24).  May the latter days of Grace Community Church and Kansas be greater than the former (Ecclesiastes 7:8).  Please do above and beyond what we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21).

In Jesus name,

Amen.