Grace exists to gather the convinced and unconvinced into community, where we grow as Jesus does His work of forgiving and renewing, so that we go out to live for a story bigger than ourselves.
Gathering takes place through Sunday worship, community groups and affinity groups, as well as a variety of other venues, large and small. Gathering was the instinct of the early church because the Christian life is a community project. Even if you're not yet a Christian, gathering with other Christians is vital, because "Belonging often happens before believing."
The work of Jesus takes place as we worship, pray, cry, serve, love, help, celebrate, and encourage one another. By His Spirit, we are transformed, becoming more like what God intended humanity to be.
We are blessed to be a blessing, which means that followers of Jesus are to be "in the world, not of the world, but for the world". God's ultimate goal is to make "all things new", but He wants us to bring the hope of new creation into the "here and now" – in our neighborhoods and in our schools, at the coffee shops and at the bars, with our families and where we work, throughout Silicon Valley and to the world.
Grace Pres was established in 2000, desiring to be a community centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ and committed to His mission. In 2010, Grace launched a second site in the San Jose area and continued as a multi-site church until November of 2018, when that second site became its own congregation, Grace South Bay.
There are many layers of leadership at Grace, including pastors, elders, and diaconal mercy team members, as well as numerous lay volunteers who play absolutely vital roles in serving and leading us with their gifts. In addition, we have several full-time and part-time Staff who are characterized by a spirit of cooperation and mutual support for the sake of fulfilling our mission.
Grace Ang
GraceKids Nursery & Preschool Coordinator
James Bailon
One of the few Bay Area natives at Grace, James was born and raised in San Jose in a family of 8. After studying international area studies and business administration in college, he entered into the business world via accounting and found himself immersed in business operations. He began working at Grace in 2015 part-time doing Communications, then came onboard full-time in January 2018 in a newly created role.
As the Director of Operations, James' responsibilities include internal administration, facilities management, event planning, and heading Sunday morning execution. He also leads the Faith & Sexuality affinity group.
In his free time he enjoys exploring Northern California (and beyond), hiking, trail running, CrossFit, the Enneagram, dad jokes, and anything food/drink/coffee-related, all hopefully while hanging out with friends and his community group.
Rev. Kevin Chen
Kevin Chen is a first-generation immigrant from Taiwan. He moved to the Washington DC suburbs in 1996 and has lived mostly in the Midwest since 2002. Prior to ministry, he studied biomedical engineering and worked with pacemakers in clinical and sales settings. After completing his studies at Southern Seminary in Louisville in 2012, he became a church planter and a founding pastor at Christ Church Ann Arbor (PCA).
Kevin now lives in Mountain View with his wife Stephanie and two children. Stephanie grew up between the U.S. and Brazil, and was in academia before landing in tech. Besides trying to keep up with their kids, Kevin and Steph enjoy traveling, hiking, and cheering on Cleveland sports & the OSU football team.
Abby Dennison
GraceTeens Director
Abby first came to Silicon Valley to complete her Master's in Education at Stanford. But, she loved the Grace community so much that she decided to come on staff full time to run GraceTeens! A proud Chapel Hill native, she graduated in 2015 from the University of North Carolina before teaching and nannying for a year in Paris. Then, it was on to Palo Alto—a place that has quickly come to feel like home.
As the Director of GraceTeens, Abby spends her time planning Bible studies, organizing fun events, and hanging out with tweens, teens, and their families. You can catch her playing Codenames, sipping on boba, or blogging her way through the Bible. Not to mention, going on amazing trips with the kiddos!
In her free time, Abby enjoys reading books and listening to podcasts (send her one!), spending time in the sun, and consuming high-quality cuisine accompanied by Peach-Pear LaCroix. And, she loves welcoming new people to the area!
Kathy Jenke
Director of Women's Ministries & Congregational Care
Kathy grew up roaming the orchards and surrounding hills of San Jose, but encountered Jesus while living in Hong Kong with her husband Jim and their three children in the late 1990s. She returned to the United States with a hunger to learn more and enrolled in Bible Study Fellowship. A few years later, she served as a Teaching Leader for BSF, then on staff of Women's Bible Study at Central Peninsula Church. In 2018, she became Grace Church's first Director of Women's Ministries and Congregational Care.
Alongside her role at Grace, Kathy is pursuing a Master's of Counseling degree with Westminster Online Learning. Her favorite ways to unwind are laughing, hiking and spending time with family and friends, but especially with her one-year-old grandson.
Jim Jenke
Volunteer & Sunday Coordinator
Rev. David Jones
David (aka "DJ") has been a Pastor at Grace since 2011, having previously served as the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) Campus Minister at Stanford University. He and his wife, Mindi, have 3 delightful children – Kylie, Jaden, and Averly – who keep life exciting and unmanageable. Their favorite family ritual is exploring the Bay Area to "see something beautiful" and "eat something delicious." While both David and Mindi share a common love for Crossfit, Mindi is the real athlete in the family. She's also an insanely good cook, with remarkable gifts of hospitality.
David also loves finding new places to eat, cycling, college football, snow skiing, live music, and great coffee – especially when these things are shared with others. His heart is for Grace to always feel like a place where you are "free to struggle" instead of "struggling to be free."
Rev. Iron Kim
Since 2014, Iron has been serving as a pastor at Grace. Iron is a native of Korea who immigrated to the US at age six and grew up in and around New York City. He graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (BA) in 1990 and from Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.) in Philadelphia, PA in 1994. He also earned a M.Th. from New College, University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1997. Iron was a High School Youth Pastor and Director of Christian Education at Korean United Church in Philadelphia, Assistant Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC, Associate Pastor at City Church of San Francisco, and Senior Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Orange County.
Iron likes to spend time with his family, learn obscure facts, and follow his beloved New York Yankees. He is married to his wife Grace, and they have one daughter, Charlotte.
Jess Springer
Director of Worship & Creative Arts
Jess originally hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where she grew up the middle of three girls. Coming from a musical family, she was first obliged to play and sing old hymns and bluegrass tunes, but then found herself grateful in college when she joined a folk band and started leading worship for RUF. Jess graduated UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Education, then became an intern for RUF Stanford and "accidentally" started her ministry career in California.
After working for RUF for five years, Jess came on staff at Grace in May 2018 to serve as the Director of Creative Arts and Congregational Care and interim Worship Director, or affectionately known as the Director of Colors and Feelings. She currently coordinates our worship team and crafts our Sunday services by choosing songs, Scripture readings and prayers that complement the preaching of the Word.
When she's not making music, Jess loves listening to music — discovering new artists and going to see her favorites live. She loves hosting movie nights and trying out new recipes on her dinner guests. She is also a part of the Crossfit community and likes to lift heavy things.
Allison Quick
GraceKids Elementary Coordinator
Allison is a native of the great state of Texas and loves all things BBQ and college football. She moved here with her family in 2014 so husband Jon could begin work on his PhD in English Lit at Stanford. They have quickly fallen in love with the California weather, beaches and forests, and would happily stay if God made a way for that to happen.
The GraceKids Elementary coordinator role was a natural fit for Allison as she loves communicating God's great love for his children to his children. She has been serving in children's ministry for most of her life, either as a volunteer in her church, a summer camp counselor, an Outdoor Education instructor, a registrar for Pine Cove camps, and on the GraceKids check-in team.
To get on her good side, bring her a latte and tell her that you think her children, Nate, Caed & Emerson, are hilarious, sweet, kind, etc.