Pastors, Staff and Field Staff

PASTOR OF MINISTRY DEVELOPMENT	Paul Hansen was born and raised on the East Coast, but moved to the Midwest and graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 1993. He has been on staff and a vocational Elder/Pastor at Grace since 2001. He’s passionate about Jesus – but he thinks people are okay, too. His passion is to see people equipped to think, imitate, and follow Jesus more closely with a global perspective. If Paul had to choose between equipping people and drinking coffee…he would still take the people (and that is saying a lot!). He serves the collective Elder/Pastor team as the Pastor of Ministry Development. That means overseeing the Staff, mobilizing the church, and refining the vision. Paul has been married to his soul mate Amy since 1993. Together they have four beautiful kids (all like their mother).

PASTOR OF FAMILY MINISTRIES	Dave Kirk spent the previous 15 years in St. Louis, but he grew up in northwest Indiana. He has been married to his beautiful wife Debbie for 16 years. They have five amazing children, four sons and one daughter. Dave has been in full-time ministry for over 16 years as a Youth & Family Pastor, and he just finished his second Masters degree. He joined our staff team in 2009. Dave is a huge sports fan and roots for “the best team” (cringe), the Cardinals. He also enjoys reading and listening to good rock music. He is very passionate about seeing men grow into the spiritual leaders that God has created and called them to be so that their families are prepared to pass that spiritual heritage down to future generations.

TEACHING PASTOR	Brooks Simpson is our Pastor for Teaching and Preaching. Brooks came to faith in Christ as a college student athlete while attending Grace in 1988 and has been on staff since 1998. Brooks’ heart is to see Christ magnified and exalted in the lives of people. The spiritual battle described in Ephesians 6 is real and Brooks’ passion is to equip people to take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. He would love for people to see that Christ and His gospel are on every page of the Bible, and to understand the gospel as having power to transform life here and now, not only as a ticket to heaven. When he’s not behind the pulpit or fulfilling his pastoral duties the rest of the week, he enjoys spending time with his family or finding an excuse to be outdoors. Brooks has been married to his bride Stacy since 1989. They have two children, Ryan and Katelyn.

PASTOR OF OUTREACH	Tom Widmer is a man of many roles. He serves as an elder/pastor here at Grace Community, and since his retirement from 30 years as an Iowa City police officer, Pastor of Outreach. He and wife Glenda also teach Missions Club for elementary age youth on Sundays, where he is known for overseeing the distribution of candy. Tom has accomplished two short-term mission trips above the arctic circle (Fort Yukon and Birch Creek, Alaska), and loves to fish! He and Glenda have been members of Grace since 1988. They have two children: Tim, who graduated to be with Christ in 1998, and Tabitha. Tom desires to spread a passion among believers in Christ, to do good works for the sole purpose of bringing glory to Jesus Christ.

DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES & BIBLICAL COUNSELING ASSOCIATE	Joe Abdo has been a friend and associate of Grace Community since 2003 when he moved here to help plant Mars Hill Church. He has been involved in the facility management profession for over 20 years. Joe is most passionate about seeing lives changed for the glory of God through Grace’s Counseling Ministry. “I like that Grace is Christ-centered, holds to the sufficiency of Scripture, and is dependent on the Holy Spirit,” he says. “I am excited that we seek to both build into the life of the believer and influence the life of the unbeliever. And I appreciate that the leadership structure recognizes Jesus as the Head of the church and the leaders as the primary servants.” Joe has been married to Shirley for 21 years and they have five boys, ages 17 to 1 year old. Joe enjoys being outdoors – hiking, camping, climbing, and sailing. They enjoy soccer as a family.

SECRETARY OF OFFICE MANAGEMENT	Jean Keeley oversees the clerical support functions of our office-based ministry and provides administrative support to staff and volunteer ministry leaders. Jean was born in Iowa City and has been part of Grace Community since 1993. She joined the staff in May 2007. She has 25 years experience working in professional office settings. Jean likes to hike, travel, cheer on the Iowa football team, and be involved in some good Bible study. A little known fact about Jean is that she shoots a pretty good game of pool “for a girl.” She also likes listening to music really loud in her car.

SECRETARY OF OFFICE ADMINISTRATION	Christine Loren is the friendly voice and “face of Grace” when you call or stop in to the Office! Christine and her family – husband Eric and three children Ally(10), Tyler (8) and Joshua (6) – have been part of Grace Community since 2003. “What I like most about Grace is the GREAT sound biblical teaching and all the young people.” Christine enjoys serving people with the gifts and talents that the Lord has given her. She also loves getting to know more of Grace Community as a perk of serving on the Staff. This means you so stop in and say hello! The Loren family enjoys playing board games, movie nights/slumber parties, tent camping and spending time outdoors (mostly in the summer). Their house is also home to Desi, their 2-year-old Weimapeak dog.

SECRETARY OF FINANCES & ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT	Amy Taylor grew up in Webster City, IA and moved to Iowa City in 2005 to attend the University of Iowa. While at Iowa, Amy managed the finances for Campus Crusade for Christ, and now brings that training to Grace, along with her accounting degree earned in ‘09. Amy also spent a summer in South Carolina being trained and developed in evangelism and discipleship. She joined the staff in 2009. While most of the staff love coffee, Amy’s ‘coffee’ in the morning is Mt. Dew. She loves watching Hawkeye football with her husband, Tony. Amy is responsible for the finances of Grace Community, and through her ministry ensures sound stewardship.

DIRECTOR OF YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES	Jason Blackley’s favorite junk food is donuts, which he gets to eat with the youth as he oversees the young adult and children’s ministries here at Grace Community. He was born and raised in Kansas City, MO where he received ten years of ministry training. He has been a part of Grace since 2006. Jason is passionate about providing quality child care and classes to supplement the God-given call parents have to disciple their family. He has the privilege of being a shepherd in his own home to wife Dollie, and sons Micah and Jude. Jason enjoys reading and playing sports that involve a ball or a puck.

ELEMENTARY MINISTRY COORDINATOR	Cindy Sulwer has been a part of the Children’s Ministry Team for many years as a volunteer and we are excited to see her role increase with more office hours as a paid staff member. Cindy, her husband Kevin, and their kids Kyle (11), Megan (8) and Carly (7) have been part of Grace Community for over six years. “I loved Grace from the beginning because the preaching was right out of the Bible and I felt as if I was always being challenged to live out my faith day to day. I got myself plugged into AWANA the first week I was here.” Cindy is passionate about the next generation and loves to help kids in their journey with Jesus. She also loves to come alongside moms and encourage them to enjoy the awesome and honoring role that parenting is with God as their guide. She looks forward to seeing where God takes Grace Community over the next few years!

NURSERY COORDINATOR	Natasha Miller is new to our Children’s Ministry Staff but is not a new face at Grace! She and her husband Ryan have been part of Grace since 2002. Natasha’s passion to train her own children – Aubrey (6), Cameron (5) and Lauren (2) – to love and follow hard after Jesus is an asset as she leads the team of Nursery volunteers to love and pray for ALL of our children in Jesus’ name. Natasha looks forward to further serving our church body, where she says she and Ryan have both been encouraged to live our their faith day by day, rather than just be a “church consumer”.

DIRECTOR OF WOMEN’S MINISTRIES	Eva Anderson oversees women’s ministry here at Grace. She is passionate about meeting people, helping others get connected and seeing women grow closer to Christ. Eva married her best friend Steve in 1991 and they have two precious gifts from God, Teddy and Grace who both joined their family through the miracle of adoption. Eva and Steve grew up in Minnesota and moved to Iowa in 2002. They enjoy frequent visits to Minnesota to visit family and take in great traditions like the Minnesota State Fair. Before becoming a mom in 2000, Eva enjoyed her career as an elementary school teacher for seven years. Next to her family and ministry, Eva loves gardening, watching movies, and eating Ghirardelli chocolate.

HOUSE CHURCH DIRECTOR	Dan Bovenmyer is glad to help you find a place to belong at Grace Community. He is responsible for overseeing our Faith Families and coaching the leaders. Dan is an active member of the Iowa City community and also started his own business, Cramer IT Consulting. Dan is married to Wendy and father to Jakob, Evie and Annie. He admits he is “20% lion, 10% otter and 70% geek.” While he spends his free time rough-housing with his kids and following sports, he is also a voracious reader and finds great joy in making people laugh. He lists his passions as his wife, the Hawkeyes (despite his own alma mater being Iowa State), pie, and improving bio questionnaires like this one – very funny, Dan. In all seriousness, Dan consistently finds himself passionate about Jesus and says, “I am moved as I think about how he lived and died, and am trying to absorb his gospel into every part of my life.”

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY	Gabe Isbell is our Geek Squad at Grace Community. You can spot him by his long, curly locks and might be surprised to know that as a child, he had straight blonde hair. He and wife Missy have been a part of Grace Community since 2003. They have three beautiful children, Forest, Willow, and Asher. Gabe volunteered with technology for several years and has been on the staff team since 2008. He also works in IT outside of his role at Grace Community. Gabe likes watching football, playing Wii and a Bible-based card game called Redemption. His favorite junk foods are ice cream and chocolate.

DIRECTOR OF WORSHIP	Nathan Meyer leads the music ministries of Grace Community Church, including Sunday morning bands, music for youth and general worship leadership training. He hopes to help foster a deeper understanding of how worship IS our daily living. Thus, our weekly singing together on Sunday mornings is practice for eternity.Nathan and his wife, Rachel, moved to the Iowa City area from Ames in 2003 to help plant the Mars Hill house church network. Since then, the Meyer family has expanded to include four children: Elijah, Eleanor, Isaiah and Silas. Nathan enjoys going on adventures, getting to know people and trying new foods.