Elders

Alischia and her husband John have been members of BelPres since 2009. Alischia has been involved in Mother’s Fellowship, the preschool, Women at the Well, Jubilee Reach, a COTN mission trip, summer service days, meal packing, All In Groups, Christmas boxes, the Race and Reconciliation team, and continues to serve with the high school ministry. She is a student for life and one of her passions is leading a small group in its 15th year. Alischia and John have two kids, JR and Alex, and are an active couple and family. Look for them running laps around the neighborhood, at concerts and sporting events, at the gym, or on the pickleball court.

Christine grew up in the music program at BelPres, singing in the kids’ choirs starting at 5 years old, and now sings in the “big kids” choir every Sunday in Sanctuary Chorus! She is an avid Auto Angels groupie and has helped with the annual benefit car show for many years. She has worked in mortgage banking, startup pitching for grants/investments, healthcare administration, and earned her Executive MBA from UW Foster School of Business. She loves Cannon Beach, a good 0.9mm mechanical pencil, and proper usage of the Oxford comma. Christine firmly believes anything can be solved with chocolate or cheese. She is proudest of being a crazy aunt to her young niece and nephews, who are of course involved in the youth music program at BelPres!

Blaise and his wife Roselyne are originally from Burundi and eventually settled in the Bellevue area after a stay in Tucson, Arizona. They have three kids: Abigael, Abiah and Abdiel. Blaise is passionate about prayer, reading the Word, and listening to the Holy Spirit. He loves to preach and teach others about the Good News of Jesus Christ. At BelPres, he is currently leading a Bible study, a weekly prayer meeting, and actively participates and supports the leadership of New Hope Revival.

William joined his wife, Pam, here at BelPres after they were married in the old A frame sanctuary in 1991. They have two children, Sam and Madison, who were both baptized at BelPres. William, with Pam, taught Sunday School for eight years. William has been a member of the BelPres Planning & Evaluation Committee, Session, and the Finance Committee. He has served on two BelPres Business Administration search committees. He is currently serving on the Board of the BelPres Legacy Foundation and the BelPres Justice & Racial Reconciliation Team. After 36 years with Woodworth Capital, as VP/CFO, William has recently moved into semi-retirement. William has manned the boards of various non-profits over the years. He currently sits on the Board of the Woodworth Family Foundation and the Finance Committee of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound. William loves traveling to visit family and friends, playing golf, and having lively discussions.

Andrew Kim is a high school student at Lakeside School. He is the eldest of four siblings. He experiences the presence and love of God most deeply in the creation of the great outdoors where he hikes, runs, rows, and bikes. He loves to travel the world, but also likes looking for cool places around his Seattle hometown. He appreciates big books on any subject and is always looking for recommendations. He loves music and sang in BelPres youth choirs and currently plays the trombone. You can find him most Sundays at the 11am Sanctuary service in the balcony singing with his grandpa.

Heather has been a member of BelPres since 1999. She and her husband Magnus have two children, Elise and Erik. Heather helped to start the KidREACH tutoring program at BelPres and was a leader there for thirteen years. She has been a leader of the BelPres JusGce & Racial ReconciliaGon Team for 8 years. During her Gme at BelPres, she has helped out with VBA and Sunday School, and parGcipated in Women at the Well, Mother’s Fellowship, and All-In groups. Heather loves learning and Bible study and is almost finished with a Master’s Degree in JusGce and Advocacy from Fuller Seminary.

John has attended BelPres for 17+ years with his wife and son (student at UW). He has enjoyed serving at Jubilee Reach, on the Justice & Racial Reconciliation team, as an All-In coleader, worship host, parking host and communion server, plus side gigs with Congo Peace and the Israel Palestine team. His current jams include Common Hymnal and Jon Batiste. He greatly enjoyed the scene in "The Chosen" where Jesus pranks Simon with the miraculous catch of fish, and thanks Jesus and Jerry Seinfeld for teaching him to always look for the joke.

Annie and her family started attending BelPres in 2010. Her main area of involvement has been in the Kids and Students Department, where she has led numerous small groups and attended many youth retreats. Last year she completed a 6-year stent with the same group of girls, working with them from 7th grade through their senior year of high school, which was a very fun experience! Annie’s husband, Dale is involved in modern worship and her kids, Jake (a college grad as of 2023) and Rebekah (a current college student) both came up through BelPres Kids and Students. Outside of BelPres, Annie volunteers at Jubilee Reach, leads a Moms in Prayer group and has recently started working at Clyde Hill Elementary on a part time basis. Annie enjoys hanging out with Dale, time with friends, her morning cup of coffee, her evening sweet treat and whatever time she can get with her kids now that she is an empty nester.

Frank is originally from South Korea and came to the U.S. (Southern California) for college. He came to Seattle for his Ph.D. at the University of WA and decided to settle here. He currently works at Boeing as a Human Factors & Ergonomics Engineer, supporting the health and safety of manufacturing workers who build airplanes. Frank and his wife, Esther, started attending BelPres when they married in Dec 2016. They fell in love with the traditional service (especially the music), and how the church welcomes cultural diversity. Their son, Ezra, loves coming to Sunday school and learning about God with his friends. Frank currently serves on the greeting team. During his free time, he likes to explore nature, watch movies, and do some small house projects.

Zoraida has been attending BelPres with her family since 2016. She has volunteered at BelPres for several years, assisting in the childcare center and camps such as VBA and Adventure Day Camp. She has participated in the church's choir programs for many years, starting with Joysong and now singing in Bel Canto. In 2024, she went on the church’s mission trip to Guatemala. In her free time, she enjoys doing art, reading, and crafts. Additionally, she likes doing outdoor activities with her family, such as hiking and camping.

Mary Kay and her husband have lived and attended church in the Seattle area for over 20 years. They began attending BelPres in 2019 following a short-term move to northern California for career opportunities. They have found a shared theological fit within BelPres and especially appreciate the church’s outreach focus, cultural diversity, and musical-filled worship services. Mary Kay’s service within BelPres has included teaching Sunday school, being a VBA leader, co-leading an All-In group, and co-leading the Mom’s Fellowship group. She retired from a 40-year career as an obstetrical/gynecological nurse practitioner, where she had the opportunity to serve in various leadership roles within clinics, hospitals, and non-profit organizations. Mary Kay and her husband have three daughters and three granddaughters. She enjoys spending her spare time with each of them. Mary Kay’s further interests include skiing, biking, hiking, crafting, travel, and reading.

Charlie spent his formative years in San Diego, California where he was active in his faith community (Laurel Bible Chapel), Youth for Christ, and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Charlie met the love of his life, Margie, while attending San Diego State. They have been married for nearly 54 years and have two grown children and three young grandchildren. Charlie and Margie were involved in church leadership at both Pasadena Covenant Church and Pine Lake Covenant Church, after which God led them to BelPres. At BelPres, Charlie has served as a deacon, member of the Nominating Committee, and facilitator of a support group for parents of LGBTQ children. Charlie is currently semi-retired (still doing part-time contract work for a local company). During his free time, Charlie enjoys woodturning and various home DYI projects, while he and Margie enjoy travel, classical music, and theater.

Drew and his wife Kari, and their sons Jake and Nick, have been part of the BelPres community since 2008. Drew is deeply involved in Bible study groups and leads an all-in group. Since the fall of Afghanistan, he and Kari were called to support arriving refugee families, participating in a mission trip to Lesbos and Samos, and serving on a BelPres Good Neighbor Team. Drew's professional journey spans over three decades at Boeing, where he began as an aeronautical engineer, transitioned to marketing as a financial analyst, and eventually led the marketing team in Europe before retiring a few years ago. His passion lies in solving problems, planning, and developing long-term strategy. Drew is actively engaged in his community. He serves on Bellevue’s Transportation Commission, Hopelink’s Finance Committee, and the board of Samena.

Karen has been a member of BelPres since 2012. She has loved Jesus as far back as she can remember, and her youth group was instrumental in strengthening her faith and confidence. Earlier in life, Karen and her husband Larry lived in Kinshasa, Congo for 3 years building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Years later, they have 2 children, both married, one new grandson, and they still love worldwide travel. At BelPres Karen has been a Women at the Well table leader for 8 years and had been a youth leader for 7 years. A 2017 sermon with the assigned homework to pray how to care for your neighbors started Karen hosting monthly dinners for their neighbors. The neighborhood has been transformed with this simple act of showing Jesus' love. At the first glimpse of Spring, Karen can be found spending way too much time gardening and making excuses not to go indoors.