Former Stage Kids WA Director Speaks Out, Alleges 'Dishonest Operations'
Said Stage Kids is 'in bed' with Grace City Church – a concern shared by some parents
Note: The name of the parent quoted in this article has been changed by request out of fear of retaliation against her and her child.
When Ginny Kinnebrew took the role of Director of Operations and Development for Stage Kids WA she had no idea how closely tied the children’s theater non-profit is to Grace City Church, Wenatchee’s controversial Christian nationalist sect with close connections to disgraced Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll and slavery apologist Douglas Wilson.
“I would have never accepted the position if I thought that they were that in bed with Grace City,” she said.
And it’s not as if Kinnebrew is anti-religious.
She’s a Christian and actually attended GCC for a while before she realized what they were saying and doing was “disturbing.”
She and her family left after Kinnebrew found out they were having 11 and 12-year-old girls get on stage and take “purity pledges” not to have sex until marriage at a youth event led by Pastor Brian Blair. She said that kind of “shame-based” focus on young girls and their bodies was unacceptable to her.
“We dropped it and never went back,” she said.
When she decided to take the job with Stage Kids WA, she said she didn’t realize how closely intertwined the organization is with GCC.
Kinnebrew came from a background in organizing non-profits and has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). She was hired to essentially replace Lacey Price, who had been co-Executive Director of the program along with the former ED and founder Michelle McCormick, who also resigned recently according to an announcement this week.
After Price left last year they restructured the organization’s hierarchy. The role Kinnebrew took would be subordinate to McCormick’s but the duties were essentially the same as Price’s were before she left. Kinnebrew would focus on fundraising, human resources and operations while the creative director duties to were McCormick’s.
“I was basically the catch all,” she said. “All the things that needed to be done or no one else wants to do were on me.”
Kinnebrew started on July 8, 2024 and there were immediately some red flags.
“We would be at staff meetings and they’re talking about church,” she said. “We’re praying. I’m getting texts with prayers on my phone.”