From the Missional Heart of Independence Boulevard Christian Church
 

From its beginnings in 1905, the building of Independence Boulevard Christian Church (IBCC) has served as a hub for community service and activity, the largest gathering place in the historic Northeast. Whether for worship, bible studies, and outreach projects or for public theatrical performances, a gymnasium, or indoor pool (pool no longer present), neighbors intersected around common cause and common interest early in the 1900s. These relationships have long impacted the well-being and relationships of Kansas City’s Historic Northeast.

“In 1915, the Whatsoever Circle, a women’s group of the Independence Boulevard Christian Church, established a soup kitchen in the basement of Erickson’s Café on Washington Park Boulevard (now Winner Road). The group soon realized the social needs of our community were greater than just hunger. Thus, Whatsoever Community Circle House evolved. The organization grew out of the basement of the café into a house on Independence Avenue. The programs tailored to the hard-working families of the local industrial neighborhood,” expanding and migrating eventually to its current location in the Old Jackson School House. https://www.whatsoevercenter.org/history”

Throughout the decades, children came to safely play in the afternoons and weekends. Many years included all-summer, all-week day camps for kids to learn, do art, and experience the caring mentorship of adults. 

Organizations historically and currently have held events in the gorgeous, approximately 700 seat sanctuary/conference/concert space. The Economic Growth Gallery (EGG), KC Flute Choir, and many local musicians have held concerts here.  Kansas City University (KCU) has held graduations. The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) has held gatherings for communal efforts to reduce crime. Organizations like the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Greater KC have gathered people from across the region in the sanctuary/conference/concert space for lectures and workshops with renowned theologians.

 

Birth and Evolution of The Micah Ministry

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2001

In 2001, the interdependency of the building and community grew deeper because of The Micah Ministry, named for the prophet Micah’s adage of, “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.” It began as a mission designed to encourage unity, end racism and “feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

Originally part of the 50-year-old Churches Uniting in Christ movement, The Micah Ministry was focused on ministry with impoverished adults and children, justice work, and racial reconciliation across denominational/religious lines. It has always aimed to offer a radical welcome to all, including those suffering from substance abuse who are non-violent. The program follows the non-violence ethics of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and offer a safe space made gracious by God’s abundant love and the warm welcome of thousands of generous volunteers.

The Micah Ministry centered around a ministry of home-cooked nutritious meals in which individuals and groups from across the region, whether faith-based or not, partner to help those who want a meal with wrap-around services. The intent is to start with basic needs of sustenance, health and well-being. This has shown that people leave not only fed but with a sense of normalcy, belonging and a forward path to other resources necessary for self-sufficiency. Finding the common ground of compassion, Micah soon actively expanded the concept of unity and collaboration to all persons and groups who shared the same dream.

The Monday Night Free Community Dinners First Contact to Address Unmet Needs

Noticing the growing hunger on the streets and steps outside, the women’s group decided to start cooking food on Mondays and inviting neighbors to come in and eat. On Thursday, October 18, 2001, after six, intensive months of congregational revisioning and under the leadership of then Sr. Pastor, Rev. Lee Chiaramonte, the Micah Ministry officially began by unanimous vote of the Church Board. On Mondays, with six trained Saint Paul School of Theology seminarians, two hospital chaplains, one security guard, Independence Boulevard Christian Church members, volunteers committed to outreach to the poor, an ethics-based “mom-to-mom” counseling program, and a clothing pantry.
 

2002
Six months later, the Micah Ministry added “Robert’s Café,” a free, table-based, restaurant-style supper ministry named for lifelong IBCC member, Robert Long, and a homeless guest also named Robert, who froze to death on Kansas City streets in 2002. Suppers began in the Friendship Room with Ida Snyder as our first Executive Chef. Her assistant was Rose Alice Chandler, who became the second Executive Chef the following year. That first Monday we fed nine reluctant guests; the second, 35, and by the third Monday, we fed 75 people a chili dinner. By May 2002, the Robert’s Café had moved into the church’s large  Fellowship Hall. Country Club Christian Church became our first community partner, providing significant, recurrent volunteers and financial support. IBCC gave Veronica’s Voice, a peer-based prostitution recovery program, a free office in the south wing and invited them to counsel at Micah; attorney Jolie Justus came on board to provide guests twice-monthly free legal advice; Micah counselors became chaplains to New House Shelter for Battered Women. A G.E.D./life skills ministry was added, conducted by Rev. Laurie McKim, deacon of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. The clothing ministry expanded greatly and free haircuts and manicures were provided twice that year by local hairdressers.
 

2004
The graduate family counseling students from Friends University started providing free psychotherapy to individual guests and families. Micah’s “Urban Work Camp” began for US/Canadian youth to sleep over, learn, and serve during a three-to-five-day summer stay at IBCC.

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2005
Four student interns from University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacology provided a year of legal drug counseling to guests. At least 200 neighbors were being served weekly.

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2007
More than 40 seminarians had served field internships at the Micah Ministry. By year’s end, Darrell Cantrell became our third Executive Chef. Rev. Sharon Cantrell became licensed and was the first outside minister yoked to Micah. Multiple congregations from various faith traditions began bringing regular volunteer groups and donating meals and resources.

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2016
Care Beyond the Boulevard (CBB), founded by Micah volunteer KK Assman, came to office in the church and began offering free medical care during Micah. CBB also takes a medical bus to special stops around the city to serve unhoused people.

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2019
Every Monday, Micah was serving more than 900 sit-down suppers. Over 50,000 plates of supper were served in 2019!

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2020
Due to Covid19, and a lack of HVAC/filtrated air in most of the building, The Micah Ministry began providing most of the services outside, including hot to-go meals. Nov 1, 2020, IBCC installed Rev. Mindy Fugarino as Pastor and Executive Director of Micah. Rev. Sharon and Darrell Cantrell were named co-directors of Micah because they had already been organizing much of the ministry for years. At this time, we served on average about 600 meals per week.

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2021
Care Beyond the Boulevard extended its free clinics by adding Saturday mornings in addition to the Monday nights. Other partners like Church of the Resurrection’s Grocery bus and a Mobile Vet also start making regular visits on Saturdays.

Nov 2021, Fruition KC launched. This new community building program operated in the sanctuary on Mondays from 4:30-5:30pm providing comfortable seating for those who started lining up for food before doors open for Micah Ministries Monday night dinner service. Fruition KC provides opportunities during that time for community organizing, live music, art, public leader Q&A, voter education and registration as well as community building. Harvesters began monthly visits to register people for food stamps.

The building welcomed its second long-term partner & renter: Ryogoku Soccer Academy, a year-round international school for young men grades 5-12. They provide an all-encompassing education experience that is student-driven and community-based with a focus on college preparation, community outreach, brotherhood, and athletics.

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2022
Co-Directors Rev. Sharon and Darrell Cantrell retired, retaining ongoing consultant roles. Micah Core Team Leaders each took management roles of their respective “branches” of The Micah Ministry’s outreach, and began deepening their skills for conflict resolution through monthly meetings. As more and more people came to eat, volunteers found creative ways to meet more and more of their needs.

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2023
1,500 items are handed out weekly of children’s and adult clothing. Many different ministries have emerged, thrived, and concluded over the past two decades, but the Micah program continued to serve hot, to-go meals along with hygiene items, free medical care from Care Beyond the Boulevard, clothing, support in receiving the Federal Stimulus checks, mail, and various other special requests. At Christmas time, we ensured that participating families receive gifts for their children.

Still serving outside due to Covid19, Micah often had partners like Team Jesus who brought extra clothing and portable showers. KC Public Library did Lead to Read for books and Harvesters started providing SNAP sign-up assistance. By the Spring of 2023, Micah volunteers usually served 700-800 meals per week. Fruition KC facilitated a Dignify Art Project which was on exhibit in the public library later in 2024.

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2024-2025

Thanks to grants for HVAC, which created safe indoor spaces through circulating filtered and conditioned air to breathe, we moved back inside! We continue to offer to-go meals along with all-you-can eat meals brought to our guests once they sit at a table. Once inside the dining room, there are no lines, just resources coming to our guests at their table.

Community Linc comes monthly to offer case management services and Front Porch Alliance provides resources to our families. We regularly host other service providers needing to connect with their unhoused clients, and providers who can share opportunities like job training, scholarships, and registering to vote. In the summer of 2025, we averaged over 1,250 meals per week during our Monday night community dinners, sometimes even reaching 1,500 in one night.

In Fruition KC’s 2.5 years, we have screened and facilitated discussion on over 20 Films for a Cause alongside partners like Stand Up KC, More2, The Whole Person, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR), Al-Hadaf KC, Jewish Voice for Peace Kansas City, Revolucion Educativa, and more who speak for the causes featured in the films. We’ve added our first regular arts classes and look forward to launching the Intersect KC Street Choir this October.

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Birth of Intersect KC

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Intersect KC was incorporated November 19th, 2024 and 501(c)(3) certified on August 8, 2025. It  was an outgrowth of spending six months in 2021 listening to dreams of neighbors and community partners. Since those listening sessions in 2021, IBCC had been gradually implementing much of the programming that had been expressed. Before the end of 2024, it was decided that the events and programming that continue to evolve and expand to serve the community were now ready to stand on their own under Intersect KC.

Life-giving work like Micah Ministries on Mondays and Care Beyond the Boulevard has extended the number of services we have to address unmet needs. Life-enhancing experiences like art classes, martial arts, choir, an annual community harvest festival, the school, concerts, games and more help build a strong and vibrant community. Life-transforming collaborations network people around common causes for the common good. Together we remove barriers and continue to build community just as the church did in 1905.

Because we recognize that the work we do belongs to the community and happens only because of the community beyond the church walls, we wanted to include more community leaders in the decision-making and leadership processes. The building is large and can host a vast array of experiences to meet our Kansas City neighborhood needs. We want to ensure that we fully sustain it so that it can continue to play a vital role in building and sustaining a healthy, safe and vibrant community for years to come. The best way to honor these truths was to launch a nonprofit with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to manage the building as well as all the community-wide programming.

 

Intersect KC reflects the metro-wide commitment we have. It amplifies what we have been doing by acting as a hub for intersecting individuals, community, resources, leaders and causes for a thriving Kansas City where needs are met and everyone belongs.

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We look forward to intersecting with you here and sharing common ground and common cause for the common good.