our new pastor

The Grace of Christ Family voted on June 29, 2025 to accept the recommendation of the Pastor Nominating Committee to extend a Call to The Rev. Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr as Lead Pastor/Head of Staff. Dr Wagenfuhr will begin his ministry at Grace on August 18, 2025

Rev. Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr is married to Ainhoa Prieto Wagenfuhr and they have two young daughters, Aristeia (4) and Adeilia (1).

He grew up in the Presbyterian tradition in Colorado Springs, CO, with two siblings as the children of a real estate appraiser (father) and a ministry leader (mother). He was baptized as an infant in an open-air chapel in Cripple Creek, Colorado (at nearly 10,000 ft). He came to a knowledge of faith through the ministry of children’s camps, which were often directed by his mother. On a youth mission trip, Dr. Wagenfuhr felt a clear desire to serve God vocationally and acted on this by voraciously reading theologians like St. Augustine and theological textbooks while in high school. Though he had an early apprenticeship in computing, he later interned in helping direct youth camps, while also working as a church custodian at First Presbyterian, Colorado Springs.

Dr. Wagenfuhr attended Wheaton College and majored in Philosophy and Ancient Languages (2002-2005), took a summer to train as an Outdoor Wilderness Educator (in Washington), before attending Westminster Theological Seminary (2005-2008). He then moved to Bristol, England to begin his doctoral work in Theology and Religious Studies (2009-2013). While in England, Dr. Wagenfuhr met his wife, Ainhoa Prieto who was also a student at Trinity College, Bristol where she was training for ministry. They married in 2014, and due to the challenges of the immigration process, began a life together in Cañon City, CO in 2015.

Dr. Wagenfuhr was ordained in a Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO) in 2014 as he was called to be Transitional Pastor of the United Presbyterian Church. He led this church to launch a church plant and founded a non-profit organization to care for the historical church building. In 2017, he became Theology Coordinator for ECO, writing, editing, organizing theology events, and speaking publicly, a position he held until 2025. From 2022-2025 he also served as the Dean of ECO’s startup seminary, The Flourish Institute of Theology, where he continues to teach on an adjunct basis.

Dr. Wagenfuhr is the author of four books, with the latest, Sabbath Gospel being released by IVP Academic early in 2026 (with coauthor Amy J. Erickson). He has also coordinated, majorly authored, and edited numerous books and official theological statements for ECO. He has spoken regularly at ECO presbyteries and consulted churches on issues like gender and sexuality, and the Sabbath. He has taught on the theology of the church, ecology, Sabbath, gender and sexuality, politics, biblical Greek, leadership, economics, and the sacraments.

He loves time in God’s wild creation as well as bicycling, hiking, exploring, and mountain climbing. Since 2020 he has been the sole proprietor of Axial Bikes, a custom steel and titanium bicycle manufacturer.

Ainhoa grew up in Spain and England, child of a Spanish father and English mother, as a missionary family. Her family mostly lives in Southampton. An accomplished leader, she most recently served as president of Hope House of Fremont County, a Christ-centered residential home for teen mothers. She previously directed a Christian transitional housing program called New Creations Inn.

Dr. Wagenfuhr’s passion is that the church would grow up in every way into the image of God in Christ and so lead the world toward maturity by the reconciling love of Jesus.

I didn’t have any preconceived notions about the candidates we reviewed, but with experience, began to understand what it meant to look with the heart and follow the Spirit, rather than trust my own predispositions. We were introduced to many interesting candidates, and a few qualified according to the criteria provided to us by our Session. We proceeded through detailed interviews, and prayerful consideration over each one.

Rather than ride in on every meeting with my own conclusions, I had more fun watching for the keys of the Spirit at work in each of the members of the PNC while they interviewed, deliberated and shared what they felt. It was so important that each voice of the committee was heard on its own merit and considered.

The objective was that we all were to express what we felt the conviction of the Spirit was while we were active in conversation or prayer. As our group committed time and effort with each other in this process, we became more aware of the movement of the Holy Spirit.

God surprised us at each turn and at each point where we thought we knew the answer and provided us all with answers we truly didn’t expect! There was a point in the process where the still, small voice of God spoke through the debris of all the categories and contingencies and expectations that we layered on each hopeful candidate. That small voice repeated itself in our conversations and remarks and insights and multiplied as we worked on the application from Gregory- from the corroborating testimonies of his many, unrelated references to the gentle turning of our attention away from surface distractions to the core of what this candidate and his family offered us.

When we met them, we were so impressed with their closeness, calm, and their gentle focus as a family within the middle of all the attention and activity that a job interview in a new city with unfamiliar people provides. Gregory took time to make sure his family felt at ease and gradually entered our discussions as we sought clarity and a better understanding of where our needs and their needs met. Ainoah, his wife, spoke clearly on behalf of her hopes and what surprised her about the visit, including the rapid adaptation of their eldest daughter to the services that Palm Sunday.

And we prayed diligently while they went into their discernment.

It is with great joy that we ask you to welcome our newest family members at Grace of Christ!  
             
Todd Lincoln - PNC Chair

My first introduction to Gregory was on paper. As a PNC committee member, I was given a copy of his application for our Lead Pastor position. After reading his application, which showed his numerous accomplishments, I thought he might be a man who maybe thought highly of himself.

My next encounter with Gregory was at the initial Zoom interview. He was very pleasant, focused, and tried to answer everything we asked of him. He did not try to hide anything. He simply answered to the best of his ability. He also showed he had a sense of humor as well as being intelligent, humble and compassionate. He lived up to what he had written on his application. I remember how excited the PNC members felt about him after the interview.
I finally met him at the PNC dinner held at Caroline Sundquist’s home. I thought that I would feel intimidated by this man due to his vast accomplishments. This was far from the truth. He seemed to be confident as well as humble and gentle. He was able to charm me with a smile. There was a servant's heart within him that showed to everyone at the dinner. He was none of the things I had worried about.

Later that night, as I thought about him, I began to wonder if I could trust this man in a counseling position. I have only had one incident in which I needed a minister to council me. I lost a baby at four months of pregnancy. The baby had stopped moving and the doctor recommended I carry the baby for another week just to be sure. As I thought about this time in my life, I thought that Gregory would be a good person to talk to in a crisis or in dealing with a conflict. He would be gentle, honest and compassionate.
             
Ellen Bartelli

We began our search for a new minister when it was announced that Curt was nearing retirement from his ministerial duties. We began to interview interested applicants right away. One by one they failed to meet our team requirements.

Then we were approached by Gregory who said that he was applying for the open ministerial position. He and his family planned a trip to Yakima to check out the community. They arrived on Thursday and spent the rest of the weekend visiting our area with various PNC members. I had appointments out of town until late each night and was busy retiring from my position as a para-educator for Yakima School District, so I was not able to attend any outings with him and his family.

However, on Sunday afternoon, I did attend the interview meeting when he and his wife both addressed our group. I thought that together they would have a good impact on our church members. I also thought that they were head and shoulders above their nearest competitors when they answered our various questions. They have proven to be good leaders and will have a good influence on our membership.

Do I think that the Holy Spirit is happy with our choice? I am certain that He is!!

Doyle R. Ehl

This PNC committee has been together for over a year now. It has been amazing to see God work in our group bringing us together in Unity. We are all very different and represent different aspects of Grace of Christ but through the Holy Spirit, we were led to the candidate of Gregory to become our next pastor.

Before looking at candidates we spent a few months looking at the congregational survey, gathering feedback from staff and discussing the essential qualities list given to us by Session. With that information in hand, we began looking at candidates. We trusted that God would lead a candidate to us that fit the needs of our congregation. We looked for who God wanted instead of just finding the best one out of all the candidates. God led the PNC group to that candidate Gregory. Through the Holy Spirit, we were brought into Unity in this decision.

My first impression of Gregory was through his application. I became intrigued after I was able to listen to his sermons online. After interviewing him through Zoom, I came to appreciate his passion for community and building disciples. It was evident in his answers and later through his references that community and discipleship is important. Although at first glance, he seems too quiet, he eventually warms up. He is sincere, humble and a good listener.

I also got to spend a morning with him and his family when they came to visit. I took them for a tour of Camp Ghormley. They loved it! I got to learn more about his beliefs and what kind of pastor he would be. Later that evening, we had a potluck with Gregory and his family and PNC, my husband, Shane got to meet him, and he was impressed with how Gregory talks to you and not at you. He takes into consideration where you are at, as he talks with you. This is a great quality to have for our next pastor. I am very excited for you all to meet him and experience this for yourself.    

Amae Merrill

I am honored to introduce you to Gregory. As you know, the Pastor Nominating Committee was elected by the congregation more than a year ago. Our committee has met weekly after Sunday services. We have spent countless hours reviewing the ECO Pastoral Search and Transition Guide and have been in close communication with session. We also, led by the Holy Spirit and in prayer, developed an extensive document on the qualities and characteristics of our next pastor.

Gregory comes highly recommended, and I have found him to be very thoughtful, intelligent, humble and pastoral. He places scripture first with faithfulness to the Word of God. He is a community builder where people are known, cared for and listened to. “Community is when we need each other”.

When Gregory visited Yakima with his wife and two young daughters, I was able to sit with him and talk with him personally. He was engaging and very personable. He spoke from his heart and expressed his calling from the Holy Spirit to come to Yakima.

I have been a member of Grace of Christ for 54 years and I can, with confidence, recommend Gregory as our next Lead Pastor.  

Caroline Sundquist

I first met Gregory on the pages of his application packet. As with all applicants, we, the PNC, independently go through papers and begin to pray and to check boxes on the Essentials list developed by Session. I was quickly able to check many essentials which was enticing. He appeared to be very intelligent, well qualified, and had helped write many of the ECO documents. After spending hours watching his sermons, presentations, and videos, I began to strongly feel a Holy Spirit excitement. I read one of his co-authored documents and it was very powerful!

When we met as a PNC team to discuss this candidate, many came to the table with the same excitement and with minimal concerns! After personally spending close to 8 hours with Gregory with a Ghormley tour, two interviews, a potluck with him and his family, plus interviewing seven references, everything confirmed this Holy Spirit direction we were sensing as a PNC. He and his family were so delightful to spend time with, and he had many positive things to say about his interactions when visiting Grace of Christ Church.

I believe Gregory truly is a genuine, sincere, honest, humble person who is a strong teacher and has earnest engagement. He is deeply committed to the Bible, Reformed Theology, and following Jesus. He is skilled in leadership in mentoring and equipping people in their giftings. He believes that, “discipleship and disciple making is the Jesus-shaped way of doing leadership. Leadership must be expressed first and foremost by the agape love of Christ that seeks the good of others above oneself.” Gregory is that type of leader, and I feel honored and very excited to present him as our PNC choice for the next lead pastor.

Amy Klein

Have you ever felt the world click into place like a puzzle piece? You may call it ‘good fortune’ or coincidence or ‘the Spirit’, etc., but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Gregory, and the whole family, are the puzzle pieces we (the PNC and Yakima Grace) were searching for.

My first interaction with Greg was a simple email from him asking if Yakima Grace was still looking for a lead pastor. Evidently, our posting on the ECO job board had expired, but the Grace website was still advertising the position. I quickly replied, “yes the position is still open.” A minute later, I felt compelled to do a little sleuthing and came across his CV online. He’s very accomplished and has been an integral part of ECO since its founding, which prompted me to reply again, asking if he was interested in applying or just checking if the job posting should be renewed on the ECO job board. When he responded that he was “going to apply this week”, the first piece clicked into place. The 14 months we (the PNC) had spent meeting weekly, working with Session, developing our list of essential qualities and reviewing and interviewing other applicants; all of it felt like it was leading here, but our work had just begun.

The PNC has done our homework on every candidate we’ve encountered. With Greg, I watched his sermons, lectures, and conference presentations; audited a class he’s teaching; read his books; and his family welcomed me into their home in Colorado when I was down there for work. He and I even put a new railing on their deck together!
Our experience checking his references provides a good example of what we encountered. You’d expect references on an application to be favorable. Why would an applicant list them otherwise? However, after listening to seven people extoll Greg’s remarkable intelligence, faith, and ability to empower people in Christ, to reach their communities, we sensed that his references not only thought highly of him, they each had been deeply shaped by him, and knew he would succeed in his new church home. The connections of several of his references to Pastor Curt, Rick Murray, and Yakima Grace felt like more pieces dropping into place.

Beyond having Gregory as our Lead Pastor at Grace of Christ, we will be absolutely blessed to have the entire family in our church and community! His wife and daughters are wonderful, talented, faithful, and joyful in their own right. Please help us welcome them to Yakima!

Mark Norman

While there is truth to the old statement that there is only one chance to make a first impression, I’ve also found that initial impressions can be misleading. That is what happened for me when I first met Gregory on Zoom. Initially, he seemed very quiet and what I misread as aloofness, was quickly replaced by an appreciation of his deeply thoughtful and well-composed responses to some extremely challenging questions that our committee put before him.

For this interview, he ’met’ us from his office. In the background was a whiteboard with a very endearing little drawing on it. I commented on the unique talent of the artist. He positively bloomed as he explained, “Oh yes, that’s my four-year old’s offering.” I think many other candidates would have erased it and either left it blank or perhaps written a Bible verse in the background. Sharing his child’s artwork was a touching moment for me.

I was further drawn to this quiet man’s ministry by comments he made about an earlier position he’d held where the church had to be closed. When pressed with questions for what he might have done differently, I nearly wept at his responses. Gregory’s response was, “I wish I could have cared for all of them more in their pain. They loved their church, and I wish I could have ministered to them through their sorrow in additional ways.” As we learned more about that situation, he, too, was going through immense and brutal pain himself. Things had been misrepresented to him before he arrived and the support he’d been promised did not appear. Not once did we hear a word of blaming other parties!
Gregory has been involved with writing ECO doctrines and is a national leader within the organization. He teaches classes for the new ECO seminary. A former student says that Gregory models a pastoral role as their instructor rather than leaning into the traditional role of a lecturer or professor.

In our conversations, Gregory seemed very open to continuing two different services and expressed an understanding that people do like to worship in different ways. While their family visited, they had an opportunity to see both services (9:00 and 11:00). He also shared that he’d watched them as he first began considering the idea of answering our call. I’m impressed at how much research he does as he explores his options!

Gregory has been ‘courted’ by other congregations. I was concerned that Yakima has some limitations for a young family. It was highly possible that other contenders might offer a more enticing call. When I got the text that shared Gregory and his family (after MUCH prayer and discernment) thought God was leading them to us, I felt that my prayers had been answered. I believe this young family can richly bless us and I pray we’ll be able to do the same for them.  

Carolyn Mason

Dear Congregation, I am writing this brief letter of gratitude and appreciation for your faith and trust in us to be part of the Pastoral Nominee Committee (PNC). I believe this current (PNC) began more than a year ago, and it seems to have achieved its purpose of searching for the Senior Lead Pastor for Grace of Christ (GOC). I believe that with prayer, guidance and each of our talents, the Holy Spirit has led us, and we agree as a group (PNC) to select Gregory for the position of Senior Pastor here at Grace of Christ. We came to this conclusion through a compilation of tasks in meetings, discussions, brainstorming, researching information, and finally choosing whom to invite for interviews and to visit the church. I believe we all feel we have the right Senior Pastor for Grace of Christ Church.

Gregory was the one Pastor who we could “check off” our checklist of what (GOC) was looking for and needing, according to the requested qualifications. I believe we all have peace and assurance. Thanks to the work and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in us.

Gloria Valencia

Estimado/a Congregación, Les escribo esta breve carta para expresar mi gratitud y aprecio por su fe y confianza depositadas en nosotros para formar parte del Comité de Nominaciones Pastorales (PNC). Creo que este grupo (PNC) comenzó hace más de un año y parece haber logrado su propósito de buscar al Pastor Principal para Gracia de Cristo (GOC). Creo que, con oración, guía y cada uno de nuestros talentos, el Espíritu Santo nos ha guiado y como grupo (PNC) acordamos seleccionar a Gregory para el puesto de Pastor Principal aquí en Gracia de Cristo. Llegamos a esta conclusión tras una serie de tareas en reuniones, debates, lluvia de ideas, investigación y, finalmente, la elección de a quién invitar a entrevistas y a visitar la iglesia. Creo que todos sentimos que tenemos al Pastor Principal ideal para la Iglesia Gracia de Cristo.

Gregory fue el único pastor que pudimos marcar en nuestra lista de lo que (GOC) busca y necesita, según las calificaciones solicitadas. Creo que todos tenemos paz y seguridad. Gracias por la obra y la guía del Espíritu Santo en nosotros.

Gloria Valencia