WCCC Is a Mission Church
White Church Christian Church and the White Church School was originally established as a mission to the Delaware tribe (also known as Lanape or Leni-Lanape). The Methodist missionaries who worked with the Delaware chiefs were also associated with the leaders of the mission to the Shawnee tribe in what is now Johnson County. Moses Grinter established a ferry on the bend of the Kaw River, making communication and travel between Johnson and Wyandotte County possible. Mr. Grinter and his wife Anna also helped establish a school and church near the present day Stony Point South elementary school and Stony Point Christian church.
The mission partnership established between the missionaries and the native tribes focused on education for the children, church life including worship and evangelism for all, and helping people with practical needs. The Delaware and Shawnee tribes were survivors from the Trail of Tears. Many of their family had died on the forced march. They were exhausted and hungry when they first came to the “Indian Territory” that is now Kansas. The survivors needed food, clothing, shelter and other necessities. They were accomplished farmers and began clearing fields and planting crops.
The mission of the White Church has continued to focus on worship and evangelism, education, and meeting needs. In recent years the church hosted “The Growing Place,” a day care center and preschool. I have met people who have good memories of their time at the learning place from forty or fifty years ago. And the church also hosted an after-school program for the kids from the White Church School.
Our community has gone through many changes in recent years. The White Church Elementary School closed when Lowel Brune Elementary opened. The Alfred Fairfax High School moved into the building. The Growing Place was hit by a loss of students during the Covid pandemic and difficulty finding teachers, and it closed last year.
There are still needs in our community. We host Piper Senior Citizens, TOPS weight loss support group, Christian Women’s Fellowship, and a Coffee Klatch group. Recently we have begun hosting the Primary Purpose chapter of AA, which is meeting an important need in our city.
Our main mission is still telling our neighbors of God’s love for them and teaching how they can experience the love, joy, and peace that God gives to those who open their lives to his presence. My wife Sonja is teaching a Children’s Sunday School class and children’s church during the worship hour. The kids are excited about what they are learning and look forward to Sunday, and some of the moms are happy they can enjoy the worship hour knowing their kids are in good hands