Finding Purpose Together on Lees Summit Road
Waypoint Church sits on Lees Summit Road in eastern Jackson County, just inside the Kansas City limits and minutes from the Independence line. The people who call it home talk about journeys a lot. Their tagline, painted across the top of every page, reads "Finding Purpose. Together." It is more than a slogan; it is the lens through which everything at Waypoint, from the Sunday schedule to the discipleship pathway to the bucket-packing nights, gets planned.
The church has been rooted at 4901 Lees Summit Road for years, and under the leadership of Pastor Dr. Ashley Olinger it has grown significantly since he took the helm in February 2020. Olinger grew up in northwestern Canada and spent most of his early adult life behind the wheel of a long-haul truck in the mountains before answering a call into full-time ministry. He holds a Bachelor of Christian Ministry, a Master of Divinity, and a Doctor of Ministry. He and his wife Lisa have been married for more than thirty years and have two grown children, Aaron and Adam, along with six grandchildren who keep them on their toes.
Two Services, Two Worship Styles
Waypoint runs two Sunday services under one roof so that different worship traditions can find a home. At 9:15 AM the doors open for the Traditional service, with hymn singing, scripture readings, an offering, a sermon from Dr. Olinger, and a closing hymn. It is structured, familiar, and designed for anyone who grew up singing from a hymnal, has been out of church for a while and wants to come back, or simply prefers a service where the shape of the hour makes the reason for being there clear.
At 10:45 AM the Contemporary service takes over, and it is the service that is livestreamed. Children's programming for nursery, preschool, and elementary-age kids runs during the contemporary service. After either service the congregation is invited into the Gathering Place for coffee, hot chocolate, and fresh-baked cookies.
Visitor parking is right in front of the main doors, beneath the Waypoint sign on the building. Families with kids turn left as they enter and follow the hall to the end, where check-in sits in front of a security door. Anyone who wants to take a look before they visit can stream a recent service online first.
A Building Built for Community
Waypoint is a large church, and the building shows it. With more than 50,000 square feet of fellowship space, the facility has been deliberately shaped around the idea that every generation needs a place to land.
The Gathering Place is the social hub. Throughout the year it hosts football and hockey watch parties, game nights, movie nights, and, every Sunday morning, a steady supply of fresh cookies baked in a dedicated cookie kitchen. Down the hall, the Kids Zone has been fully remodeled within the last several years and serves children from babies through fifth grade in a wing of classrooms and playrooms. Across the hall sits the Youth and Game Room, a worship space for teens with a stage on one side and a separate room on the other stocked with video game consoles, ping pong tables, and more. Outside, a brand-new playground can host more than a dozen children at a time, complete with a pirate ship, a plane, and a Mount Everest slide. Downstairs, a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen supports churchwide meals and special events.
NEXT: A Discipleship Pathway with Six Steps
Waypoint does not assume that showing up on Sunday is the whole picture. The church's discipleship process is called NEXT, and it walks members through six intentional stages: Belong, Connect, Grow, Serve, Reach, and Beyond. The first step, Belong, is a hybrid of a new members' class and a basic discipleship class. It is where newcomers explore the foundations of the faith and what it means to commit to the Waypoint family. Lunch is provided.
From there NEXT moves into relationship-building, personal spiritual growth, ministry placement, mission-shaped living, and continued perseverance. The Waypoint team describes the philosophy in a tight loop: content comes from worship, context comes from small groups, application comes from NEXT, and the overall church goal is to unleash the kingdom of God.
Small Groups Called 'Chew on This'
Small group ministry at Waypoint goes by the name "Chew on This," a nod to the practice of chewing on Scripture and life together. Groups are relational rather than purely informational. They exist to do what Sunday morning cannot: pray for one another in hard seasons, celebrate in good ones, and practice the sermon throughout the week. Groups meet at various times and locations around the Kansas City area, and anyone interested in joining or leading one can sign up through the church center.
Kids and Students
Children from birth through fifth grade are welcome in the Kids Zone during the 10:45 AM service. Emily Thatcher leads the ministry, working with Christine, who runs the nursery upstairs. The rooms have been remodeled within the last several years and feature cameras in every classroom, security doors, and ongoing background checks for every volunteer. Parents who want to peek can watch the hallway monitors. Lessons mix songs, Bible stories, silly voices, and real-world application, all aimed at helping kids connect Scripture to everyday choices.
Students in sixth through twelfth grade have their own space and their own team. The Youth room includes a stage for worship and teaching, and the adjacent Game Room gives teens a place to relax, play ping pong, and just be teenagers. Volunteer mentors (the church is specifically looking for more male mentors) walk alongside students through the difficult teen years. Each year the youth group takes a mission trip; recent trips have gone to Memphis to serve with Street Reach, an organization that ministers to people experiencing homelessness. Youth also help run Vacation Bible School.
Missions Near and Far
Service to others is woven into the Waypoint DNA. The church describes its mission as "equipping watchmen to unleash the kingdom of God in Kansas City and beyond," and the partnerships reflect both sides of that "beyond."
Locally, William Southern Elementary School has been a long-standing ministry focus. Each year, the church provides backpacks and school supplies for every student, hosts a Night of Hope at Christmas that provides dinner and gifts for more than a dozen families, serves meals to staff on professional development days, and prays weekly for individual teachers. Waypoint also partners with God's Bucket Brigade, a Kansas City-born nonprofit that packs hygiene and supply buckets for people experiencing homelessness; the church has pledged to pack 100 buckets as part of its annual Missions Month.
Globally, Waypoint supports missionaries in Bolivia: Haleigh and Luis Vargas, the granddaughter of a longtime member along with her husband and their young son, serve there, and the church supports them financially and through prayer. The church is also preparing to support Tim and Brianna Buchanan, a former worship and youth pastor and his wife, as they move to Mexico for permanent missionary residency after language school. Operation Christmas Child has been part of Waypoint's rhythm for more than twelve years, with hundreds of shoeboxes packed and shipped to children around the world.
What Waypoint Believes
Waypoint identifies as non-denominational but acknowledges that its history and roots are Baptist. The church's core beliefs center on one God eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ; salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone; the Bible as the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God; humanity created in God's image and broken by sin; and the church as the body of Christ expressed locally in congregations like Waypoint. Discipleship is described as the normal, expected life of every believer.
Baptism at Waypoint is by immersion as an outward expression of inward faith, and the Lord's Supper is celebrated regularly as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice. The church teaches that marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman, that sexual expression is to be held sacred within that covenant, and that every person is made in God's image with inherent dignity and worth.
The end of the story, in Waypoint's telling, is Jesus returning personally, visibly, and victoriously to renew creation and establish His eternal kingdom, a hope the church says shapes how members live now: faithful, watchful, and ready.
The Team
Beyond Pastor Ashley, the staff includes Pastor Adam, his son, who serves as Associate Pastor over Youth, Worship, Missions, and Discipleship. Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry and is working on a master's in Apologetics; he and his wife Brook have two children, Luke and Ella.
Cymanthia "Cym" McCoy serves as Congregational Care Director and helps people get connected to small groups and to Jesus; she has been in ministry at Waypoint for more than thirty years. Carl Pearson leads Pastoral Care with more than forty years of service, and is also a Desert Storm veteran. Emily Thatcher directs Kids Ministry, while Meghan serves as a Youth Ministry Helper, a special education paraprofessional drawn into the role after years of working with middle and high schoolers. Joe serves as the Watchman Ministry Director, men's ministry co-leader, and facilities manager. Dee Albertson oversees finances and leads women's ministry.
Getting Connected
Waypoint runs on a mobile app called Church Center, available on the App Store and Google Play. The app houses the events calendar, sign-ups for groups and classes, giving, and a member directory for those who want to take that step. Membership begins with the NEXT Belong class, and from there members find their way into small groups, ministry teams, and service opportunities that fit their gifts.
The church office at 4901 Lees Summit Road is open Monday through Thursday from 9 AM to 2 PM. Visitors with questions before Sunday can call 816-373-6445 or email office@waypointkansascity.com. Sunday services are at 9:15 and 10:45 AM, with the 10:45 service livestreamed online.