Staff

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The Christian Church in Kansas (Disciples of Christ) is led by a eleven-member staff. They operate out of three offices:

Disciples Center at Tawakoni
(Retreat/Events Center and Summer Camps)
8492 SW Tawakoni Rd
Augusta, KS 67010
Phone: 316-775-1222

Office Hours:
Call for appointment and office hours

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Topeka Regional Office (Business Office)

Rev. Tom Stanley, Regional Minister and President
Since August 2022
Regional Business Office, Topeka
Email Tom

Rev. Tom Stanley was called to serve the Kansas Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada on August 7, 2022. Prior to being called to serve the Kansas Region, Tom and his spouse Sandy Malget served three churches in the Oklahoma Region. While serving those congregations Tom provided leadership to the Oklahoma Regional church serving ten years on the board, including leading the board during the COVID Pandemic. The thing Sandy and Tom are most proud of during that time is the raising of their two children TJ and Scout.

Tom serves as the Regional Minister and President of the Christian Church in Kansas. Providing pastoral care, search and call support, and congregational support to the Northeast, Southeast, and South-Central Districts. Tom also provides support and guidance to the Kansas Bible Chair Grant Committee and the regional Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation Task Force. He provides oversight of regional administration, finances, communication, and youth and camp ministries.

Outside of serving the Kansas Region, Tom enjoys spending time with his wife Sandy, playing with his grandchild Miles, and walking their dog Johnny. 

Barb Koelling, Regional Treasurer
Since February 2020
Regional Business Office, Topeka
Email Barb

Barb oversees the region’s financials.  She reviews annual budget requests and presents budget reports to the regional board.  She liaisons between the region and Treasury Services who handles our bookkeeping.

Barb spends her after hours’ time with family and friends – especially her two grandsons, Eli and Zeke. She enjoys golf, and travel to golf destinations with her husband, Doug.

Jody Thomas, Bookkeeper
Since June 2024
Regional Business Office, Topeka
Email Jody

Jody is responsible for the bookkeeping and financial processes for the regional (donations, invoice payments, payroll) and is the liaison with treasury services.

Jody enjoys quilting and crafting but spends her “spare time” rehabbing old houses and managing rental properties with her brother.

Cindy Sharp, Office Mgr. / Corp. Executive Secretary
Since September 2023
Regional Business Office, Topeka
Email Cindy

Cindy provides administrative assistance to Tom and church search committees with Search & Call of pastors, notarizes documents, and prepares for Executive Committee and Regional Board meetings. She and Tom manage the Topeka regional office and coordinate between the two satellite offices and staff. They also maintain church and ministerial information in permanent files and approve bank transactions, account payables as requested by bookkeeper.

Cindy spends after hours in her farmhouse helping out with her son’s horse ranch where her Yorkie, Lydia, and pig, Jimmy Dean, try and help out. She is an avid reader and writer, teaches classis dances and her joy is spending time with her three grandsons having adventures outdoors.

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Central/High Plains Office (Credentialing and Accountability)

Rev. Dr. David Dubovich, Associate Regional Minister
Since November 2023
Central/High Plains Office, Great Bend
Email David

David provides pastoral care, search and call support, and congregational support to the Central and High Plains Districts.  He also works with clergy care ministries regarding clergy standing, ordination, commissioning, and scholarships.  Additionally, he works with clergy, Disciples Men, and Spirituality retreat planning teams.

Outside of work, he likes to work with ceramics and painting various items. “This was one of the many hobbies my grandmother had, and she taught me various techniques to make creative items,” said David. His other hobbies are computers, the piano and organ.

Juli Reed, Administrative Assistant
Since March 2022
Central/High Plains Office, Great Bend
Email Juli

Juli provides administrative support for the Central/High Plains Office, Disciples Men ministries, and the congregations in the Central and High Plains Districts.  She assists the communications office editing promotional videos and updating the events calendar on the regional website.

Outside of work, Juli loves gardening and has a YouTube channel called Best “Buds” Gardening.  In her spare time, she knits and plays with her two-year-old Maltese, Gizmo, and her five-year old parrot, Mango, who knows how to kiss, wave, target, play basketball, and has an impressive vocabulary, which he seems to use in context. 

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South Central Office (Communications Office)

Rev. Travis Smith McKee,
Assoc. Regional Minister of Transformation Ministries / New Church
Since August 2023
(August 2021-2022 as Disciples Youth Coordinator)
Communications Office, Augusta
Email Travis

Travis oversees the New church and Congregational Transformation ministries of the region. 

In this position, he provides regional support new church starts and for congregations looking forward to next steps in the transformational process, finding healing from changes, and supporting new worship expressions for church.

Travis started with the Kansas Region in 2005 as a summer camp intern and has served churches in the Kansas and Greater Kansas City regions. He has most recently served as interim pastor at Galva Christian Church and as Regional Disciples Youth Coordinator. Travis has a passion for empowering congregations to reach out to their communities, finding expansion to the witness of God’s grace.

Rev. McKee lives in Wichita with his wife, Rev. Kassie Smith McKee, and their daughter Lucy. He enjoys playing music, board games, disc golf, craft coffee and gardening.

Zack Gingrich-Gaylord
Communications
Since June 2024
Communications Office, Augusta
Email

Evaluates the region’s communications practices and provides support for the region’s marketing and communications efforts, including website, social media, newsletters and other marketing and communications materials.

Zack lives in Wichita with his family and can most often be found at the Exploration Place parkrun, every Saturday morning at 8am.

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Disciples Center at Tawakoni

Rev. Olivia See, Tawakoni Executive Director and Minister
Since June 2022
Disciples Center at Tawakoni – Check out Tawakoni here.
Email Olivia

Olivia provides summer camping program oversite and oversees camp facilities management at Tawakoni.  She liaisons between the region and event coordinators who use our facilities for a variety of programs and events.  She oversees the hiring and evaluation of paid camp staff and oversees volunteer recruitment and management.

Outside of work Olivia loves being outdoors with people camping, hiking, kayaking or just sitting around talking. She also enjoys creating and building and fixing almost anything. Woodworking is a special love, and she’s always up for learning a new hobby.

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Region Wide Ministry Specific:

Rev. Luis A. Mendez, Disciples Men Coordinator
Since September 2020
Email Luis

Luis coordinates regional Disciples Men retreats and special events with the focus of connecting and equipping Disciples Men for ministry.  He liaisons with Disciples Men ministries of the General Church and assists with distributing communications. 

With the help of the Disciples Men Cabinet, he mentors established and the creation of congregational Disciples Men programs.

Luis also serves as the pastor at North Heights Christian Church, Wichita. He devotes his spare time to swimming, movies, music and his lovely wife, Carmen. 

Carla Pearson, Disciples Women Coordinator
Since November 2019
Email Carla

Carla coordinates regional Disciples Women retreats, Spirit Fest, and special events with the focus of connecting and equipping Disciples Women for ministry.  She liaisons with Disciples Women ministries of the General Church and assists with distributing communications to women across the Kansas region. 

She works with the KDW cabinet to create opportunities for women to be a part of Disciples Women programs and activities.

When not busy with Disciples Women she enjoys sewing quilts, baking, gardening, and enjoying life’s journey with her husband, Floyd.