Kaw Prairie Community Church

Most of the people shown below are servant-hearted volunteers.  A few of us get the blessing of being paid to give the best hours of our day to the ministry, but all of us give countless hours a week with boundless blessings.

Dan McKnight, Pastor

Except for the occasional overly big word that betrays his geeky bona fides, Dan's a pretty normal guy. He's on fire for seeing the Holy Spirit change lives with Jesus' love, so he & Laura moved to Johnson County from Chicago in 2004 to plant a church to do just that. Dan has the spiritual gifts of apostleship, teaching, and leadership, as well as a love of Scripture and a lifelong dependence on Jesus Christ. He loves playing Windmill of Death in the neighborhood pool with his boys, watching free Redbox movies with Laura, irreverent late-night TV shows, loud parties with good food, and Biblical word-studies. Dan and Laura live in Shawnee with their well-mannered sons, a high school freshman and a 5th grader, and their ill-mannered dog.  Email Dan here.

German Portillo, Worship Director

German (pronounced 'Herman' since he's from Venezuela—long story!) is crazy about music as a form of worship and about worship altogether. He's passionate about being in a community of faith that embraces struggle, questions, and the pursuit of truth. German also works with Kaw Prairie's high schoolers in the Sunday night WILD ministry. He and his wife Summer live in Shawnee with their two preschool girls, and he's eager to touch Johnson County with the love of Jesus. He loves Taco Bell, video games, and giving his kids piggyback rides. Email German here, or read his blog.

Diane Lee, Connect Director

Diane has a big voice and bigger smile for such a small body! And she coordinates the leaders of the marketing, welcoming, and congregational care ministries.  She & Jim have two grown daughters, one grandchild and counting, and they live in western Lenexa. Diane may not be the first person you see on a crowded morning at Kaw Prairie, but she very well may be the first person you hear! Email Diane here.

Alexia Lang, Director of Children's Ministries

Alexia has always had a passion for kids. As the eldest of four children, her nickname growing up was "mother hen." As an adult, Alexia has devoted five years to educating underprivileged youth in the Kansas City Metro. She was born into a family of ministers and has spent the last 10 years of her life serving in the ministry in different capacities. Serving in children, youth and adult ministries over the years, Alexia said she has been blessed to have been used by God in so many different ways. She is overjoyed to serve at Kaw Prairie, building a safe and exciting environment for our children to grow in Christ. Alexia, her husband Nathan and their son Aiden live near downtown Olathe with their two dogs, Joslin and Gnarles Barkley. More Q&A with Alexia here. Email Alexia here.

 Brett Glover, Youth Director

With a BIG presence and even bigger heart, Brett has an infectious passion for all things Jesus, and life in general! Specifically, he is one of those unusually weird personality types that enjoy spending time with teenagers. Active in youth ministry for 10 years now, his desire is to help students become life-long disciples of Jesus Christ. He and his wife Carrie have two energetic bundles of joy of their own (Macy and Jaxon) and are a big-time sports family. With Brett hailing from Kentucky and Carrie from Kansas, basketball season is an interesting time of year at their home! In the unlikely event that free time occurs Brett will most likely be found playing guitar, reading, or enjoying the great outdoors.  Read a Q&A with Brett here. Say Yo to Brett here!

Jason Moxness, LifeGroups Concierge

Jason, his wife Paige, and their two daughters and their black lab Pixie live in western Lenexa. Jason knew within the first 5 minutes after walking through the doors at Kaw Prairie (back when it was in an out-of-the-way Shawnee elementary school) that this was where he could experience God like never before and become a part of something very special. He was immediately hooked by the awesome contemporary music, relevant Bible-based teaching, and the casual atmosphere. What has kept Jason and his family coming back is the people. "We've never been part of such a great community of people, some brand new to Christ, others from way different church backgrounds, who are here for the same reasons—loving God, taking care of each other, and inviting others to experience the same life change in Christ we've all felt." Email Jason here.

Mark Chrislip, Adult Discipleship Director

Mark's a businessman after God's heart who came to Christ as a young adult—and has been eager to study, practice, and mentor godly leadership ever since. He leads the Cultivate (Adult Discipleship) Cluster, overseeing adult classes, workshops, and small groups. Currently, Mark's also President of Kaw Prairie's Vision Team, nurturing the precious work God's done already at Kaw Prairie in just a few short years. Mark & his wife Diane have three grown children, six grandchildren, and lots of wildlife around them in rural Eudora. Email Mark here.

Judy Hamner, Ministry Administration Coordinator

After serving three years as our Children & Family Ministries Director, in January 2011 we asked Judy to take 'a new seat on the bus' and bring her fun spirit, spiritual gifts, and well-honed corporate management skills to the administrative side of ministry. She's become our full-time Ministry Administrative Coordinator (which acronyms out as MAC, of course, which is particularly galling to Judy, who's a loyal Windows & Excel-meister).  Originally from rural Iowa, Judy loves serving "on the Prairie" to bring organization, structure and process to a church she loves for not having overly much of them!  Judy lives in Shawnee with her husband, Paul, and their two daughters. Email Judy here.

Lisa Brauch, Café Manager

Lisa and her husband Bob saw the Kaw Prairie float in the Lenexa Parade several years ago and decided to give it a try; they have been at Kaw Prairie since then!  During the day, Lisa is a manager in the Finance Department for a large Olathe-based company, but in her free time you can catch her at the café. “I have always wanted to be a barista when I retire; I enjoy people and it always seemed like such a fun, social job.  This has given me the opportunity to be a barista, use my management skills and serve others all at the same time…and I didn’t have to wait until retirement!”  Lisa and Bob live in Olathe; they have two grown sons and a daughter-in-law.  Email Lisa here. 

Dick Frohardt, Operations Manager

Dick was part of the planning team that prayed and worked years ago for a new life-changing church in west Johnson County to be birthed.  After a career in government and IT recruitment, Dick earned certification as a Parish Ministry Associate in the ELCA, and now works pro bono at Kaw Prairie, supporting church operations, our recent construction project, and Board of Trustee development.  He feels incredibly blessed to be a part of Kaw Prairie; he and his wife Diane even let Pastor Dan live with them for several months before his family arrived from Chicago, and German & his family before their house was ready. They have three adult children and nine grandchildren, and live in western Lenexa.  Email Dick here.

Paul Barnds, Facilities Manager

Paul Barnds has been attending Kaw Prairie since April, 2010. It has been an exciting God-inspired adventure since then. Paul has retired from the landscaping business after 30 years with Barnds Brothers and after starting another landscaping business, Seasons. Since his retirement, Paul has been a volunteer at Harvester’s Community Food Network with a passion for the Back Snack Program. (Just ask him and he’ll tell you all about it!) He became the facility manager in August, 2010 and has enjoyed the job and working with the Kaw Prairie staff and volunteers. Paul has three grown children and two grandchildren. Paul and his wife, Shawn Sabin, enjoy filling their free time with walking and hiking, reading, attending movies and any kind of theater, traveling, spending time with family, and dining at new restaurants. Paul feels the Holy Spirit at work at Kaw Prairie and loves being a part of serving Christ with such inspiring fellow Christians. E-mail Paul here.

Jeff Turner, Safety Team Leader

Jeff, his wife, Jodi, and 3 children, Grant, Rachel and Tara, live and work in Lenexa. Several years ago Jeff and Jodi were searching for a church that they felt they could contribute in. On a snowy December morning they walked in to Kaw Prairie Community Church and immediately felt at home. As they say the rest is history. Jeff works as a Design Manager for an Engineering Consulting Firm. In his spare time he loves cooking and golfing as often as possible along with fishing on Saturday mornings with his son.

Diane Chrislip, Newsletter Editor 

Diane became a Christ-follower in 1977 and has been eagerly following him ever since. Her primary spiritual gifts are encouragement and intercession, and she is passionate about getting others to discover the wonders of God’s Word. She loves being “Ama” to her six grandchildren and usually has at least three books going and about a dozen gardening projects in progress. Diane lives out in the sticks outside Eudora, KS with her husband Mark, two Labrador retrievers, three cats, two gerbils and six chickens. Email Diane with newsletter articles here.