Marcus Choi – Lead Pastor
Marcus Choi is the lead pastor of The Vine Church. His passion is for The Vine to be a place where people of any ethnicity, generation and background belong. He desires a place where people can experience life together through Jesus Christ and make a lasting difference in this world.
Marcus is a graduate of UCLA and Talbot School of Theology where he obtained a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology degree. In addition to being lead pastor of The Vine, Marcus is a high school physics and Bible teacher at Los Angeles Baptist High School.
Marcus is happily married to Connie and has three children: Joshua, Alyson and Isaac. He often says that Connie helps him to become a better man, husband, and father by providing wisdom and encouragement. Together, they are excited to lead this new church and help people experience life as God intended.
Steve Jin – Pastor of Spiritual Formation
Steve has been the Associate Pastor at The Vine since the inception. His passion is to see people who don’t know Christ come into a living relationship with Him and to grow in intimacy with Christ in the context of community within the local church. He believes that the local church is the hope of the world that offers to all types of people authentic and genuine relationships with Christ and other people.
Steve currently lives in Arcadia as a happily unmarried person and is a graduate of Talbot School of Theology with a Master of Divinity degree. Although he loves the greater Los Angeles area, he plans to move overseas in the next three to four years to be part of a church-planting movement amongst an unreached people group.
Catherine Hwang Jin – Director of Family Ministry & Children’s Ministry (Grapeseeds)
Catherine Hwang-Jin, is currently serving as the Children’s Ministry Director at the Vine. Her passion is to see Children and families know and experience the truth that is written in God’s Word. She believes that spiritual formation begins from early age, and that the church must walk along side the families to help children grow in their Christian faith. According to research, majority of Christians accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before the age of 13. She believes it is a tremendous privilege to be part of such a crucial and transforming ministry.
Catherine graduated from CalSate LA with a BS in Biology and is currently receiving her Master of Christian Education from Talbot School of Theology. Catherine is also working in the entertainment industry to be an impact and glorify God through her talents in theatre, film and media. She is also the wife of Pastor Steve Jin, and they live happily ever after in the city of Arcadia with their teacup dog Melchizedek.
Philip Struyk – Interim Worship Leader
Philip has returned to be an interim worship leader for the Vine. Philip is currently a Spanish teacher at L.A. Baptist High School and the Campus Pastor coordinating chapels and guiding the spiritual direction of the school. Philip is a graduate of Vanguard University (Irvine, CA) and an experienced Worship Pastor. We are blessed to have Philip leading us in worship. Philip is married to Connie and they have three wonderful children.
Jay Yoon – Assistant Pastor
Jay Yoon is currently serving as an Assistant Pastor at the Vine. Jay oversees the SouthEast and West LA Home Groups. Jay also facilitates the Life Group Committee which guides the Home Groups, Sports Ministry and Men’s/Women’s Ministries.
Jay graduated UCLA with a BA in history and is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology. As an undergraduate, he was a part of the Army ROTC on campus and is now a 2nd Lieutenant, embarking on a journey to serve in the Army as a chaplain, and is serving as a chaplain candidate at a local Army reserve unit in West LA.
Romin Bahk – Pastoral Intern
Romin is a student at Talbot School of Theology and a recent graduate of UCLA. Romin grew up in Texas, so one could say that he truly is ‘South’ Korean. He currently facilitates the Sunday Service Committee and is the director of Sunday Worship. Romin loves hanging out people and having lengthy conversation about God and Theology. Romin is also a “foodie”, so he welcomes any invitations to any new or famous eatery. We are blessed to have Romin as a part of the pastoral staff as he brings excellence to our Sunday Services.