Restoration City was planted in October of 2014 by a team of people committed to seeing spiritual, relational and cultural restoration in our nation’s capital. Since then, we’ve seen God turn that vision into reality as our community has grown significantly. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to Jesus and His message - we really do believe that the gospel changes everything!
John has the incredible privilege of serving as the Lead Pastor of Restoration City.
Originally from Syracuse, New York, John first came to Washington, D.C. as a college student. It was during his junior year at Georgetown that he discovered the beauty of the gospel and became a follower of Jesus. Since then, John has had a passion to see others come to know Jesus and follow Him with their lives. After spending seven years leading a college ministry, and three as the teaching pastor of a young adult ministry, John completed a one-year church planting residency with The Summit Church prior to planting Restoration City. He also holds a Masters in Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary.
John and his wife, Laura, have been married since 2010 and have two sons, Jack and Aidan, and a daughter, Emma. They currently live in Annandale.
John-Michael grew up in North Texas and is grateful for a family that loves the Lord and modeled what it looks like to live by faith in Jesus Christ. He attended the University of North Texas where he received a degree in Therapeutic Recreation. His desire to live life always on mission for God eventually led him to China for a year, where he gained a deeper understanding of the power of prayer and learned invaluable lessons on the importance of relationship building in our witness for Christ. After China, John-Michael spent 2 years in South Africa working as the missions coordinator and intern leader for Christian Surfers South Africa.
John-Michael and Katherine met while living and working in China, have been married for 4 years, and currently live in Washington, DC. They have a desire to raise a family for the glory of God and are both passionate about using the coffee industry as a catalyst for building relationships and sharing the Gospel.
Originally from Guatemala City, German Gomez grew up in the city of New Orleans where he attended Tulane University. After moving back to his hometown, German started a 20-year career in language and teacher education working as the Academic Director at institutions in Guatemala and South Korea and completing an MA in Project Management in Spain. His current job in managing education programs for a non-profit organization brought him and his wife, Paola, to DC at the end of 2015.
German came to Christ in 2000 and has, since then, experienced God’s love and mercy serving Him as an elder and pastor in Guatemala City and in Daegu, South Korea. He and his wife are passionate about serving the Latino community in Arlington.
Nathan was raised by Christian parents on the Gulf Coast of Alabama where he learned the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus from a young age. He attended Troy University where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and an MBA. After a few years working as a CPA in Destin, FL, he moved to Birmingham, AL where he met his wife, Lindsey, at a church small group shortly before joining the Air Force. Nathan and Lindsey discovered RCC by an invitation from an RCC member Lindsey met at a local dog park in 2017, and they have been members since. They have two girls, Olivia and Abigail, and a dog, Finley.
Ted was born and raised in Indiana and graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He then started working for the Navy as an engineer in Indiana where he met his wife, Renee. They were active in their local church and received many blessings from serving in many short term mission trips to Mexico and Jamaica.
Shortly after moving into the Washington DC area it was clear to Ted and Renee that Restoration City was a great fit for them to learn from God’s Word, serve in fellowship with fellow believers and to grow closer to Christ. They have been blessed to be part of a wonderful community group for many years which they have lead for the last 3 years. Ted and Renee have two grown children Audrey (and son-in-law Hunter) and Alex.
