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Pastor James grew up in Korea in a Buddhist family. He was converted at the age of 16, shortly after he came to the States. Not too long after his conversion, he felt the sense of call to pastoral ministry. He received his BA in English Literature from UC Berkeley (1987) and his M.Div. (Master of Divinity) from Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California (1991). He has been serving our church since its inception--as a church planter from 1994 - 2008 and as its senior pastor after its particularization in 2008. He is happily married to Cassie and has three children--Audrey, Connor, and Averey.

Bill grew up in San Diego enjoying the southern California lifestyle. During a severe illness in high school, the Lord graciously converted him. Since then he has sought to live his life to the glory of God. Bill has degrees in Classics and Information Systems, and has worked as an IT manager in a large urban school district for almost 40 years. He and Bertha have been married for almost 30 years and have four grown children, two grandsons, and two granddaughters. Bill is honored and thankful to be called by God to serve as an elder at New Life. Bill also enjoys carpentry, gardening, weight lifting, ham radio, and reading the puritans.

Joel was born and raised in Southern California. He grew up in a very nominal Christian family but came to a full faith while an undergraduate at Caltech. After receiving a B.S. in Geophysics (1990), he went on to complete a Ph.D in Atmospheric Science at Univ. of Washington (1997). Joel has been a professor at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and a member of our church since 2000, and he was ordained as a ruling elder in 2008. He is the husband of Brittany and father of three daughters, Lydia, Adelaide, and Margaret, and two sons, Henry and James.

Paul was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States at the age of ten. Although he grew up in a loving and committed Christian home, it was his time as an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University where he came to a fuller understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ through his introduction to reformed theology. After completing his undergraduate studies in Neuroscience, he went on to receive his medical degree at Drexel University. He moved to San Diego in 2009 to complete his medical training at Scripps Mercy Hospital where he now remains as faculty. He has been a member at our church since 2009 and was ordained as a deacon in 2014 and as an elder in 2024. He is happily married to Esther and a father to one daughter, Evelyn and one son, Philip.

Joseph was raised in the Mojave Desert of Southern California and came to faith in Christ at the age of 10. His father, who served as a deacon in the local Presbyterian church, led Joseph to a deeper understanding of the Reformed faith. After earning a B.S. in Chemistry, Biology, and Music at the University of Redlands (2005), he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Arizona (2011) and moved to San Diego for post-doctoral research at UCSD. He is currently employed as a cell and molecular biologist at a life science company in Riverside county. Joseph became a member of our church in 2012, where he has especially enjoyed contributing violin music and teaching children’s Sunday School. Joseph became husband to his wife Wenyan in 2017 and was ordained as a deacon in 2018. He and Wenyan have one son, Josiah, born in 2024.

Ke was born and raised in China, and never heard of Christ growing up. Yet God, by His sovereignty and mercy, brought Ke to the United States for graduate school study, and to hear the gospel. With years of work, the Holy Spirit changed his stubborn heart, and he came to Christ in 2012, in New York City. In 2013, he and his wife, Cathy, moved to San Diego, and found New Life La Jolla to be their spiritual home. He is a Data Scientist and enjoys reading and spending time with his family. He is happily married to Cath Chen and a father to one daughter, Mina.

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Lynn was born during the war years at his grandmother’s home in Olean, New York. Like most men at the time, his dad was serving in the Armed Forces. In 1947 his family moved to their newest and their last home in San Diego California. After high school, he joined the army and served in Germany for three years. Then he joined the Fire Department of San Diego and served for 33 years. During this time, he became a Christian and attended an OPC Church and served as a deacon for 19 years. Lynn and his wife Elizabeth became members of New Life La Jolla 20 years ago and have two grown children; Sarah and Nathan, and three grandchildren. After many years of faithful service they have begun a new adventure out-of-state closer to family.

Sangwoo was raised in Seoul, South Korea, and came to the saving knowledge of Christ at the age of 20 through a series of family/personal crises. He came to the U.S. in his mid-20s to study abroad and majored in Philosophy at Calvin College. After his undergraduate studies, he moved to San Diego and completed his M.Div. training at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido in 2021. Since then, he has been serving as a pastoral intern at New Life La Jolla. He is currently looking for his future wife who can share an arduous yet rewarding journey together in this life of pilgrimage.

Roy was raised in New York City and was converted in middle school at a worship service he can no longer recall. After completing his undergraduate studies at Princeton University in 2022, he moved to Escondido to pursue a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div) at Westminster Seminary California. Roy was excited to be at New Life ever since he first visited in October 2022 and is honored to serve as one of the pastoral interns. He is happily married to his college sweetheart Esther.