Jim Kobb was born in Akron, Ohio on March 7, 1953. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Akron in secondary education with a major in physics and a minor in mathematics. He and his wife Debra studied together for nine months under the teaching ministry of Dr. R.C. Sproul at the Ligonier Valley Study Center near Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

In the summer of 1976, Jim entered Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. He graduated in the spring of 1979 with a Master of Divinity degree. Soon afterwards, he was called by the Mission to the World committee of the Presbyterian Church in America to serve in South Korea as a foreign missionary. He was ordained as a minister of the gospel by the Presbytery of the Ascension.

During the next two years the Kobbs visited numerous churches, sharing with them the opportunities for ministry in South Korea that the Lord had set before them. In June, 1981 the Kobbs departed for their new home in Taejon, South Korea. During the first 2 ½ years of living in Korea, Jim and Debra were involved in full-time language study. Jim then began the ministry of church planting in rural areas throughout Korea where there was no existing gospel witness. Later, he also became involved in the ministry of cross-cultural missionary training for those Koreans whom the Lord was calling to serve as missionaries in other lands. The Kobbs served in South Korea for three four-year terms.

After returning to the United States in 1995, the Lord opened a door of ministry for Jim to serve in the Cleveland Korean Presbyterian Church. He served as the assistant pastor of that church until January, 2004. In May, 2004 he was called to serve as the assistant pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Akron, the church that he had attended from his youth. Jim also works as a Technical Support Analyst at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company