ShawneeDispatch.com

Bread of Life Christian Church doesn't have an official home, but that's the way the congregation likes it.

"We are a very mission oriented congregation and we have no building," Pastor Michael Yarbrough said. "We believe that when we have a church that has got a building, churches often focus on the building and taking care of the building. A lot of our focus is on how do we help others rather than focus on ourselves."

The 25-member congregation comes from Shawnee, Lenexa, Olathe, De Soto and Kansas City, Kan., and as of Feb. 3 is meeting at Hoeger House, 20911 W. 153rd St., Olathe. The church was meeting at other churches, in school buildings and in the homes of its members.

At the Hoeger House, a short-term rehabilitation center, there were no church services before Bread of Life started meeting there earlier this month. Yarbrough said he was told some patients were asking for some sort of church service. Now that Bread of Life meets in the building's sunroom, patients are welcome to attend their services.

"We see that as an opportunity for us to do ministry for others," he said.

The church was created in 2004 and Yarbrough left his position as pastor of Shawnee Park Christian Church to become Bread of Life's leader.

"I became interested in a movement called the Jesus Connection and read books about it," he said. "I really liked what it said about how church ought to be. I thought it would be interesting to start a new congregation with the Jesus Connection books as a model."

Bread of Life takes communion every Sunday, as do all churches belonging to the Christian Church denomination. The church also sings a lot of praise hymns, Yarbrough said.

Yarbrough said, the main difference between Bread of Life and other churches is how its members are trying to live.

"There is a real place in our hearts for the poor and people who are voiceless or powerless," he said.