Our Pastor

Pastor Junnie Ree Pagunsan

Born in the Island of Mindanao, South Philippines, Junnie comes from a pastoral family. Junnie graduated from Mountain View College where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology. Before coming to the US in 2000, Junnie served as a Chaplain and Missionary Coordinator of the Adventist Muslim Relations and also as district Pastor, serving 13 churches in the Southern Philippines.

In the fall of 2000, Junnie was accepted to the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Loma Linda Medical Center and made the tough decision to leave his family to pursue better opportunities for them here in the US. After completing the program, an anonymous donor enabled him to continue his ministry at the Medical Center while also serving as the Associate Pastor of Claremont Fil-Am Church in Claremont, CA where he served the church until 2004 when his family finally moved to Richmond, VA. He is married to Marie Jean Mercado-Pagunsan, a RN, who works at the Bone Marrow Transplant Department of the VCU Health System. They are blessed with 3 children, Jan Mikhail, Neil Owen, and Shanelle Aira.

Junnie is committed in helping others experience God’s love in the context of authentic relationships, nurturing spiritual development, training them to be disciples, enabling them to discover their spiritual gifts, and equipping them for effective ministry.