Jin S. Kim

Jin is the founding pastor of Church of All Nations, chartered as a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in 2004. He was born in Korea in 1968, came to the US with his family in 1975, and grew up in Columbia, SC and Atlanta, GA in a multiethnic environment. He holds degrees from Georgia Tech, 1990, Princeton Seminary, 1993, and a doctor of ministry from Columbia Seminary, 2005. He is former Moderator & current Chair of Council of Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area and Chair of Cross Cultural Alliance of Ministries, serves on Minnesota Council of Churches' board, as a PCUSA delegate to the National Council of Churches, and as a US delegate to the 3rd Lausanne Congress in Cape Town 2010. He was formerly president of Presbyterians For Renewal. He is also a part of the Jewish-Presbyterian Dialogue and the PCUSA Special Committee on the Belhar Confession. He was a preacher at the PCUSA General Assembly in 2004 and 2008, and speaks widely at conferences, seminaries, presbyteries and churches, both in the US and abroad. Jin has a passion for the ministry of reconciliation and a vision for the visible unity of the global church. His household includes wife Soon Pac, Claire Nicea, 11, Austin Athanasius, 9, and Jin's parents. He is an avid golfer, enjoys volleyball, basketball, racquetball & Monopoly, and will one day pick up ice fishing (?).

Mauro Souza

Mauro was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1956, but was "born again" in 1970. He sensed a call to ministry in 1974, then served as a youth leader for the Independent Presbyterian Church in Sao Paulo, and graduated from Independent Presbyterian Seminary in Brazil, 1976. He was ordained as a pastor by Harvest Ministries in Orlando, FL, April 2006, and founded Seara (Harvest) Church on April 16, 2006 to minister to the growing Brazilian community in the Twin Cities. In August 2007, Seara Church merged and became a constituent ministry of Church of All Nations. He later completed the Commissioned Lay Pastor training. We thank God that this was a match made in heaven, and that Mauro will now serve the entire congregation as Assistant Pastor. He also serves on our presbytery's COM. Mauro is married to Hae, and they raise two teenagers together.

John Lee

John assists our senior pastor with various pastoral duties, in particular, the shaping of our worship experience. He was born in Indiana in 1966 to Chinese parents who emigrated from Taiwan. He completed his MDiv at San Francisco Theological Seminary in 2001 and was ordained on 1/25/03 by San Francisco Presbytery, serving Bethany PC in San Bruno for 4 years. John is an accomplished musician and worship leader who has led all over the country. His wife Evelyn Orr grew up in Shoreview, a few miles from our church, which gave them extra incentive to move to MN with their daughter Solveig, 7 and son Soren, 3. John is Midwestern honest and no-nonsense, California dreaming and creative, and Minnesota nice - NOT! When John first came to CAN in 2008, he thought to himself, "This is the church I've been dreaming of." Back at ya, bro!

David Mwihia

David was born in Kenya in 1965. After serving parishes in Nairobi and Webuye as an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, he came to the US in 1996 for advanced studies. He holds degrees from St. Paul United College in Nairobi, ITC, Candler School of Theology/Emory University in Atlanta, and United Theo. Seminary in Dayton, OH where he earned a Doctor of Missiology. In addition to his current duties at Church of All Nations, he is near completion of his PhD in Mission and World Religions at Luther Seminary, St. Paul. He serves on our presbytery's CPM and also supports various immigrant fellowships here in Minnesota and beyond. He is married to Lucy Njeri Mungai (also doing a PhD at Luther) and has two girls: Estherjoy Wanjiku, 18, and Tabitha Wamaitha, 9. His interests include tennis, volleyball, jogging, reading and cooking.

Hae Souza

Hae Ryun Chang's family moved from Korea to Sao Paulo when she was 4 years old. She married Mauro in 1993 and left Brazil for the US in 1994. They worked in the furniture business in MN and NJ, but could no longer resist God's call to pastoral ministry (as much as they tried!). Hae was ordained as a pastor with her husband in 2006, and serves as a full partner in the Seara Ministry and as staff of Church of All Nations, and with Mauro leads our Couples Ministry. She also serves on the Church Development Team of the Presbytery of Twin Cities Area. Hae and Mauro enjoy life in MN with their beautiful children Rebecca, 15, and Dalton, 14.

Simon Dhol

I was born in 1971 and became the first Christian in my family in a town by the Nile River called Maker in southern Sudan. On May 29, 1985, I was baptized, and two years later I left Sudan in the midst of war and went to school in Ethiopia until 1989, and then became a refugee in Kenya. Since coming to the US in 1994, we have been reconnected to the Presbyterian Church (USA) that planted our church in southern Sudan and taught us to read and write. My uncle John Tang Pal was the Elder of 18 parishes around Maker, and was a great encourager to me. I became a Commissioned Lay Pastor by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area on Jan. 12, 2008 in order to serve the Sudanese immigrant community in the Twin Cities and the upper Midwest. My ministry strengths are in preaching, evangelism and encouraging people to become disciples of Jesus. Rebeccah and I have a girl and a boy: Sarah is four and Yat is two.

Soon Pac Kim

Soon Pac was born in Montgomery, AL in 1970 and grew up in NC and Atlanta - a real Southern belle. She went to Emory University and received her MDiv at Princeton Seminary in 1997. She loves helping to raise the beautifully diverse children of Church of All Nations in faith, as well as working with the wonderful teachers and parents. Her interests include volleyball, softball, crafts, scrapbooking and gardening, but her greatest joy comes from making her home a warm and loving place for husband, children Claire and Austin, and parents-in-law. Soon Pac and Jin love living in the land of the Frozen Chosen/Chosun and welcome guests, near and far, to come and visit any time.

Dana Caraway

Born in 1980, Dana has the distinction of sharing the same birthday as Church of All Nations - Jan. 4! She graduated from Princeton Seminary in 2006 and is a candidate for pastoral ministry with Los Ranchos Presbytery. She studied for a semester in Korea while at Whitworth College, and spent a year in Ghana as a PCUSA Young Adult Volunteer. After learning as a padawan, er...intern, for three years, she now serves as Pastoral Assistant to our Senior Pastor. Dana is an amateur harpist, loves the outdoors and enjoys classical music, though she's growing to appreciate Led Zeppelin and the Bee Gees - she's finally becoming civilized! She's a great sport and helps out in any and every way around the church. Everybody loves Danish!

John Nelson

Born in 1980, John grew up on a farm near Blue Earth, MN. Raised Lutheran/ELCA, he attended Bethel University, and did his M.Div. at Bethel Seminary. He partners with Pastor Jin as the Coordinator of Internship Program in order to refine and advance our amazingly redemptive and transformative Internship ministry. Unlike Jesus and the typical Minnesotan, John cannot put hammer to nail, but he was an outstanding intern at CAN for two years and an excellent student at Luther Seminary where he is wrapping up his M.Th. He continues to reflect theologically on the practices of confession, testimony and communion in the diverse yet intimate congregation that makes CAN what it is. John is a candidate for pastoral ministry with the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, and serves on our presbytery's Nominating Committee. His interests include reading, guitar, camping, traveling, football and basketball.

Jermaine Ross

Born in Texas in 1978, Jermaine describes himself as "a passionate disciple of Jesus Christ eager to learn how to take care of God’s people and love them well!" He graduated from Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, TX in 2000, became a high school English teacher, and then started seminary at Houston Graduate School of Theology in 2007, while continuing to teach. Since 2004 he served at Woodlands Christ’s Church as Praise Leader/Pianist and later as Assistant Pastor. We can all tell that Jermaine is super sharp, has a critical mind, and is very talented, but he's also relaxed, disarming and loves to share a good laugh. He came to CAN in 2009 to learn from "a leadership that has demonstrated commitment to relevant and intentional Christian discipleship and character formation in the context of real relationships, as well as engaging the challenges of the church's fidelity to the gospel." Amen!

Maggie Chandler

Born in 1983 and raised in Elbow Lake, MN, Maggie grew up kind of anxious and athletic. A graduate of Northwestern College she leads our youth ministry full-time. She loves the youth of our church as they navigate their teenage years, and shares her faith honestly and vulnerably. She is also one of our Parish Resident Interns and lives at the "Girls House" near the church, a real place of Christian hospitality. Maggie is the best breakdancer on staff and patterns her life after Goofy. She also spent a year teaching English in Korea and is proud to have kimchee running through her veins. She totally fits in at Church of All Nations!

Hikari Nakane

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1981, Hikari's family came to Chicago when she was 9. She became a Christian in high school and graduated from Bethel University, and received a Master of Arts at Fuller Seminary. She was a translator for 13 mission trips to Chihuahua, and is fluent in English, Japanese and Spanish. She has a passion for exploring the intersection of multicultural and missional theology, and is finding genuine community, healing and a renewed sense of a pastoral call at Church of All Nations. Hikari is having the time of her life leading our Campus Ministry, taking students out to coffee and getting involved in their lives. She also serves on our presbytery's Mission and Witness Committee. Even though she admits to being a "functional atheist," she is the envy of all the interns for at least being functional.

KyungChun 'KC' Kye

Details to come.

Jeremiah Knabe

Born Presbyterian in 1982 weighing 12 pounds(!), Jeremiah grew up (and up) on a hog farm south of Jackson, MN. He was a leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes in high school and at Augsburg College, and also worked at Wilderness Canoe Base, both strong Lutheran/ELCA institutions. Luckily for him, he also met his fantastic wife Lindsay, a swimmer at the U of MN, through FCA. Jeremiah completed his M.Div. at Princeton Seminary in 2008 and has completed three previous church internships before coming to CAN in 2009. He is under care of the Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys as a candidate for ministry. He loves anything involving water - canoeing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, scuba diving, sailing (and swimmers!). At 6' 6" tall and weighing tons (metric), Jeremiah in his very life confirms the continued existence of the biblical Nephilim...just as we suspected!

Hanna Kim

Hanna was born in Minnesota in 1986, and was raised in the Korean Presbyterian Church of MN, becoming a founding member of Church of All Nations. After graduating from the University of Minnesota she spent a year in Guatemala as a PCUSA Young Adult Volunteer. She has a passion for including all of God's diverse people in intimate Christian community, and in her new staff role seeks to connect our congregation to Columbia Heights, the larger Twin Cities area, and serve the needs of our newest immigrant members. Hanna has a lovely voice and sings on our praise team, and has boundless enthusiasm for sharing the goodness of God with all people. She plans to attend seminary in the fall of 2010, but until then, hopes to learn as much as she can serving on staff. After all, in her own words: "I just LOVE this church; I love it!"

Laura Newby

Laura was born in 1982 and raised in Wisconsin. She graduated from Northwestern College and then spent a year teaching English in the Promised Land: Korea. She discovered Church of All Nations in the fall of 2006 and fell in love with the vision, ministry and people of CAN. Her desire is to work with the whole staff and assist in any way with the variety of ministry needs and opportunities that arise on a regular basis. Laura is sweet and gentle, but she's also a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has a wicked-long reach!

Renisha Prakasim

Renisha was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1981. She came to Chicago as an au pair but met Risley and fell in love. A bit reserved by nature, Renisha has had to come out of her shell to work in the crazy environment we call Church of All Nations. She is much loved and appreciated by everyone at CAN for her sweet nature and willingness to help in any way. Renisha and Risley had a beautiful wedding at our church in 2008 and continue to grow in faith, hope and love.