Meet the team.

we love Jesus. We Love Yakima. We Love To Laugh. 

Curt McFarland

Alex Rule

Pastor, Community Life & Care
Pastor, Missions & Outreach
After leaving in 2009, Curt returns to Grace of Christ to serve as assistant pastor.  From the end of 1995 to 2005 Curt served on staff as pastor/director at Ghormley, and then for four additional years here at the church...  
Meet Curt.
Pastor Alex serves “Gracia de Cristo," the Spanish-speaking community of our Church Family; he also spearheads our outreach to the Latino community at Adams Elementary...
Meet Alex.

Sarah Huck

Nate Gross

Family At Grace
Contemporary Worship
Sarah was born and raised in Yakima, Washington. She worked in pharmacy for 13 years before deciding to stay home with her growing family. She and her husband, Marcus have been married for 15 years and have four children- Wyatt, River, Silas, and Ella...
Meet Sarah.
Nathan was born and raised in the Yakima Valley, calling Selah home for most of his life. He started writing songs at a young age, and has led worship since he was 16 years old, with Psalms 96 & 150 being instrumental Biblical passages in his development as a leader...
Meet Nate.

jazheel Garcia-Figueroa

Youth Ministry
Jahzeel Garcia-Figueroa is the current head of youth ministry alongside Amae Merrill. Who are both working on establishing a new youth program from scratch. Jahzeel has recently heard the Lord call her in this direction for now. As she grew up in this church, she was very active in youth. She attended youth consistently from 7th -12th grade.
Meet Jahzeel.

jason wickson

becca Mailand

Traditional Worship
Preschool Director
Jason is our Traditional Worship Director at Grace - working primarily with our Temple Choir and Jon Waite, organist, who lead our worship service at 11:00...
Meet Jason.
Becca is our Preschool Director at Grace of Christ. I am delighted to be back at Grace of Christ Preschool and can't wait to see what God has in store for this amazing school and ministry. Meet Becca.

crystal Lopez

Preschool Teacher

amber Miller

Preschool Teacher
Crystal is our Preschool Teacher at Grace of Christ. I started working for Grace of Christ back when it was still First Presbyterian in 2004. Meet Crystal.
Amber is our Preschool Teacher at Grace of Christ. I am so excited to watch your children learn and play this year! Meet Amber.

tammy Nunley

Business Manager
Tammy Nunley celebrated 25 years at Grace as Business/Finance Manager in 2020! (Happy Anniversary, Tammy!)  She was born and raised in Nebraska although she loves living in the Pacific Northwest...
Meet Tammy.

Deb Meyers

Tech & Communications
Debbie loves worshiping the Lord and loves technology – so she has the perfect job -using technology to bring Glory to God! She joined the staff in 1991 following a stint as the volunteer newsletter editor,..
Meet Debbie.

ericka clark

Pastor's Assistant
Ericka joined the team in 2001 and has loved serving in the front office and now, as Pastor's Assistant. If you have a question, she’ll find the answer! She also shares her passion for Jesus by leading our Prayer Matters ministry...
Meet Ericka.

Jennifer Brice

Front Office
Jennifer joined Grace of Christ in March of 2017 bringing laughter and joy to our childcare. She has two boys Miles Jr. and Ezekiel that are the loves of her life. Jennifer was born and raised in Yakima with her 8 older siblings...
Meet Jennifer.

Dan Barela

Custodian
Serving now as Head Custodian, Dan Barela started at Grace of Christ in 1987 - yep, that's 34 years ago! He loves serving with the staff and all the people of our ministries, from Preschool to Golden Circle...
Meet Dan.

John Yolo

Facilities
During John's youth in the Lower Valley during the 60's & 70's, John "attended" First Pres via KIT Radio. Then in the 80's he moved to Yakima and, on a Sunday morning invitation from a classmate, John found his in-person Church home with Grace!
Meet John.

meet our lay leaders.

dennis whitcher

Lay Pastor
Dennis received his Certificate in Lay Ministry from Whitworth College in 2002.  He was ordained as a Lay Pastor and commissioned to serve as the Pastor for the Tieton Presbyterian Church where he and his wife Barbara served for three years. Dennis was commissioned by our Session in January 2014, to serve as a volunteer Lay Pastor for Grace of Christ Church.

Dennis currently serves as a Deacon, conducts worship services at retirement homes, performs memorial and funeral services, serves on the Pastoral Care Team and assists during Sunday worship. He enjoys quilting with his wife Barbara, target shooting, trap shooting, and golf.