Gerry Smith

Pastor of Community Care and Small Group Ministries

My family and I have attended Grace since 2001 while I attended Western Seminary after moving down here from Alaska. One of the things that attracted us to this place was that it was a safe place for people who were hurting. The range of full emotion was explored and you were able to express real emotion with God and it never felt like he was going to punish you for it (or that the church was going to shun you for having emotions). We were home and I was hired as church janitor in 2003, which proved to be a great training ground for church ministry. After graduation from Western Seminary, I moved to the pastoral position I currently hold now. My passion is that folks from all walks of life will find comfort and healing through their relationship with Jesus… At work, you will frequently find me praying with folks or visiting them in homes or hospitals or devising ways to reach folks who are on the fringe of church culture

What do I do in my spare time? I love hanging out with my wife Janel and our two kids, Kathleen and Jackson. Janel and I are “mystery” fans and love old movies. Raised in Hawaii, I find all things Hawaiian fascinating and love to play the ukulele. I experiment in the kitchen with edible things (breads and ethnic dishes). I’m a novice runner (meaning I’m not winning any speed awards) and can’t get enough of picking blueberries in the Oregon summer.