Our Story

West Evangelical Free Church (WEFC) began in 1978, the first church planted by Wichita's First Evangelical Free Church, when a core group of west-side residents attending First Free began a Wednesday night Bible study. By September of 1978, the Bible study had grown into WEFC, and Sunday morning services began at Peterson Elementary School.

In July of 1979, the church was formally established with a charter membership of 23. In September of that year, First Free purchased the present six-acre building site for WEFC. One year later, Dick High was called as pastor; incorporation was officially completed that December.

Our initial facility was constructed in 1982. Steady growth prompted two worship services and two sessions of Sunday School by September of 1986. In 1990 a new addition, including an auditorium, foyer, nursery, and Sunday School rooms was built. Easter Sunday 1991 brought our first service in the new auditorium.

After serving as WEFC's Senior Pastor for 18 years, Dick High took a position at First Free in Wichita, and God brought Ken Cooper to be our Senior Pastor in 1999.

By 2002, WEFC had once again outgrown its facilities. Adult Sunday School classes met in members' homes and nearby businesses. Groundbreaking on our west wing (which added a gymnasium with two Awana circles, 24 classrooms and a large kitchen) took place in February 2003, and we moved into the addition that October. This phase of construction also included opening up an auditorium balcony (giving an additional 200 seats), remodeling our office wing, and turning our basement into a youth center.

God continued to grow and evolve the staff of our church, bringing Greg Smith here as our Adult Ministries Pastor in April, 2006 and Chris Rollman as our Student Ministries Pastor in June, 2007. God has also provided Vinny Gerace as part-time Director of Marriage Ministries also in 2007.

Karen Unruh retired as our Children's Ministries Director in early 2010, and we welcome Dave Ruckel as our fulltime Children's Ministry. Chris Derstein is our part-time Worship Director, and we have a full contingent of part-time support staff.

As WEFC looks to the future, we feel God's leading to plant churches. Our current dream is to daughter churches, leaving WEFC and the "daughters" healthy enough to daughter again and again. Our first church plant is in the community of Goddard, a few miles west of Wichita. The first service at Beacon Community Church was held March 23, Easter Sunday 2008, with 170 in attendance.