Elders and Deacons
What is a Session?
Our Session is comprised of Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders who have been called to oversee,
nourish, and govern the church, its members, and its ministries. Grace Church also has a Session Advisory Board, which is comprised of unordained women that assist the elders in their duties.
Teaching Elders: Joshua Suh, Kenny Foster, Rob Wolfe
Ruling Elders: Kirk Ball, Tim Reisinger, Dave Brown, Tom Kauth, Mike Godfery, Tyler Hogan, Carl
Way
Advisory Board: Maria Hamilton, Julienne Williams, Sandy Langer, Cristina Bromley and Sharon Jones
What is a Diaconate?
Our Diaconate is comprised of Deacons and Deaconesses who have been called to the work of
serving the physical and spiritual needs of the people. They oversee the mercy ministries of the
church and assist in helping those who are in need, the sick, the friendless, and any who may be
in distress.
Deacons: Robert Jones, Jay Pearson, Jon Wallace, Bill Courts
Deaconesses: Ruthann Arthur, Angela Peacock, Sharon Jones, Janine Martin, Flora Ball
Our Story
Where We’ve Come From
Grace Church began as a mission church of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES) on October 16, 1977 called Reformed Presbyterian Church of Dover. As the church grew, it became a particular church on October 12, 1980. Grace became part of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 1982 and Jonathan Seda was called as pastor in 1983.
Through a PromiseKeeper’s pastors’ conference coupled with deep, personal study of Ephesians, Pastor Seda was gripped with the biblical vision of racial reconciliation and the call of the gospel to reach across lines of race and class in our own Dover community. This sparked the monumental shift of the church over a decade to embrace the “Multi-Ethnic Vision.”
Rick Barr came on staff in 1991 as the ministries coordinator and eventually spent the rest of his time at Grace overseeing the Youth and Young Adult ministries until he retired in fall of 2021. Jeff Rakes joined the pastoral staff in 1993 and faithfully led the worship operations and administration at Grace until his retirement in fall of 2021. Kenny Foster joined the pastoral staff in January 2007 overseeing outreach and helping the integration of the church’s multi-ethnic vision. He led Grace as its Senior Pastor from 2020-2023 as Pastor Seda retired after 37 years of faithful service.
Where We’re Going
In 2015, the Dover United Korean Church, which had met in Grace’s facilities for years, dissolved and became members of Grace, further strengthening the church’s development as a multicultural congregation. Joshua Suh joined the pastoral staff in January 2021 and transitioned as Grace’s Senior Pastor in January 2024, continuing the multi-ethnic vision of our church.
Rob Wolfe and John Stephens came on staff in September 2024 to oversee family ministries and worship ministries respectively, continuing Grace’s transition to a next generation of leaders.
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