our leadership team
Mike Bryant
Staff, Lead Pastor, Elder
Mike began full-time ministry in 1997 serving at two different churches in the areas of Student, Adult and Worship Ministries. In 2007, the Lord called Mike to lead a group of thirty-five people in planting Grace Community Bible Church. He continues to serve and lead this church as the Lead Pastor and an Elder.
In preparation for ministry, Mike earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies from Trinity International University, a Master of Divinity from Moody Theological Seminary and a pastoral training certificate from a Training Center for Church Planting. Before entering vocational ministry, he worked in graphic design for five years.
Mike enjoys sports (& anything competitve), movies, music, good strong coffee, games (video & strategy board) as well as preaching the grace and truth of God's Word. His favorite book of the Bible is Exodus and he loves to see people grow in their faith and passion for Jesus. Mike and his wife, Cathy, have four children – Alex, Emily, Max and Miles.
john benz
Elder and Staff, Associate Pastor
Johnny graduated from Trinity International University with a Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies in 2004. He then continued on to receive his MDiv. from Trinity Divinity School in 2008. He has served as a Youth Pastor in Fox Lake from 2004-2008.
He has been a teacher & chaplain at Christian Liberty Academy since 2009. He has been married to Charmagne since 2013. During his down time he loves anything competitive, especially board games. He and Charmagne have three boys, Anthony, Joshua and Cayden.
Sam Pimpo
Staff, Youth Pastor
Sam joined our staff as Youth Pastor in September 2024. Sam and his wife Katharyn live in Grayslake and have three beautiful, creative and energetic girls - Selah, Eliana and Joanna.
Before entering into ministry, Sam spent eight years as an officer in the US Army. He is currently attending Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in pursuit of his Master's of Divinity. Sam enjoys hiking, physical fitness and has recently picked up deer hunting.
Cathy Bryant
Staff, Director of Women's Ministry
She enjoys event planning, decorating and spending time with her 4 children. She and Mike were married in 1998.
mEGAN THOMAS
Staff, Assistant to the Lead Pastor
Megan comes to us with more than 8 years of executive assistant and office manager experience. She graduated from Trinity International University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and Marketing. Megan and her husband David have been faithfully attending Grace for more than 10 years. She has served with Women's, Worship, Youth and Children's Ministries and is excited to support all the others!
When she isn't serving on staff, she enjoys playing and watching sports - cheering for most Chicago teams (Bears, Cubs, Blackhawks and Bulls), playing board games, spending time with her family and friends and traveling to new places!
Rebecca Wolfe
Staff, Children's Director and Worship Ministry Assistant
Becca is a former 2nd grade teacher who comes to us with over 7 years of classroom teaching in Lake & McHenry County public schools. Becca and her husband, PJ have 2 children, Declan and Finley.
She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing games, and watching movies.
ken baker
Elder
Ken Baker serves as an Elder and the Deacon Board Chairman at Grace Community. He also serves on the Worship Team playing electric guitar. Ken and his wife Lisa have been married for 27 years and have two adult children Lauren, and Brad. He has spent the majority of his career working in Information Systems in various positions, and today works as a Software Delivery Manager. Ken enjoys spending time with his wife and family, hiking, fishing, attending small group bible studies, and playing guitar.
Seth Kryder
Elder
Seth serves as an Elder and plays piano as a faithful member of our rotating worship teams. He and his wife Rachel have three children - Liam, Adeline and Elliot. They enjoy spending time outside and playing games with family and friends.
Jim Skinner
Elder
Jim Skinner serves as an Elder at Grace Community, as well as, serving on the Welcome Team and the Tech Teams on Sundays. Jim and his wife Patty have been married for 32 years and have two adult children, Jon and Dima. He is retired from a career in Information Technology. Jim and Patty are avid home improvers always having a project around the house, yard, or workshop to work on. Jim enjoys spending time with his wife and family, biking, hiking, watching movies or British TV, reading and discussing current events.
Dave thomas
Elder Board Chairman
Dave, known as "DT" around Grace Community, serves as Chairman of the Elder Board, helps lead Men's Ministry and plays drums with the Worship Ministry. He has worked in finance for the majority of his career, and right now is working as a Senior Finance Manager.
Dave and his wife Megan, have been attending Grace for over 10 years now. They live in Grayslake and love to travel and explore new places together, as well as spend time with their family and friends. He is a huge Chicago sports fan, the Bulls being the top of the list as basketball is his favorite sport.
Ursula Ahern
Deacon, Board Chairwoman
Ursula, and her husband Paul, have called Grace Community Bible Church "home" since 2013. They started attending because it was close to their house, and stayed because of the Biblical teaching and the people.
When you meet Ursula, you won't notice an accent, but her first language is German. Her family immigrated when she was a toddler and she grew up in NJ. She has a wide variety of interests--science, excel spreadsheets, quilting, audio books--to name just a few.
One of her greatest joys is leading women's Bible studies: "It is exciting when women gather together and dig into Scripture --seeing the impact of a very personal God, who loves each one of us tremendously"
Dave Hatton
Deacon, Treasurer
Dave Hoyer
Deacon
Nate Rimkus
Deacon
Melissa richards
Deacon
Melissa and her husband Keith have been attending Grace since 2016. They live in Wisconsin and have 3 daughters and have recently welcomed a new granddaughter. They both love to travel, relaxing on a beach or camping. Melissa loves to garden and also helps to care for our beautiful church property.
David Rosales
Deacon