Leadership & Staff

Chris Jones, Elder

Chris Jones

Elder

elders@gracerva.com

Chris is married to Alisa, his college sweetheart. They have two fun, sweet daughters, Elisabeth and Tori Jane. They also own a playful golden retriever named Buttercup. The Jones family lived in North Carolina for nearly a decade before moving to RVA in 2017 to join Grace Community. Chris first came to faith in Christ in 1996 and began to grow in loving obedience to God through the discipleship efforts of his high school youth minister. He graduated from SEBTS in 2011 with his M.Div. and in 2019 with his Ph.D. in biblical studies. He has served in youth and associate pastor positions in Louisiana and North Carolina. Chris loves to spend time with his family, and his hobbies include reading, golf, fishing, and coaching his daughters’ sports teams.

Stanley Lankadasari, Elder

Stanley Lankadasari

Elder

elders@gracerva.com

Stanley and his wife, Satya, were born and raised in the southern part of India. They have been married for 6 years and have two little boys. He graduated with a Master’s in computers and software engineering. Stanley literally grew up in a church in India and decided to follow Jesus at age 15. As a Christian, he felt compelled to share the gospel to those younger than him and has led Sunday school and young adults Bible study. Stanley and Satya have been part of Grace since 2010. Stanley is passionate about prayer and is called to intercede for God’s people and the furthering of God’s kingdom as well as praying for the salvation of those he comes across during his daily commute. He also loves to read, drive, and cook for his wife.

Greg & Sherry Pinkard

Kevin Larson

Elder

elders@gracerva.com

Kevin and Robin Larson married in 1985.  Robin was raised Lutheran and was born again in high school.  Kevin was also born again in high school and and grew up attending a CBA of A church in Massachusetts. They met in college and married after graduating. They’ve raised 6 children and now are enjoying grandchildren! They moved to Richmond in 1994 and started attending Grace in 2000. They both believe Christ has called them to be servants so they’ve taught children’s Sunday school, worked in the nursery, tutored children, worked in soup kitchens, and gone anywhere Father has sent them. Their hobbies are reading, gardening, and feeding the grandkids sugar.

Greg & Sherry Pinkard

Greg Pinkard

Elder

elders@gracerva.com

Greg and Sherry met at Virginia Tech in the late 80’s and got married a few weeks after Greg’s graduation. Not many weeks later, they had moved to Richmond for jobs and they visited a church in a day care center called Grace Community Baptist Church. Through the years, they’ve had some wonderful opportunities to serve with youth and children’s ministries, as well as leading community groups. Greg met the Lord as an 8 year old when a thoughtful, young new teacher in hs Christian school led him to see his need for forgiveness through Christ. Now, many years later, Sherry and Greg have two adult children living in the Richmond area. Greg loves the Word, fiddling around in the garage making things, and enjoys cycling all over Richmond and in the Blue Ridge mountains when time allows.

Jim Wilson, Elder

Jim Wilson

Elder

elders@gracerva.com

Jim met his wife Pam at Virginia Commonwealth University in the ’70s and married three years later. They have a daughter Amy, who lives in Powhatan with her husband Alex and our three grandchildren; a daughter Ann Marie, who lives in Utah; and a son Michael, who lives in South Africa with his wife Casey, and their other two grandchildren. Jim and Pam helped start Grace in 1985 and this is his second term serving on our church council. He also serves as a children’s Sunday School teacher with his wife Pam, on the worship team, and with the men’s ministry. He enjoys running, bowling, pickleball games, ping pong with Pam, and tooling around Richmond in a ’31 Chevy. More than anything, he enjoys and benefits greatly from his relationship with God and His word.

Stanley Lankadasari, Elder

Jared Snead

Pastor of Discipleship & Worship

elders@gracerva.com

Jared is married to Victoria, and they have 3 daughters: Evangeline, Lucy, and Eisley. He is passionate about leading worship and seeing God’s people grow in their walk with Jesus. Jared received salvation early in life and was called to full time vocational ministry shortly after college. He has served in various roles in different churches in the areas of worship, missions, evangelism, and discipleship. Jared began as Pastor of Discipleship and Worship at Grace Community Baptist Church in August 2023. He received his M.Div. in Christian Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2018. Jared loves to spend time with his wife and family, play guitar, read, and he enjoys all things Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, and the MCU.

Kathleen Cantwell, Children's Director

Julie Newton

Children’s Director

info@gracerva.com

Julie has been married to her high school sweetheart, Devin, for 23 years. They have one daughter, Ariel, who was homeschooled through high school and currently attends Brightpoint Community College. Julie loves science and taught middle school and high school science at a local homeschool co-op for 6 years, while her daughter was still in school. Julie came to know the Lord in middle school at Perkins Baptist Church. She loves working with children of all ages, she led Storytime and planned many programs at the Goochland Library for 6 years before having her daughter. At her previous church, Julie directed VBS for many years and taught kids church weekly. She likes managing schedules, planning children’s events, and working with a team. She has served in the Grace Children’s Ministry since 2019. Before coming to Grace, she was the Children’s Ministry Leader for 9 years as well as the Administrative Assistant for 9 years at her former church, where she was a member for 18 years. She enjoys watching college football cheering on her favorite team with her husband and spending time with family.

Brenda Burnett, Office Manager

Brenda Burnett

Office Manager

info@gracerva.com

Brenda and her husband Paul met at their church in northern Virginia and have been married for 36 years. They have two children – Rachel, lives in the Raleigh, NC area with her husband Justin and daughters Sage and Haven, and a son, Daniel who lives west of Richmond. Brenda has been part of Grace for 25 years and has served in children’s and youth ministry and participated in mission trips to Honduras and Asia. She currently serves as our Office Manager. She came to know Christ in elementary school and loves serving in the local church and helping to equip people in their everyday lives in Christ. Brenda loves spending time with her family, most anything that has to do with, on, or in the water, local history, and cooking/baking for others.