Pastor Kim Montenegro

Pastor Kim Montenegro is someone who believes the church should feel like real life—honest, grace-filled, and deeply connected. She leads with both courage and compassion, creating space for people to ask questions, grow in faith, and discover how God is at work in their everyday lives.

Kim has a heart for helping people step into leadership and live out their faith in meaningful ways. Before coming to St. Helena, she served as Director of Spiritual and Religious Life at the University of the Pacific, where she worked with students exploring identity, purpose, and calling. She also spent three years as a church planter in Mountain House, building a new faith community from the ground up and walking alongside people as they discovered their gifts.She is passionate about creating communities where people feel known, where leadership is shared, and where faith connects to what’s actually happening in the world.

At St. Helena United Methodist Church, Kim loves being part of a small, thoughtful community where relationships matter. She is especially drawn to the way this congregation shows up for one another and for the wider Napa Valley, and she is committed to helping the church continue to grow as a place of belonging, justice, and hope.

Kim is also a mom of three teenagers, so she knows a thing or two about navigating chaos with grace (most days). She brings that same authenticity into her ministry—believing that God meets us not when we have it all together, but right in the middle of our real lives.  She and her husband Jaime have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the folks of the Napa Valley.  

Wherever you are on your journey, Pastor Kim hopes you’ll find a place here where you are welcomed, valued, and invited to grow.