Our Team

The people behind Access

Our team consists of the Leadership Team and the Staff Team. The Leadership Team provides guidance and accountability to the Staff Team and collaborates to lead the ministries of the church.

Lead Team

Luke Bonham (he/him)

Luke Bonham lives with his wife and kids in the Lents Neighborhood. As a child, he lived in both Kansas and Paraguay in a family of Mennonite missionaries before moving to Portland. Luke's family has recently hosted several Spanish speaking asylum seekers through foster care, and he worked for a non-profit that works to advance economic justice in Oregon. He brings a commitment to community health, environmental stewardship, hospitality, and as a drummer he also values good music.

Julie McBee (she/her)

Julie and her family have lived in East Portland for over 20 years. After coming to faith as an adult, Julie has worked in church ministry, run a food cart, and now works in the medical system. She currently serves as your Youth Ministry Director. With over a decade of experience in youth ministry, she is passionate about seeing young people develop and own personal faith in Jesus. She and her husband Paxton have three daughters, two of whom are grown and out of the house. Nobody asked, but they are all Swifties. Her love language is feeding and transporting large groups of people.

James Lopez-Ericksen (he/him)

With roots in Olympia, WA, James has lived his whole life in the Pacific Northwest, including over two decades in Portland. His background and professional life are in the trades, and he has participated in over a decade of community organizing and anti-racist work. Nowadays he sees his work with school bus drivers as a way to follow Christ in loving our city. Being in a cross-cultural marriage and raising multi-racial kids has made his home a true learning lab. His heart for justice, paired with his somewhat eclectic personality, means he is passionate about meeting needs and serving folks that might be overlooked.

Josh Chen (he/him)

Josh Chen (he/him) makes his home in Portland, though his roots run east — he grew up in Richland, Washington and studied at Eastern Washington University before settling into the Pacific Northwest for good. He and his wife Wendy have been married since 2005 and are raising their family here in the city. For more than 23 years Josh has given himself to nonprofit and community work, driven by a simple conviction: he wants whatever he's doing to make our communities a better place. Most recently he served as an Impact Campaign Development Director with the American Heart Association, spending years rallying people around a shared cause and cheering on the changemakers — including a rising generation — who give him hope for the future. He brings that same heart for community and mission to our Leadership Team at Access.

Church Staff

Jelani Greenidge (he/him)

Pastor of Worship

Jelani Greenidge is a versatile communicator with a passion to inform, inflame, and inspire. Coming from a large ministry family, church work is in his blood, and music is one of the main ways he reinforces his identity. A Portland native, Jelani is a worship vocalist, emcee/producer, DJ, freelance writer, and stand-up comic. His sweet spot is the intersection of hip-hop culture, nerd culture, and church culture. (Stop and say hi… it's not a busy intersection.)

Bonnie Parker (she/her)

Ministry Coordinator

Bonnie is a business owner, leader, foster mom and dog mom. She has had her hands in the soil of SE Portland for decades, serving in the public schools and coordinating folks from different faiths and walks of life to meet tangible needs in our neighborhood. She currently serves by coordinating volunteers, handling church administration, and leading on Sundays. Her goofy side will surprise you when you least expect it.

Joel Sommer (he/him)

Pastor of Vision and Formation

Mestizo and proud, Joel's Filipina immigrant mother and Jewish-German American father raised him with a lively sense of God's loving presence that led him to seek Jesus in diverse settings. He loves indie hip-hop, spoken word poetry, silent retreats, and sitcoms that center BIPOC. His wife Sabrina is an anti-racist educator and together they have three sons who amaze them daily. As the planting pastor of Access, he continues to serve by facilitating vision, developing leaders, and having a key role in our Sunday gatherings.

Want to serve with us? Get in touch.