St. Paul’s Church of the Nazarene had its beginning on January 5, 1947, in a store building at 3911 East 27th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. At that time there were only two Nazarene churches in the Kansas City, MO area – First Church and Grace Church. After seeking God’s leading, a Sunday School class of young people from First Church helped get the church started.
Attendance grew steadily and on Easter Sunday evening, April 6, 1947, Dr. Jarrett Aycock, district superintendent, opened the charter, naming the organization Calvary Nazarene Mission. Rev. S. Frank Moss was appointed as pastor.
Soon the young congregation needed a larger facility. Pastor Moss discovered that St. Paul’s Lutheran Church at 2908 Indiana was for sale. He stood in the doorway of the building and prayed that if God was willing for the church to be established on the east side, that they would be able to purchase the church. After negotiations were made, they started worshipping at the new location in June 1947. By September 1947, the name was changed from Calvary Nazarene Mission to St. Paul’s Church of the Nazarene.
Rev. Moss resigned in May 1950 and Rev. J. W. Ellis became the pastor. He served through June 1952, during which time the church membership continued to grow. On July 13, 1952, Rev. Jack Lee became the pastor. The church continued to grow rapidly. A parsonage was purchased at 4035 Hardesty and the building on Indiana was sold and property purchased at Cleveland and Van Brunt. The people served sacrificially and in 1956 the building was ready for occupancy.
Rev. Jack Lee resigned in July 1959 and Rev. Paul McGrady became pastor. He was named “Mr. Optimist” and “Mr. Enthusiasm.” This attributed to a significant rise in membership and attendance. Rev. McGrady resigned in June 1962 to join the faculty at Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University).
Rev. Howard Borgeson became our pastor in June 1962 and served faithfully until May 1985. Under his direction, the church sold the property at Cleveland and Van Brunt and purchased a lot at the corner of Blue Ridge and East 80th Terrace. Again, our people sacrificed many hours of labor under the wise direction of Rev. Borgeson and we moved into the new church on March 19, 1970, with a lot of finishing touches to be done. The new building was dedicated April 15, 1973.
Rev. D. L. Huffman became the pastor in December 1985. Under his faithful, dedicated leadership, the church was able to enlarge the facility by adding four rooms on the west side of the gym as well as additional parking space. During this time, we reached new families through the CARE ministry.
Rev. Huffman resigned in January 2002 and Rev. Rob Kazee served until May 2004. Rev. Caleb Reynolds became the pastor in June 2004 and served until November of 2011. He was followed by Rev. Matthew Zimmer who served until December 2014.
Rev. Jeffrey Fletcher became our pastor in November 2015 and served until April 2019. It was during this time that we installed a completely new kitchen, a new gym floor, and new carpeting.
Rev. Rebecca Jones and Rev. Dr. Levi Jones served as Co-Lead Pastors from 2019 to 2024. Their driving vision was to re-connect with the community and to be good neighbors for the sake of flourishing communities.
Pastor Deborah Mitchell was elected in October 2024 and currently serves as part-time Lead Pastor while also working at and attending Nazarene Theological Seminary.
This vision has led to two vital community development initiatives. One is a community garden, entitled “Parishable Goods.” The produce from the garden is open to the community.
Another area of community development has been the growth of various basketball programs. St. Paul’s partners with GT Elite KC to provide basketball practice for kids in the gym. The gym is also open on Sunday nights at 5pm for the community to play basketball and build relationships.
St. Paul's KC 