Peter J. Yoon

Senior Pastor

Peter J. Yoon simply loves to pastor God’s people. After receiving an M. Div from Talbot Theological Seminary in La Mirada, CA (May, 1996), he met and married his beautiful wife, Jessica. He also loves fathering his 3 children: Nathan, Jason, and Abigail. Prior to joining Kairos Church, he served as an associate pastor at Church of Southland in Anaheim (2001-2011) where God used a variety of gifts and skills to start the Children’s Ministry, College Ministry, Young Adult Ministry, Cellgroup Ministry, and Missions Committee. By nature, Pastor Peter strives to be a dependable person. He goes out of the way to treat every person with the same amount of respect, care, concern, and hospitality. Generally, he is an easygoing and congenial person. Everyone he meets, he senses there is something good that God is doing in that person. He strives to create a sense of belonging and acceptance towards others and that usually leads to team-based ministries under his leadership. Pastor Peter has been influenced by his mentors, theological education, and sovereign foundations from the past. This has led to his pursuit of building up Kairos Church as a Gospel-centric church that is Word-centered, Spirit-filled, Missions-driven, and Community-based.

Phillip Chen

Associate Pastor

Phil graduated from UCSD with degrees in Management Science and Political Science. In those formative college years, he sensed God’s calling for him to follow Him wherever He would lead. He was also blessed to have met his beautiful wife, Esther. After working in finance and interning at Kairos for several years, he began attending Talbot Theological Seminary and received his M.Div while serving as the college pastor at Church of Southland. Five years later, he rejoins Kairos staff with Esther and their 3 kids Olivia, Josiah and Ruby. Phil is passionate about discipleship and raising up leaders to wholeheartedly know and love God and is excited to join in on what God is doing in San Diego. In his spare time, he enjoys grabbing coffee, reading good books, or playing basketball.

Esther Chailim

Director of Ministries

Esther Chailim graduated with a B.S. in Management Science from UCSD in 2007. Shortly thereafter, in April 2008, she committed her life to Christ and quickly discovered a deep love and passion to serve the local church. In 2012, she served as a one-year AMI intern in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati and upon returning in August 2013, she joined the staff at Kairos. She has received an MA in Christian Ministry & Leadership at Talbot Theological Seminary and is currently serving as the Director of Ministries.

Hansub Lee

College Pastor

Hansub spent most of his life in the Bay Area and committed his life to God in 5th grade. In his earlier years, he went on multiple mission trips to Mexico, Guatemala, and Turkey. This exposure to the world led him to pursue an education in public health science with the intent to work in the health field in Central America. Although he had the opportunity to experience life working in the health field in India and El Salvador, he began discerning that God was calling him to vocational ministry. He began his ministry journey as a intern youth pastor. While later serving at a church plant in San Jose, he began to see his need for training and so he moved down to Orange County in 2017 to attend Talbot Theological Seminary to learn how to become a pastor. However, God had other plans. It turns out he was not so interested in making Hansub the most skilled pastor, but forming him into a whole person restored by the gospel and person of Jesus Christ. From 2017 to 2023, before moving down to San Diego, he ministered at churches in the Greater Los Angeles Area, married Grace, graduated seminary, and became an ordained minister of the gospel. He cares about raising and developing holistic lovers of God. Hansub is definitely more on the serious side, but aside from the serious stuff, his recent interests have been rotating around fragrances, roasting coffee, and reading.

Rachel Lee

Kairos Kids Pastor

Rachel Lee is a San Diego native and graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in Developmental Psychology. She knew she loved working with kids from a young age and especially seeing God's truth take root in their hearts. She served abroad in Southeast Asia and Mexico for two years and continued to invest in the mission field the following years. She graduated from UCLA with a Master's Degree in Comparative Education while starting her first years as a children's pastor. Rachel then received an MA Degree in Bible Exposition at Talbot Theological Seminary. She moved to Minnesota for a year to marry her childhood sweetheart, Daniel, and is excited to serve as the children's pastor at Kairos Church. They're new parents to Abigail and still love exploring nature, eating good food (especially pho), and playing board games.

Jessica Yoon

Children's Director

Jessica dedicated her life to Christ as a 3rd grader at a family retreat with Grace Korean Church. Since then, she has grown and served in many ministries - Sunday School Teacher, Welcoming Committee, Intercessory Prayer Team, Inner Healing Ministry, and Counseling. Her calling to full-time ministry was further developed when Jessica married Pastor Peter Yoon almost 20 years ago. They have three kids - Nathan, Jason, and Abby. She has been an elementary school teacher for 18 years and enjoys working with children. Jessica has a passion for education and helping students grow to meet their fullest potential. Jessica graduated from UCLA with a BA in Sociology and from BIOLA University with her MA in Education. She is currently serving as Kairos Christian Church's children's director.

Valerie Ahn

Administrator

Valerie grew up in the Bay Area and started attending Kairos as a freshman while studying at UCSD. She fell in love with the church immediately and has witnessed God's faithfulness through Kairos over the years. Valerie met her husband Sam at Kairos and together now have a sweet and fun daughter, Penelope. After studying economics in college, working in the hospitality industry, and becoming a stay-at-home mom, Valerie is excited for God's new.chapter in her life to work and serve the church through administrative responsibilities. In her free time, she loves being a plant lady, playing tennis, and eating chips.

Kirsten Kim

Media Director

Kirsten was born and raised in Orange County, California. She moved just a little further south for her undergraduate studies at the University of California, San Diego in 2018. She began attending Kairos and grew in her love for the Lord and in her desire to serve His people. She loves eating good food with good friends, playing competitive sports, and singing with her dad.

Ben Kim

Media Coordinator