our team

pastors and staff

Jeff Foote

LEad Pastor

Jeff has been at Grace since 2012 and in pastoral ministry since 1995. A graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he is an experienced church planter, conference speaker, and musician. He is passionate about helping people walk in love and not in fear.
He has been married to Abby since 1996 and they have 3 awesome children, Rachel, Micah, and Jorah. Jeff is a baseball fanatic and likes to relax in his music studio.

Geno Colarusso

Pastor of Care ministries

Geno joined the staff of Grace September of 2021.  He is a graduate of Grace Theological Seminary and Cleveland State University, earning a Masters of Ministry and Bachelors of Arts.  Geno has been privileged to serve in various Director roles at Cleveland Youth for Christ and Toledo Youth for Christ for a combined 16 years.  He also served in various Pastoral roles at Christian and Missionary Churches Toledo, First Alliance Church, and Northview Alliance Church for a combined 21 years.  Geno has a passion for evangelism, teaching God’s Word and caring for people.  
Geno and Annette have been married for 38 years, enjoy serving in ministry together in various ways, and spending time with their sons Frank, Sal and Anthony and daughter-in-law Lauren and three grandchildren, Ivy, Seth, and Eden.  Geno enjoys the outdoor sports of cycling, mountain biking, hiking and skiing and loves good food. 

James Buchanan

pastor of children's ministries

James joined the staff in January 2015. Prior to Grace, he served as a Children’s Pastor for 19 years in Arizona and California. He’s been married to his college sweetheart Tonya since 1992 and has 4 kids: Tori, Josh, Jackie and Justin. He has a degree in Church Ministries from Southwestern College in Phoenix with an emphasis in Youth and Camping Ministries.
His life ministry verse comes from Colossians 1:28-29. “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.”

John Gardner

pastor of youth ministries

John joined the team at Grace in July of 2021 and has been involved in student ministry since 2009. He graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2009 and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2019. John plays board games religiously, golfs casually, and trains for marathons hypothetically.
John and his wife Jackie have been married for 15 years and love spending time trying out new food, exploring the national parks, and playing board games.

Ali perez

grace latino director

Alí ha sido parte de Grace Church desde septiembre del año 2019. Ha servido al Señor y a su iglesia como voluntario por alrededor 15 años, completó sus estudios de profesor de la Biblia en SETECA (Seminario Teológico Centroamericano) con extensión en Denver, acreditado por el seminario de Denver. Actualmente trabaja para conseguir su licenciatura en teología en la misma institución académica. Su pasión es enseñar el amor de Dios a otros al mismo tiempo que aprende con ellos a convertirse en verdaderos discípulos de Jesús. Ha estado Casado con el amor de su vida; Ana por 21 años y tienen 4 hermosas bendiciones; ILENE, DANEY, JAZMÍN Y ANGEL ALÍ Jr. Le gusta el fútbol y Su favorito versículo de la Biblia es Hebreos 6:10.

Ali has been part of Grace Church since September of 2019, and has served the Lord and his church as a volunteer for about 15 years. He completed his associates degree in Bible Studies and is currently working toward his bachelors in theology at the Central American Theological Seminary (SETECA) extension at the Denver Seminary. His passion is to teach others the love of God and learn with them to be disciples of Jesus.
He has been happily married for 21 years to the love of his life, Ana. They have 4 beautiful blessings, Ilene, Daney, Jazmin & Ali Jr. He likes soccer and his favorite verse is Hebrews 6:10.

Karla Irvin

director of operations

Karla Irvin joined the staff as Director of Operations in May 2022. She has lived in Longmont for 23 years.  She and her husband, Michael, have been married 29 years and have 2 adult children, son Jason (daughter-in-law Carly and their son Maverik) and daughter Jillian.  Karla enjoys walking, camping, and entertaining friends and family.  

Tawnya Marley

music ministry coordinator

Tawnya has attended Grace since 2004 and joined the staff in 2019. She is self-taught in different technologies that are used at Grace and has spent many years volunteering with the music and tech teams. Tawnya married Joe in 1997, and they have four children: Nathan, Hannah, James, and Caroline. Tawnya enjoys watching terrible movies and playing games with her family.

bethany harvey & mary hicks

grace kids coordinators

Bethany joined the staff as Administrative Assistant and Base Camp Coordinator in June of 2021.  She has a degree in Ministry from Hardin-Simmons University, and has spent many years volunteering in children’s, youth, and women’s ministries prior to joining our staff.  
She married Chris in 2012 and they have three children, Gracelynn, Lenora, and Uriah.  She loves spending time with family, spending time outdoors, singing and playing the guitar.

Mary has attended Grace Church since 2012.  She has volunteered in different areas of children’s ministry at Grace and has been the Awana Ministry Director since 2015.  She joined the staff as Expedition Coordinator in January 2020.  Mary has a degree in Elementary Education from Christian Heritage College and has taught in Christian school, public school, and homeschool.
Mary has been married to Ted for 34+ years and they have four children – one launched and three still in the nest-  Alex, Kaci, Ethan, and Zach.  She enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, taking long walks, and Bible journaling.

Julie Magalong

administrative assistant

Julie has attended Grace Church since 2010. She joined the staff as Administrative Assistant in August of 2020. She has a degree in Nursing, but has been teaching Theatre and Music for the past 17 years with Master’s Hand Homeschool Enrichment Campuses in Longmont and Loveland.
She has two daughters, Tricia and Sophia. She married Romeo in 2019 and now has two bonus kids, Christian and Isabel. She loves theatre, singing, the outdoors, and most of all, spending time with family and friends.