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Leadership

Get to know Triangle Grace Church


Our Pastors

Kris Perkins

Senior Pastor

Kris Perkins served as Co-Pastor of Triangle Grace since September 2021. In March 2022, Kris transitioned into senior pastor as Pastor Ray Cobb retired after 34 at TGC. He attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, MA. Kris was later hired to serve as the first Family Minister at Park Street Church in Boston, MA. There, he provided oversight for family ministries and a leadership role, providing pastoral care for the ministers, implementing directional decisions for the life of the church, crafting Sunday worship services, hiring and reviewing staff, developing leadership retreats, and addressing other growth points within the church. Kris is excited to be leading Triangle Grace whose members have a heart to grow in their love for God, local outreach, student involvement, community life, and numerical size.

Contact Kris at:  kris@trianglegrace.org


Molly Williamson

Associate Pastor for Spiritual Growth and Discipleship

Molly Williamson joined Triangle Grace as Associate Pastor in June 2021. She grew up in New Jersey and got her undergraduate degree in English and Spanish with a minor in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. She earned her M.Div. and a M.A. in Religious Studies from Duke University. Molly is excited about helping disciples grow spiritually through small group ministries that build community and accountability, studies that promote reading scripture with care and expectation, and programs that encourage the faithful to engage with our communities and our world in Christ-like ways. 

Contact Molly at: molly@trianglegrace.org

Jeff Spainhour

Associate Pastor for Youth and their Families

Jeff Spainhour joined the Triangle Grace staff in June 2003. Jeff is a native of Raleigh, NC and attended East Carolina University. Jeff did his seminary training at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and graduated with the M.Div. degree. The focus of his ministry is with middle and senior high youth and their families and college-aged young people.

Contact Jeff at: jeff@trianglegrace.org

Our Staff

Get to know our awesome staff!

Nikki Goss

Director of Administration and Operations

nikki@trianglegrace.org

Nikki is the Administrative Assistant and Financial Secretary. She is a graduate of Chowan University and grew up in Durham and at Triangle Grace Church. She has served on both the Diaconate and Session and has been involved with our children and youth as well as our outreach teams throughout her years here.

Karis Jackson

Director of Communications

karis@trianglegrace.org

Karis grew up a Presyterian minister's daughter in North and South Carolina. Graduating from East Carolina with a degree in nutrition & dietetics, Karis loves to prepare nutritious meals for her friends and family.  As members of TGC since 2012, Karis and husband, Michael, have three children, who actively participate in our youth programs.  She designed and oversees our website, designs print materials, organizes and disseminates updates on the life of the church via social media and publishes the weekly E-News.

 

Nancy Holton

Director of Children's Ministries

nancy@trianglegrace.org

Nancy Holton serves as Director of Children's Ministries at Triangle. She oversees planning and staffing for our Sunday morning nurseries and clubs.  She also oversees a host of volunteers for our weekday and seasonal programs such as Wednesday Clubs, VBS, and many others.  She coordinates a large number of dedicated volunteers that disciple and encourage our children and families in their walk with Christ. Nancy holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and regularly participates in International Network of Children’s Ministries conferences and workshops on spiritual formation. Nancy has been involved in the teaching ministry of TGC for thirty years as preschool teacher, elder and Children’s Director.  She and her husband, Jesse, have two children.

Jessica Strowd

Middle School Youth Director

jessaand14@yahoo.com

Jessica Strowd grew up in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and at Triangle Grace Church. She is a graduate of North Carolina State University in Agricultural Science. Along with being in youth ministry she enjoys working as a kindergarten teacher's assistant as well as coaching competitive cheerleading. Jessica's and her husband, Kennedy love spending time with their son, Knox.

Joe Bustamante

Director for Young Adults and Welcome

Joe@trianglegrace.org

Joe Bustamante served as an intern at TGC while he completed his Masters of Divinity at Duke University and came on full time in August 2023 as Director of Young Adults and Welcome. Joe is a Michigan native, and earned a BA in English Literature and Computer Science from Hope College. Joe is currently in the ordination process for ECO, and hopes to pursue a call as a pastor after seminary. Outside of studying, you can often find Joe cheering for the Michigan State Spartans, making video games, or exploring new restaurants with his wife, Lindsay.

Alana Scott

Director of Triangle Grace Preschool

alana.scott@trianglegracepreschool.org

Alana graduated from Bridgewater College with a BS degree in Middle School Education. She taught seventh-grade language Arts for nine years in Stafford County, VA, and also coached girls' field hockey and track.  Alana and her husband, Bill, have two children, Colleen and David.  After the birth of her daughter, Alana retired from teaching to be a stay-at-home mom.  In 1999,  Alana and her family moved to Durham.  Both of Alana's children attended TGP and their positive experiences at the preschool helped Alana decide to join the TGP staff in 2003 as the Kindergarten teacher.  Beginning in June 2015, Alana became the Director of TGP.  Alana loves to read, bake, garden, and spend time with her family.

Matt  McLaughlin

Music Ministries support

matt@trianglegrace.org

Matt joined TGC in the fall of 2006 and has been an active member in the music ministry since.  He and his wife, Heather, were married at TGC in 2010. He serves as the Assistant Principal at St. Michael Catholic School in Cary. Matt and Heather live in Hillsborough with their daughters Nora, Ellie and their two german shepherds.

Dr. Lori Hicks

Director of Music Ministries

Lori@trianglegrace.org

Lori  joined our staff in August of 2023. She holds a BME from Kentucky State University, a MM from Bowling Green State University, and a DMA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Hicks brings to Triangle Grace years of musical training and a wealth of leadership experience. She is the Director of Opera at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lori is native of Detroit, Michigan and loves spending time with her son Daniel. 

Our Session

The Session is the governing body of the local congregation in the Presbyterian Church.  The Session is made up of the pastors and elders who have been elected by the congregation from the congregation.  Each elder serves a three-year term. The Session is responsible for providing spiritual leadership for the congregation.  The Pastor serves as the moderator of this group.  The Triangle Session ordinarily meets one Tuesday a month.  At each meeting they spend time in prayer concerning the needs of the church and of individual members.  The Session is happy to pray with and for congregational members and friends at any time.  Current elders are:

 

Class of 2023

 

 

Dennis Steil

Garret Nelson

Susan Barker

Jamie Dilweg

 

Class of 2024

 

 

Aaron Messer

Randy Hartwell

Eric Rodgman

Class of 2025

 

 

Bob Bradley

Beth Murphy

Noah White

Nancy-Anne Potts

Our Deacons

The Board of Deacons is an elected body, that serves in conjunction with the Session to carry out the mission and ministry of the church.  The deacons have primary responsibility in the areas of local service, facilities and finance.  The deacons ordinarily meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM.  Both the Session and the Board of Deacons carry out their responsibilities through the work of ministry teams, which meet on Ministry Team Night (the first Wednesday of each month during the academic year). Congregational members are encouraged to serve on one of the ministry teams of the Session or Board of Deacons.  Current deacons are:


Class of 2023

 

 

Jenny Shafer

Mark Lee

Elizabeth Gates

Class of 2024

 

 

Taylor Thurman

Anna Grieco

Julie Hotchkiss

Class of 2025

 

 

Dan Fuchs

Penny Bitsas