Mark Ramirez
Lead Pastor
Mark is a Bay Area native, having been born and raised in the South Bay. Since 2016, Mark has served in different roles on staff and is currently serving as Lead Pastor. As Lead Pastor, Mark oversees Sunday morning services, Bible studies, and other pastoral duties.
Having a passion for young people and Scripture, Mark graduated from William Jessup University with a double major in Youth Ministry and Bible & Theology. He currently attends Western Seminary to continue his Biblical & theological training. Mark married Melanie, his high school sweetheart, and they have been married for 6 years with three children, Joshua, Anna and Elijah.
Mark is passionate about diving deep into Scripture, answering faith questions, and seeing lives changed by Jesus. His favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6, because it reminds him of the need to be ever close to God and the need to have his entire life revolve around the Lord.
Hobbies: Mark loves spending time with family and friends, watching movies with his wife, and reading books with his little ones.
Heather Piper
Associate Pastor
Heather Piper was born in Munster, Germany, raised in Glasgow, Scotland, and then moved to Coventry, England. As an adult, Heather and her five children lived in Trollhattan, Sweden for 15 years, & Shanghai, China for 6 years.
Heather has been participating in ministry for over twenty years. She started a women's groups for international women in Sweden, led children's Sunday school classes, bible studies, and worked with students with learning difficulties. Heather moved to Palo Alto in 2016, and jumped right in helping at PAFCC! In her role as Associate Pastor, Heather leads our women's ministry, fellowship events, and other pastoral responsibilities.
Heather is passionate about people becoming free to be all they were designed to be. She hopes to help break off the restraints people feel because of past traumas or lies that they have believed. Her heart is to see people healed, whole, and confident in their uniqueness.
Some of Heather's favorite bible verses are Exodus 23:20, Deuteronomy 31:6, and Isaiah 46:9-11. These scriptures always remind her that God has a plan, it will happen, He will always show us the way, and I can trust that He has it all covered.
In her free time, you can find Heather cooking, baking, feeding people, cycling, walking out in nature, reading, or traveling.