“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45

Serving others has become a key task of Larned’s Valley Community Church. Serving in a way that is having an effect on rural Kansas, particularly in the Pawnee Valley area and the communities therein.

Christianity has been on the decline in the United States for a number of years. With that decline has come the decline in the number of churches. As congregations have aged, so has attendance. Still, there are many small, rural communities that want to keep their local church, to remain a part of their communities. Lack of numbers and lack of funds are roadblocks that are difficult to overcome. So is a lack of pastors that are willing to tend to those small churches. That is a ministry that Valley Community Church has reached out to.

In the past few years, a church in Burdett and a church in Ness City have joined forces with Larned’s Valley Community Church to share pastoral services, funds and other ministries. This passion has not just been about the “planting of new churches” but, rather, an outreach to help those local churches not only survive, but to prosper. 

Pastor Ryan Webster, the Lead Pastor of Larned’s Valley Community Church, says, “7 of 10 churches in America are in a state of decline. Yet, almost 80% of all new Christian converts are happening in new churches, not the churches we’ve known in the past. Our ministry is to help keep churches in the small towns of western Kansas, to keep small communities strong and have places that provide spiritual growth. Our vision is, ‘Regions Beyond’ from the verse found in 2 Corinthians 10:15-16, ‘Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.’”

Pastor Webster stated, “It has been on my heart for years about reaching out from Larned, and in the large area of the Pawnee River Valley, to provide help, ministry, encouragement and spiritual help to our communities, to help them maintain their church and their community.”

This unique sharing of pastoral care, finances and wisdom helps pastors in smaller churches, in small communities not only survive, but to flourish. It takes the pressure off of them to be “Mr. Everything” to their church. As an outreach of their ministry, Larned’s Valley Community Church sends out pastors to preach and teach on a regular basis at Burdett and Ness City, though each church has their own pastor. Each church, each pastor, has the benefit of being a member of a team, being a part of a team.

Burdett’s Valley Community Church was formerly another church and is now pastored by Jerry Hickey. Ness City’s church is pastored by Jon Smith. Larned’s Campus Pastor is Jarred Smith and Webster is Lead Pastor of all three campuses.

Larned’s Campus Pastor  Smith says, “All of our ministry is predicated on children, raising the next generation of Christians. When we built this new building, it was with the idea of serving kids from birth through grade school. That’s why we have a Day Care. That’s why we have a building for teenagers. Our children’s ministry is non-negotiable and we are stressing that at Burdett and Ness City as well.”

Webster pointed out, “All three of these church campuses have their own identity. We are all part of a team but with different buildings, different communities and different people but, our goals are all the same. We are essentially one church with three locations.” When we were building this new church building in Larned, in 2022, the Holy Spirit asked me if we would be willing to help save other churches in our area. He didn’t say we “have to” do it, but rather, “will you?” 

It didn’t seem like the most opportune time to do it because we were building a new church building but we said yes and we’ve all been blessed.”

There are many ways to serve God. There are many ways to be a “missionary.” Valley Community Church has found a way to be a missionary and stay relatively close to home, serving churches and communities in the Pawnee Valley and rural west-central Kansas.