After a snowboarding accident in 2004, J. D. Kim suffered a fracture on his fifth cervical vertebrae and became a quadriplegic. He is an ordained teaching elder with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and earned a PhD in systematic theology from the University of Aberdeen. He is Adjunct Professor of Theology and Assistant Director of the Doctor of Ministry Korean Studies Program at Denver Seminary and serves as president of J. D. Kim Ministries, which is affiliated with Joni & Friends.