Jon McIntosh is a pastor by day, family man by night and someone who gives back to his community in between it all.

A resident of Federal Way for 27 years, McIntosh, 42, is the chaplain for the Federal Way Police Department, serves on the board of directors for the Advancing Leadership program and helps those in need by partnering with the police department and South King Fire and Rescue during the holiday season.

“We are very fortunate to have a leader like Jon in our community,” said Chief of Police Andy Hwang, who nominated McIntosh as the Mirror’s citizen of the month for August. “He has tirelessly worked over the years to make a positive difference for others, particularly for the underprivileged families and kids in the Federal Way community.”

Hwang said he has known McIntosh for 14 years.

McIntosh started volunteering with the police department two years ago as chaplain. He helps if there’s a death or tragedy in the community, he’ll notify families of a death and he also helps out the police department in trying times.

More recently, he said he helped negotiate housing for a blind paraplegic woman whose husband and primary caregiver suddenly passed away.

“I try to lift some pressure off of the department,” McIntosh said, adding that the majority of officers are trained in what he does.

He has also helped the police department expand the Adopt-A-Family Program, which helps family during the holiday season, Hwang said.

“In the past, [the police department] was able to assist a small number of families for the holidays, typically two or three,” he said. “However, with Pastor McIntosh’s hard work and the support of his wife, Wendy, and their congregation, we were able to provide food and gifts to 60 families last year — this was all possible because Pastor McIntosh’s vision and compassion for others — he saw a need to serve more families and kids in our community and brought it to reality.”

McIntosh and Grace Church, where he’s a pastor, are wrapping up their school supply drive just in time for Sept. 3, when students return to school. Bins were located at the South King Fire and Rescue stations and Heritage Bank for donations.

He’s also organized volunteer-based school makeovers, Christmas celebrations for low-income families, among other projects.

“I care deeply for our community and I want it to thrive and there are groups in our community who are overlooked,” McIntosh said.

Hwang serves with McIntosh on the Advancing Leadership board, of which his father is one of the founding members. McIntosh also teaches servant leadership in the Advancing Leadership adult program, a nine-month program that teaches youth and adults skills in leadership and community involvement.

Servant leadership is about learning to recognize the gifts you’re given and invest them back into the community, McIntosh said.

Hwang said through the pastor’s leadership, participants of the program have selected projects over the years that have made a great difference in the community, such as the Federal Way Coalition Against Human Trafficking 5k Run that raised between $12,000 and $15,000.

McIntosh said he often connects with school counselors in the community to learn what area families need extra help in.

“Nobody has a better sense of what families need than counselors,” he said.

But the father of two has bigger hopes for the students and schools of Federal Way.

“I’d love to see every school resourced by an organization,” he said. “Someone, besides the PTA, committed to making sure each school thrives.”

There’s no doubt McIntosh’s strong values of helping others stems from his religion and relationship with God.

He said Jesus gave selflessly towards others who had little and that’s what he’s tried to model his life after and that he and others at Grace Church have the mentality to give the best they have with no expectations in return.

McIntosh was born in Laguna Beach, California. In 1978, his dad traveled to Federal Way to help plant trees at the Weyerhaeuser property, which led to the inception of Northwest Church in Federal Way. From there, his family traveled to England, back to California and then in 1990 his father opened Grace Church.

McIntosh studied English and comparative literature studies and German language and literature, which he earned two bachelor’s degrees in.

“I wanted to be a lawyer,” he said. “To study international law and travel but instead I’ve been here for 20 years but I wouldn’t trade it.”

McIntosh said when he was a junior in college, “God spoke to me and said to be a pastor.”

He would later obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical studies at Seattle Bible College.

However, McIntosh didn’t start as a pastor at Grace Church. In 1994, McIntosh started as the custodian and groundskeeper. Throughout the next nine years, he transitioned from youth pastor, associate pastor and lead pastor in 2005, his current position.

McIntosh spends time with his “beautiful” wife, Wendy, who is the executive pastor at Grace Church; his son Tyler, 12, who plays basketball and his daughter Kaylee, 10, an aspiring gymnast.