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Leadership

Brad Smith
pastor
brad@sjcrc.org

I was born and raised in Michigan and came out to California for the first time in 1997 to work at Mount Hermon, a camp in Santa Cruz. I graduated Calvin College with a Biblical Studies and Business majors (note: two separate degrees; no plans for a future in televangelism). I studied for three years at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA and one year at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI.

I have been serving as pastor at San Jose CRC since 2007. I'm passionate about the grace of God uniquely revealed in the Bible through Jesus Christ, and I'm passionate about community renewal, both in the church and the city. If I could vacation only one place for the rest of my life, I would be completely content to do so in the Sierra. My wife, Karen, and I have been married since 2002 and are having an adventure in family with two kids.


Erin Wood
missional youth leader
erin@sjcrc.org

I grew up all over the bay area, spending time in the south bay, east bay and the peninsula.  I left the bay area to go to college at Azusa Pacific University, where I got my bachelor’s degree in Youth Ministry.  During my time in Azusa, I led a Young Life team at a local high school and went on two missions trips to Japan.  Then, I spent about a year and a half in San Diego, where I was on Young Life staff and taught eighth grade math and science.  I am excited to be back in the Bay Area serving the youth in San Jose, with SJCRC.

Alex Lerza
worship leader

I was born in Sacramento in 1980. But, from 1990 on I was raised in Loomis, CA.  I was exposed to spirituality through the Russian Orthodox Church and the First United Methodist Church. The former taught me the holiness of God  and latter more about God’s love for the poor. While attending the University of California Santa Cruz I checked out various faiths—Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism and what I call “Jesusanity.” InterVarsity, the Christian group I was a part of, really focused on the person of Jesus and I began to see a clearer picture of who He really was. I accepted Christ my third year and later became a worship leader and small group leader. After I graduated in 2002 I was called to minister to college students and worked with InterVarsity for 6 years at SCU, Stanford and San José State.

Since July of this year I’ve been leading worship at the San Jose CRC. My favorite ways of worshipping God are through song writing, learning new hymns and rocking it with an electric. I love being in such a sincere community and tradition. 

I love rolling hills, finding spots in the wilderness that no one knows about. I like taking my wife of two years on hikes to those places. I enjoy spear fishing, fly fishing, basketball and good friends to do it with. 

Grace Monsma
children's leader

I’m from Southern California originally and attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I earned my bachelor's degree in education and music.  My husband, Mark, and I moved to San Jose in 1978 where I’ve worked as a classroom teacher and classroom aide at San Jose Christian School for a total of eleven years. For the past fourteen years I have been the Director of Children’s Ministries here at San Jose Christian Reformed Church.  I feel gifted and called to work with children and to share my gratitude and love of God’s gift of grace with them.

I enjoy gardening, sewing, playing piano with our Sunday morning praise team at church and teaching piano to 24 young students in my own piano studio in my home.  I love to spend time with my husband and my two adult children, Jesse and Anna.

Agnes Lien
office administrator

Mavis Moon
techy
secretary@sjcrc.org 

As I grew up, my dad was a chaplain in the Air Force so I lived in a lot of places. Changing schools and moving away from my friends was not something I liked very much as a kid, but I had a great childhood with a loving family. I graduated from Calvin College, then moved to San Jose for a teaching job. During my first year in California I married my husband Randy and we've lived here now for over 30 years -- a lot different from my nomadic childhood!

I am the IT manager at Pivot Interiors 4 days a week and on Fridays I work at the church. I love using technology in order to further God's work in the world.