Leadership Team
John & Ellen Ko
John Ko
Growing up as the youngest of three and the only boy means that I was one thing - spoiled. So my whole life was pretty much about pursuing my worldly ambitions. College was going to be no different, but God broke through to me and showed me my greatest need was salvation from my sins and a personal relationship with Him. Turning over the keys of my life to him began my life’s transformation - from spoiled to being a servant.
After college, I served as a bi-vocational college minister for almost 20 years working as a computer engineer before quitting my job in 2017, when my wife and I went into full-time ministry. We love having college students in our home, hanging out with us, eating our smoked brisket or Korean food, but we’re most passionate about raising them as fellow kingdom workers.
Enneagram: I’m an Enneagram type 2 but a wing 1.
Myers-Briggs: ESFJ. I guess that fits because for the longest time I was one of the main tech guys at our church doing a lot of the behind the scenes work - particularly sound - which pairs well with my love of music and playing guitar.
Ellen Ko
Coming to college I had a minimal understanding of Christianity. I was set on making something of myself and determined to succeed, thinking a stable and successful career was the answer to happiness. But through some friends of friends, I went to church and realized it was way more than mere fairy-tale-like stories. I was amazed by the intellectual and historical basis for Christianity and intrigued by the way people lived out their faith in community. Through relational conflicts I came to understand myself as a sinner and my need for the gospel and became a Christian. Given how set I was on my path in life, it’s a miracle how God intervened and changed the trajectory of my life. After becoming Christian, I served in our college ministry bi-vocationally, working full-time as a project manager and doing ministry at UC Berkeley, my alma mater. In 2017, my husband and I left our jobs in the marketplace to go full time and it's been a great adventure and haven't looked back since!
Likes: running with friends, reading a good book, and going to the beach with a bunch of college students to play volleyball and have a good time! The sunsets here are amazing!