About Us

Our Mission

Be the Light

We are a community of believers who seek to be the Light of Christ in a hurting culture so that the lost are found, the broken are made whole, the fatherless find hope and our city is blessed.

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Our Beliefs

What we believe serves as the foundations of why we do what we do.

Jesus is the Son of God, fully human and fully God. He lived a perfect life and offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin by dying on the cross. Three days later he rose from the dead, forever defeating death. Through faith in Jesus our sins are forgiven and we are restored before God. Jesus now reigns forever in heaven. He will come again to judge everyone who has ever lived. (John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Matthew 24:36-44)

Sin separates us all from God, leaving us lost and far from home. Jesus came as God’s only Son to redeem us when we didn’t deserve to be redeemed, suffering the consequence of our sin in our place by dying on the cross. When Jesus arose from the grave, He conquered death and made reconciliation with God possible for all who will repent and call upon His name in faith. When we turn from our sin and place our faith in Jesus as our Lord, our sins are forgiven once and for all--we are adopted into the family of God, and we become children of God! (John 1:12; Romans 5:8; John 3:16)

All those who follow Jesus are part of His Church. The Bible refers to the Church as the Body of Christ, where every member plays a role under the head, who is Jesus Himself. The Bible also refers to the Church as the Bride of Christ, and Jesus as the Bridegroom…so intimate and deep is our Lord’s love for His people. We believe the local church is the hope of the world because the Gospel of grace has been entrusted to the Church! (I Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 5:22-33)

As members of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church we are committed to the Essentials of Our Faith as laid out by the EPC. We also maintain the system of doctrine found in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

EPC Essentials

Westminster Confession

EPC POSITION PAPERS

Our Values

Core Values

Pray First

We rely upon the will and power of God's Holy Spirit to lead us.

In praying first, we submit our wills to that of the Father, even when that calls for a sacrificial or counter-intuitive decisions.

Safe Harbor

We lead with grace in every relationship.

We provide a safe environment for people in all walks of life and stages of faith to find rest, to consider the claims of the Gospel, and to experience healing from the storms of this life.

Better Together

We live out our faith in community.

We are a multi-generational, multi-ethnic family that enjoys relationships in small groups, relationships with local and global partners in mission; relationships with local schools and city officials; and relationships over a cup of coffee throughout the city.

Student Strong

We equip students of all ages to lead.

From preschool on, we invest deeply into the next generation, cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus, and entrusting students to positions of leadership and influence.

Love Generously

We love because God first loved us.

We love through tangible expressions of generosity and care that bless people and bring glory to God.

Truth Matters

We study the scriptures to discover and be transformed by the Truth.

We believe Truth is a person, and His name is Jesus.

Our Leaders

Meet the Pastors

Jim West

Lead Pastor

Jim committed his life to ministry at the age of 16 and has been serving in churches since the age of 18. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.A. in religion and received his Master’s of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. He began working in churches while a freshman at Wake Forest, and since has served congregations in North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, and South Carolina prior to coming to Colonial in 2008.

Jim is an avid outdoorsman. He loves to tell stories of his escapades on the water and on the field, and some of those stories are even true! Jim and his wife, Christy, have four kids: Levi, Jonah, Caleb, and Kylie. Next to being saved by the blood of Christ, Jim is most grateful for the opportunity to be a husband and a dad.

Greg Ealey

SKC Campus Pastor

Greg aspired to be a successful accountant which led him to get a degree in Accounting, months after graduation he realized God was calling him to count souls not beans.

Greg has a Bachelor degree in Accounting, a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Baptist Bible College. He also has over 20 years of ministry experience.

Greg realized his season was ending at his previous church, and was led to google church jobs in Kansas City for which Colonial’s South KC Campus Pastor position popped up and he inquired and the rest is history.

Greg is a Mexican food connoisseur, and likes his salsa so hot it makes him uncomfortable. If there is an off-day or simply a few minutes in between meetings, don’t be surprised to see him standing by a lake with a fishing pole in the water.

Mark Potter

OP Campus Pastor

Mark graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in 2006 and he went on to complete a Master’s of Divinity along with a Certificate in Collaborative Urban Ministry and Community Development from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City. He also completed coursework at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary before becoming ordained and installed as an Assistant Pastor of Community Transformation at Colonial in January of 2018.

Mark grew up attending Colonial and he met his wife, Emily, in the youth group. Mark and Emily were married here in December of 2005 and they now have four sons, which has led to plenty of sports, wrestling and broken lamps.

Tami Lundgren

OP Associate Pastor

What do you do when you’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years and your husband says it’s time to back to work? Go to Seminary! That’s not actually why Pastor Tami went to seminary, but it was decision that came later in life after an initial career as an Speech Language Pathologist and then staying at home. While in seminary God lit her passion for marriage ministry and you can still hear her advocate for healthy marriages just about every time she speaks. She also values small group communities and authentic relationships. She has a done a bit of everything at Colonial but is currently in charge of the marriage ministry, small groups, and women’s ministry.

Todd Weiland

Care Pastor

Todd is currently developing a new ministry that will launch in 2023 and serves as the Care Pastor at Colonial. He grew up on a farm and came to faith in Christ at a summer camp. As he grew up, he knew he wanted to help people, so he thought he would become a medical doctor. Instead, his path led him into the world of business, and eventually, Christian ministry.

Todd earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and worked for eight years in the corporate world. Later he earned a master’s degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and worked at Village Presbyterian Church in Northbrook, IL for twelve years. God called Todd to Colonial in 2005. He treasures spending time with his daughter Lauren, son Brett, son Mitchell, and his lovely wife Julie.

Nathan Edwards

Assistant Pastor Church Planting

Do you LILO? LILO is Nathan’s shorthand for his mission to help people Live In and Live Out the Good News of Jesus Christ. As Colonial's church planter for Lee's Summit, he has been a solo pastor in Baton Rouge but moved into Lee's Summit in 2020 impassioned to see gospel renewal in this growing suburb of Kansas City. Nathan is married to Becky, and they have three kids: Henry, Elliott, and Laura. In his free time, he loves movies, campfires, and planning epic roller coaster vacations.

Senior Leadership

Julien de Leiris

Executive Director of Ministry & Programs

As you can tell by the name, Julien is French. He grew up in Grenoble (in the French Alps) and in the Reformed Church. When he finished high-school he started to serve his church as a leader for Middle School groups. He graduated from Grenoble Alps University with a B.S in Management of Government and received his Master of Public Administration from the University of Paris in 1999. He has spent his career serving local governments in France and various areas of church ministry.

In 2008, in Lyon, he met Sarah who grew up in Leawood, KS and was a member of Colonial! They were married in July 2010 in France and now have two sons, Elie (like Elijah) and Timothée. Then in 2019, Julien and Sarah discerned that God was calling them to serve not only as volunteers in their church but as a professional calling, and move to Kansas City. He joined the staff at Colonial in 2021.

Matt Stinson

Executive Director of Finance & Administration

Matt has been in the accounting profession most of his career after graduating from KU with a degree in Accounting and Business Administration. He began working as a CPA in Kansas City before eventually becoming CFO of several small to mid-sized businesses. As a not so typical left-handed accountant, Matt is often in need of creative “non-accounting” activities and fun, which he can easily find through his large family, which includes his wife Stephanie, five adult children, and eleven grandchildren.

Matt and Stephanie have been members of Colonial for over 35 years, having originally met through the Colonial sponsored Ichthus campus ministry. They have served in several ministries over the years including children and youth, small groups, adult Sunday school, missions, and Matt has served as an Elder. Matt is very thankful to be able apply his God given professional skills in the Colonial family to help grow the Kingdom of God.

Riochelle Fitzpatrick

Senior Director of Human Resources

The Bible Verse that describes my life is taken from Matthew 7:7 -7:8; It reads in part. Keep on asking, and you will receive what you asked for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be open. Throughout my 25 plus years career in Human Resources leadership, I have referenced this verse daily. God has ordered my steps in providing me the blessing to continue my “encore” career at Colonial. I feel so very blessed, as I can continue to use my gifts in a strategic human resources leadership role. I have a Master of Science in Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Management. My prior HR Positions have included Corp VPHR, Senior VPHR, VPHR, Regional Director HR, and Director HR, all at the strategic level. I am passionate about helping people achieve their career goals. I am married with 3 beautiful children, 5 grandchildren and 2 grand dogs (named Skrappi and Lucy).

Randall Leonard

Senior Director of Community & Global Partnerships

After serving in many different capacities at Colonial, including Bible Study leader, Sunday School leader, Deacon Board Chair, and three terms as Ruling Elder, Randall was called to serve as Colonial’s Director of IMPACT Ministries. Ministry teams under Randall’s direction include Local Missions, Community Development, International Missions, Orphan Care, Church Planting, Foster & Adopt, and Disaster Response ministries. Randall holds a BS degree in Business Management and a BA degree in Music Performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Lay Leadership

Colonial is now accepting nominations for 2024 Officers. Members are encouraged to prayerfully consider how they can be a part of this process. Nominations can be submitted online.

Nominations form

Colonial is led by a governing group called Session. This group of ordained Elders meet each month to discern our spiritual path as a church body as well as the corporate business of the church.

Elders

The office of Deacon is said to be one of “sympathy, witness and service, after the example of the Lord Jesus.” This is a high and honorable calling as they serve to minister to the physical needs of the church.

Deacons

Locations

We are one church, two locations.

Overland Park

Sundays at 8AM, 9AM & 10:30AM

Learn More

South KC

Sundays at 10:30AM