The Staff

Kendrick Vinar – Senior Pastor

Kendrick joined the pastoral staff at Grace Church of Chapel Hill as a district pastor in 2002. He served as the executive pastor from 2003-2004 before being set in as the senior pastor in August 2005.

Kendrick has a passion for worship and prayer and loves to share the Word of God in a way that encourages and transforms hearts. His leadership and emphasis on having a heart for God and people has ignited passion and fresh vision in his congregation as well as motivating people to action in their individual spheres.

Besides Jesus, Kendrick has a passion for: family, golf, espresso, espanol, the mountains, bow hunting and anything Mac. Kendrick and his wife Nana have been married since July 1993, have five children, and live in Chapel Hill, NC.

Kendrick Vinar is originally from Stillwater, Minnesota. He received his B.A. from St. Olaf College in Math and Religion and his M.A. from the University of St. Thomas in Teaching.

Kendrick taught high school math and physics and coached basketball for 5 years at Bethany Academy in Bloomington, MN. He also served as a staff pastor at City Hill Fellowship in Eden Prairie, MN for 8 years.

Jim Reklis – Community Life Pastor

Jim has been on staff at Grace since November of 1989. He served as an associate pastor from 1989-1999, executive pastor from 2000-2002, and senior pastor from 2002-2005. Jim has a lifelong passion to see people transformed by the Gospel and live in a vibrant community of faith. He oversees the small group ministry at Grace; the place for people to grow spiritually and build relationships.

He also oversees the mission’s ministries and enjoys seeing Grace Church reach across the street and around the world. He serves as a leadership coach to ministry leaders, pastors, and missionaries. Jim enjoys biking, golf, travel and spending time with family and friends. He attended the University of Minnesota, Oral Roberts University, a Master’s program at The Resurgence in Seattle, WA and is a certified coach.

He and his wife, Phyllis, met at Oral Roberts University and were married in November 1975. They have six adult children and one grandson. Phyllis is involved in mentoring women and enjoys speaking to groups on a variety of topics. She works in the community as a companion for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Prior to his pastoral role at Grace Jim served as senior pastor at Bethany Chapel, Wynne, Arkansas 1986-88), senior pastor at Gracelife Church, Marshall Minnesota (1983-86), and associate pastor at Victory Vineyard Fellowship, Burnsville, Minnesota (1980-83.)

Jonathan Love – Executive Pastor

Jonathan joined the staff in December 2008. As the Executive Pastor Jonathan is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the church. His passion is to see lost people come to know Christ and be transformed into mature disciples.

Jonathan graduated from Grace College of Divinity and served on staff for 3 years at Manna Church in Fayetteville, NC. Then God called them to Southern Pines, NC to be a part of Grace Church, of Southern Pines where he served for 5 years as Executive Pastor.

Jonathan and Michelle were married in 1999 in Daytona Beach, FL. Michelle Graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in speech pathology. She now spends her time home schooling their 4 worldchangers; Brooke, Stephen, Christin, and David.

DeWayne Watson – Family Life Pastor

DeWayne (Pastor D) leads each of the ministry teams that serve our families with children from birth to college. DeWayne has 21 years of pastoral experience having served organizations and churches in Florida, Texas and North Carolina. He joined our pastoral team in the Fall of 2005. DeWayne and his wife, Michelle, have three children and live in Holly Springs, N.C.

Jeremy Gwaltney – Young Adults Pastor

Jeremy is a staff pastor with the primary responsibility for the young professionals and first impressions ministries at Grace Church.  Jeremy has been a member of Grace since 1989 and has more than a decade of ministry experience.  He has a degree in Communication from N.C. State University and a Master’s of Divinity in Advanced Biblical Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Jeremy joined the pastoral team in the Fall of 2003.

When he’s not trying to chase down his two young daughters, or enjoying quality time with his wife, Jeremy enjoys theological and historical reading, watching a good television show, and all things NC States sports.  He and his wife, Tiffanee, have been married since 2003, and reside in Durham, NC

Adam Dawson – Middle School Pastor/ C3 Director

Adam Dawson joined Grace Church’s team in August 2007 as a full-time missionary to the high schools of Chapel Hill and Durham. He helped pioneer Cross Culture on Campus, Grace Church’s campus outreach to the area’s students, and now oversees C3 at 10 high school campuses, reaching about 100 students each week. Adam was ordained at Grace Church in October 2009. Also, Adam is the personal assistant to Kendrick Vinar, oversees the media team, leads the middle school ministry, and directs summer day camps at Grace.

Prior to joining Grace Church’s staff, Adam was a high school math teacher for 4 years. He did undergraduate work at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD and graduate work at the University of Mississippi. He was born and raised in Leavenworth, KS. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have 3 children and live in Durham.

David Dollar – Worship Leader

David Dollar began attending Grace Church in January of 2007 and played guitar with the worship team on his very first Sunday. His good friend, and worship leader at that time, Nathan Fancher had extended an invite to fill in for a guitar player. Little did David know that God would present an opportunity to follow in Nathan’s footsteps and join the staff as a worship leader nearly 4 years later in September of 2010.

David has a love for the the life-changing message of the Gospel and desires people to be impacted by seeing the crucified and risen Christ in worship. He also pursues musical excellence in the skills area of worship and hopes to develop bands, as well as young musicians, into powerful and cohesive units.

David is single and was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. He has nearly 20 years of experience as a guitarist, songwriter, band member, worship leader, and studio musician. In his free time, he enjoys reading, disc golf, burritos, composing, movies, hikes, dogs, and his iphone 4.

Darnell Tayleor – Assistant Director of C3

Darnell Tayleor is a part-time missionary to the high school students of Durham, Wake, and Orange Counties. He has been a member of Grace Church since October of 2004. Before becoming Assistant Director of Cross Culture on Campus(C3), Darnell was the owner and operator of a commercial cleaning business

Darnell’s heart is to see every high school student come to know Christ by providing them with God-centered communities to grow in the knowledge of Him. He and his wife Nikko live in Durham, NC with daughter Brielle.

Quauhtli Olivieri – Campus Coordinator

Quauhtli has been attending Grace Church since the Fall of 2003. He was born in Bosques de Aragon, Mexico but grew up in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. He then moved to North Carolina in the summer of 2000. Graduated from Raleigh Charter High School in 2007 and will graduate from North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the Fall of 2011. He plans to enter seminary at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall of 2012.

Quauhtli married his awesome, wise, and beautiful wife Kathryn Olivieri in December, 2010 and currently is the Campus Coordinator here at Grace.