Who is The Table Project?
Mark & Stacey Grapengater
Mark and Stacey met and married in St. Louis while Mark was interning at a church plant and Stacey was working in missions communications. Their mutual love of God and food nourished their relationship.
Before meeting, Stacey worked front of the house and banquets at a five-diamond resort in Wisconsin. Before entering pastoral ministry, Mark worked in the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago and ran kitchens in St. Louis. They both also lived overseas as missionaries — Stacey in Japan and Mark in Costa Rica.
Their formation through mission work and the hospitality industry has shaped their understanding of their mission and calling in Denver, CO.
They have three children: Michael, Evelyn, and Joshua.
Pastor to the pastorless
As a pastor, Mark’s vocation is to pay attention to God and relate to people like Jesus did — eating and drinking, extending hospitality, acknowledging the imago dei within them, and inviting them to see what God is doing in their lives.
Stacey is gifted at connecting with women in the neighborhood. She serves our neighborhood elementary school on the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Team (DEIB). She also serves on the Cherry Creek Presbyterian Preschool board.
Denver is one of the most post-Christian cities in America. While many people identify as “spiritual,” few actually attend church or have a relationship with Jesus, let alone a pastor. Mark and Stacey pursue people relationally and invite them into a relationship with Jesus, firmly believing their first step in their journey to the Lord’s Table begins at their family dining table.
Mark has served churches in Tulsa, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Denver and is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). He majored in Spanish (BA) at Kansas State University and received a Master in Divinity (M.Div.) from North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. Recently, he completed a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) focused on hospitality and the pastoral vocation through the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI.
The Table Project Board
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Mark Grapengater
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Joshua Smith
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Brandon Jolley
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Joshua Burdette
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Eugene Scott