Grace Community Bible Church

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.

Rob booth

Staff, Youth Pastor

Rob has a passion for seeing the hearts and minds of youth radically transformed by the Gospel. His heart is for discipling and shepherding intentional relationships with students.

Rob earned a Bachelors degree in Christian Ministries in 2014 from Trinity International University. During his time Trinity he served as an intern at Grace Community where he fell in love with the church's heart and vision. He served as a Youth Pastor in Peotone, IL from 2014-2017. Rob loves coffee, music, design, photography, and film. But finds great joy in intentional time with friends.

Rob and his wife Kelli were married in 2018 and love watching movies, drinking coffee, and spending time with family and friends. They have two kids, Addy and Levi.

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, Interim Children's Director and Worship Ministry Assistant

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.

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.

ken baker

Elder and Deacon Board Chairman

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.

Al Gilanyi

Deacon

Al Gilanyi serves as a Deacon and helps to co-lead Ministry to Men at Grace Community. He was born and raised in the Milwaukee, WI area where he met his wife, now married over 30 years. Together they have 4 adult children and a growing number of grandchildren. He has spent his career in the automotive industry as a Manager and Trainer. Al graduated with an A.A.S. in Professional Communications after his children graduated college. He loves to spend time with his wife visiting grandchildren and taking motorcycle rides. Al has renovated homes in his spare time and is currently enjoying woodworking as relaxation.

Nate Rimkus

Deacon

Ursula Ahern

Deaconess