Ju Kim, Organist/Pianist

I was born and grew up in South Korea. While singing in a children's choir at my home church, I started taking piano lessons from a church accompanist and fell in love with it. I soon became a piano accompanist for children's choir, and then for the youth choir, and then finally a pianist and organist for worship services, after persistently pestering the music directors and accompanists to teach me and to give me opportunities to play! I have been very grateful to them for genuinely nurturing me without being dismissive, and taking the risks of giving me, a young kid at that time, various opportunities to play at church. Playing the piano and the organ for worship has been a very important and meaningful part of my life ever since.

Before Pullen, I played for various worshipping communities including Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran churches in South Korea and in the U.S., and now I am at Pullen, a Baptist church! I love being a part of Pullen music ministry as the worship at Pullen meaningfully and creatively expresses our heart and the values we believe are important in our faith.

My partner John, who encouraged me to apply for the organist position at Pullen, had been with Pullen for many years before I joined, and used to play the violin in the Pullen Orchestra. We both enjoy listening to classical music and spending time together at the beach!