Little Church on the Prairie
Make | Grow | Share
Pastoral Staff

Senior Pastor and Head of Staff
James Kim
Thank you for checking us out. I am glad you are here.
I have been one of the pastors at the Little Church and Lakewood Grace since 2010. I consider it an absolute privilege to be able to share about Jesus. Here, you will hear the word of God preached and expounded upon. We go verse by verse through God's word because we stand under the authority of God's word in order that we might begin understanding the world around us. It is exciting to see what God is up to through the Little Church and Lakewood Grace and invite you to find out for yourself.
I have been married to Helen and we have four adult children. I studied philosophy at Pepperdine University, received my Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and received my Doctorate of Ministry from the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC.
When not working, I enjoy golf (most of the times), riding my motorcycle (when the weather is nice), and reading.

Pastor, Lakewoodgrace
Brad Epperson
Welcome! I grew up in Lakewood and would like to formally apologize to any teacher in the Clover Park School District who is reading this bio. I’m sorry, especially if you were a sub. I’m living proof that a relationship with Jesus is transformative!
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I received my M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2008 and was ordained and installed at Little Church in 2011. A few years later we launched Lakewoodgrace because we’re passionate about introducing as many people as possible to the hope and joy that is found in Jesus. Prior to my ministry at Little Church and Lakewoodgrace I was a chaplain resident at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma.
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Heather and I have been married since 2001 and we’re proud parents of our two kids, Ava and Lucas.

Parish Associate
Bill Ward
Bill retired in February 2019 after 20 years as Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Reardan, WA, a small farming community 25 miles west of Spokane. This was his first and only pastoral call as a “second career” pastor and a very different style and pace of life for a lifetime suburban dweller and former electrical engineer. Bill attended UC Davis where he met his wife Lori. Upon graduation, Bill accepted a job with Boeing working in military and then commercial avionics systems. During this time, he and Lori attended Foster Tukwila Presbyterian Church, where both of them became very active in teaching and missions. It was originally to improve his Bible teaching skills that Bill first attended Fuller Theological Seminary classes through their Seattle Extension. After a couple of years of classes, the Session of Foster suggested that Bill explore ordained ministry. Also during this time, Lori & Bill welcomed their four children, Leanna, Peter, Monica and Renee into the world. Soon after Renee came along, they moved to Bothell as Bill followed a job opportunity. There they attended both Emmanuel Presbyterian Church and Lake Forest Park Presbyterian Church, where Bill served as a ministry intern for 18 months. Now settled in Lakewood, Lori & Bill are close to their three daughters and their families (Peter is just a short hop away in Boise). With a great love of the great outdoors, Lori & Bill enjoy camping & hiking, scenic road trips, cooking, gardening and (for Bill) cycling (both road & mountain). Bill has always been passionate about missions, especially the unique mission of the smaller church and “frontier missions” (taking the Gospel where it has not been before). Bill has served the Presbyteries of Seattle, North Puget Sound (now Northwest Coast) and Inland Northwest in a wide range of capacities, including as commissioner to the Synod of Alaska Northwest and to the 221st General Assembly (2014).
Additional Staff

Michelle Atkinson
Office Manager

Mary Mannering
Director of Children's Ministry & Preschool Director
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Molly Crane
Director of Music

Kaitlin Kim
Student Ministries

Sasha Hueston
Student Ministries

Jinshil Yi
Pianist

Gail Green
Prairie Bells

Elaine Sorenson
Bookkeeper

Gene Shobey
A/V

Jesse Green
Custodian