293 W Barton Co Rd
Great Bend, KS 67530

(1 mile West of 10th & Patton Rd)
 
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Our History


Faith Community Church had its beginnings in 1952, when Pastor Fred and Sally Kirkpatrick came to Great Bend in response to a request by the Missionary Church Association of Fort Wayne, Indiana to start a church in the city. First services were held in October 1952, in a room located on the second floor of a Main Street Building. After the pastor and his wife received the Holy Spirit in the spring of 1954, the sponsoring Association decided to cancel their plans to continue the work and gave the church to the Kirkpatricks. In the fall of 1954, Faith Community Church was formally begun; however, the planting of the church was in 1952.  

 
The following years were years of trial and test, but filled with wonderful movings of the Holy Spirit, as the small church began to minister to the needs of the community and in various cities throughout the state. In 1956, the congregation was incorporated and purchased the Episcopal Church, which was located on the site of the planned U.S. Postal Office. The building was to be moved and the church faced the need for a place to move the building to and funds to do so. The building was finally moved to a site at 19th and Heizer Street. Miracle after miracle occurred, which met the need of the people. After a Billy Graham movie, which the church helped sponsor, new people began to come into the congregation, and Faith Community Church began to grow and to reach many young people and others in the city.
 

By 1975, the church had experienced growth beyond the room that the church building provided and an expansion was needed. The Lord directed the congregation to bid on the Barton County Home, west of Great Bend, and the property became theirs. A series of miracles followed which enabled the congregation to pay the building off with cash, and the facility was dedicated by Charles and Frances Hunter. Faith College opened in the fall of 1975, and many young people followed the Lord to Great Bend and found a home at Faith Center, the name chosen for the large brick structure.

 

In 1977, the construction of Faith Community Church was begun and was finished in the fall of 1978, with most of the work on the building being done by the congregation. In May 1988, Sally Kirkpatrick passed on to heaven, and in 1989, Pastor Fred and Glenda Jahnke were married and continued to minister to the church until his retirement, after 52 years, in October 2004. Faith Family Center, the newest addition to the church plant was begun in 1995, and completed in 1997, with most of the construction being done by the congregation. The new facility greatly helped with mission work among disadvantaged youth in the city who were reached by Associate Pastor Jeff and Julie Goss. Through the years the church has maintained a vision for missions and has helped plant churches throughout Kansas.

 

In 2003, Pastor Mike and Michelle Pfortmiller began their ministry at the church. The Lord ministered through Pastor Mike with a heart of a teacher. Technology tools, such as the church website, were implemented.  Beginning in 2006, several church members including many youth participated in mission trips to Peru, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, and South Africa. Sandy Kennedy joined the ministry team as Associate Pastor in May of 2007. In April of 2008, Pastor Mike and family moved to Manhattan, Kansas.


In 2008, Pastor Sandy Kennedy, and husband Joe, began serving as interim pastor and then she became Senior Pastor, June 1, 2009.  In 2010, the church began broadcasting church services via video on the church website. 


 October 2013 a building expansion project that added a new foyer, restrooms, nursery and children's church to our current sanctuary was completed. Many people referred to the church as the “log cabin church” but in 2015 the exterior logs were removed because of deterioration and new siding installed.


In 2014, Faith Bible College was re-implemented offering bible college level classes for the everyday believer at no charge to attendees. The Lord has strengthened and empowered His people through the truth of God’s Word.


Presently - Faith Community Church is a place where people can encounter the life changing power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.  Faith Community Church is a place where believers can belong to a family and make a difference in their community.