The Diocese of West Missouri
Religious InstitutionsMissouri, United States11-50 Employees
The Diocese of West Missouri is an Episcopal Church body serving 48 congregations and about 10,000 parishioners across Missouri, with communities in the Kansas City metro area as well as Springfield, Joplin, St. Joseph, and surrounding towns. Its roots trace to Bishop Jackson Kemper’s 19th-century missionary work, and the diocese was established in 1889 when a state-wide line created a distinct western diocese. The organization is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The diocese operates health care institutions, a retirement community, and a social services organization, all supported with joint sponsorship from the Diocese of Kansas. It collaborates with the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, which is shared with neighboring dioceses of Kansas, Western Kansas, and Nebraska to offer local training for the priesthood, the diaconate, and specialized lay ministries. In December 2024 it announced the launch of the Congregational Vitality Assessment, an online diagnostic tool designed to assess the health and sustainability of its diocesan churches.