Ryan Kapple, Pastor 

E-mail: rkapple@leawoodpres.org

I was born into the church, literally.  My dad was going to seminary at Gordon Conwell in Boston and my mom waited tables to provide financial support, while they lived above a little old church where I was born. Growing up as a PK (Pastor’s Kid) in Olathe, only fanned into flame my God-given love and gifts for the church that developed into my calling to be a pastor.

I believe strongly in the truth of Proverbs 3: 5-6 which is that direction, not intention, determines our destination.  I was blessed to be raised in a family who taught me what it meant to trust in the Lord with all my heart and to not lean on my own understanding, but in all my ways to acknowledge God and He will make my path straight.  I learned to trust God’s choices even when it’s difficult to connect the dots between where His path seemed to lead and where I wanted to go.

I am blessed to be chosen by God, then by my wife.  I met Amy at K-State where I received my BS in Psychology.  I went on to earn a Masters of Divinity from Nazarene Theological Seminary and am ordained as a Presbyterian minister of Word and Sacrament.   Amy and I have been entrusted with four children from God to fulfill His conditional mandate, “To train them up in the way they should go; trusting that when they grow old, they will not depart from it.”

After ministering to youth and families at Colonial Presbyterian Church for fifteen years, Amy and I, along with a dozen other folks in the Fall of 2007, began the journey of “re-starting” the oldest church in the city of Leawood.

While Leawood Pres is my passion, I love coaching Mason’s basketball team, going to his soccer and baseball games, watching Avery, Ally and Annie do ballet and now Ally play soccer.  I enjoy doing yard work and other home improvement projects with Amy, making pancakes on Saturdays, having “snacky dinner” on Sunday nights and watching Extreme Home Makeover.  When I can, I love playing golf, basketball, and backyard football without pulling a muscle.

I am convicted by the mission of the church, which is conveying the message that anyone can belong before they believe.  By the way, we believe in Jesus and we hope you feel the love of Christ and are compelled to join us on the journey of following Jesus and becoming more like Him.

Whether you have questions about God and the Bible, or you had a bad experience at church, or you don’t know how to act or speak “christianese,” the good news is that everyone is invited.

Jason Chace, Director of Childrens Ministry

E-mail: jchace@leawoodpres.org

I was born and raised in Kansas City.  Growing up in a Christian home, I acknowledged Christ's saving grace at an early age.  Following high school graduation from Kansas City Christian, I graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in Spanish and education.  My wife Keely and I were married in 1998 and moved back to the Kansas City area in 2000, where Keely began a career as a writer at Hallmark and I taught Spanish and communications in the Shawnee Mission School District.  With the birth of our first daughter Olivia, in 2003, I became a stay-at-home dad. Our second daughter, Amelia, was born in 2006. 

In October 2009, as Amelia started approaching school age, my part-time work as the Director of Children's Ministry began here at Leawood Pres.

Greg Ingebretson, Worship Leader

E-mail: gingebretson@leawoodpres.org

My passion for music started at a very early age. I started singing in the children's choir at church when I was around 3 or 4 years old. Starting in 3rd grade I began taking piano lessons, in 5th grade I learned to play the trombone and in middle school I picked up the guitar which is by far my favorite instrument. All I want to do is use what God has given me for his glory.

I currently work 2 jobs; I am the Worship Leader at LPC and during the weekdays I work for Farmers Insurance as an Insurance Agent.  I grew up in Wichita, KS and attended college at Kansas State University where I received my BA in Criminology.  While at K-State I led worship for the KSU Navigators and during the summer of my junior year had internship at Denver Community Church in Colorado.  After college I moved back to Wichita for a year where I volunteered at First Evangelical Free Church leading worship for their youth group.

I moved to Kansas City in August 2007 to help with Colonial Presbyterian’s youth ministry and eventually ended up at Leawood Pres in 2009 playing guitar in the worship band.  I became the worship leader, as the previous leader had continued his ministry on to another church, in March 2010.

My favorite biblical character is Moses.  He is a great example of God equipping someone who felt inadequate to do His work (Exodus 4). I often feel like Moses as God keeps moving through, and changing my life for his calling. If I could live anywhere besides KC I would want to live in Colorado near the mountains, probably in the Denver area.  From time to time, I hear the mountain streams calling my name to go fly fishing. My current favorite author is Donald Miller.  I am currently reading his book, “Searching for God Knows What” and recently read his book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” about living our lives as a better story.  I enjoy his honesty and conversational style of writing.  My favorite books of the Bible are the Psalms and the book of Philippians. My favorite style of music is typically the singer-songwriter, acoustic style e.g. Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, Don Chaffer of Waterdeep, and Matthew Perryman Jones. I also love listening to these artists and many more (if you're wondering what style of music influences our worship at LPC):  Coldplay, U2, Death Cab for Cutie, Swell Season, David Crowder, Copeland, The Fray, Counting Crows, Robbie Seay, Mumford and Sons, Triving Ivory, Chris Tomlin, Ben Harper, Aqualung, Andrew Bird, Travis, The Postal Service.

Bev Blair, Administrative Assistant

E-mail: bblair@leawoodpres.org

One of my favorite Bible passages is Proverbs 3:5-6; Trust in the Lord with all your heart... and He will direct your paths. I've been blessed to connect with people who've helped and influenced me along my personal and professional paths and given me amazing opportunities to grow.

I arrived at LPC in February 2009.  I believe my past experiences, present skills and spiritual path gave me the right combination for God to lead and guide me to be a part of this ministry team.  A lover of quotes, one that sums up why I enjoy being here is "Find a job you enjoy and you'll never work again".  Each day at LPC is an adventure.   I am blessed to serve God by supporting and nurturing relationships with the staff, the congregation, as well as grow in my own faith.

On a personal note, I'm a Missouri native; born in Moberly but living in Kansas City since 1972.  My husband Bob and I celebrated our 27th anniversary in September and I am Mom to daughter Dawn who lives in Colorado with her husband Jeff.  Some things I enjoy in my spare time (but not necessarily in this order) are baking, cooking, traveling, photography, hiking in the mountains, spending time with family and friends, and recently I've learned to knit.  I'm also an ordained deacon in the Presbyterian Church and feel blessed serving two churches; one where I'm employed and another where I've been a member for many years.

My childhood dream was to become a professional dancer which obviously didn't happen.  However I learned as I grew along my own path of faith that God wants us all to dance--to follow His plan and path for our life. I accepted the invitation to dance--not the way I envisioned as a child--but to dance daily in harmony with God.