Russellville First
United Methodist Church
Pastors & Staff
Rev. Dr. Tony Griffin
SENIOR PASTOR
Pastor Tony is thankful to be called to pastor in The United Methodist Church. It is his heart’s passion to help shape people into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Tony was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas and has served in ministry in Arkansas, Georgia, the United Kingdom, and Oklahoma. He holds degrees from Southern Nazarene University, University of Arkansas, Little Rock - William H. Bowen School of Law, Emory University, and Duke University. He is an inactive lawyer and Certified Public Accountant.
Tony enjoys reading, hiking, snow skiing, and time on the lake – almost anything outside with his family and friends!
He has been married to Tracy for almost 30 years and they have three children, Addison, Will, and Lainey. They also have two chihuahuas, Ethyl and Olive, and Labrador retriever mix, named John Wesley Griffin (he goes by Wesley!).
It is his joy to serve as your senior pastor!
Rev. Cindy Bright
PASTOR TO FAMILIES
Pastor Cindy is blessed to be living out her calling as a United Methodist Deacon at Russellville First United Methodist Church. Her goal is to embody the servant ministry of a Deacon and to walk with youth and their families as they deepen their connections between God, church and their day to day lives.
Cindy was born in Little Rock, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, until her family returned to Arkansas when she was a junior in high school. She graduated from Sheridan High School, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cindy has served churches in the Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kentucky Annual Conferences.
Cindy enjoys reading, baking, biking, walking and enjoying nature. She can often be found humming or singing – sometimes without even realizing she’s doing it. She loves a good (or really bad!) pun, and Seinfeld trivia and dialogue takes up an inordinate amount of space in her brain!
Cindy has been married to Jeff for over 30 years, and they have two daughters, Sarah and Rachel. They are grateful God has called them back to live and serve in Jeff’s hometown and home church in Russellville.
Christi Burris
DIRECTOR OF YOUTH & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Christi is thankful to be a part of the spiritual journey for the children in church. She loves teaching children about the love Jesus has for them.
Christi was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She’s a 2000 graduate of Dover High school. She has been a member of the Russellville First for the past 7 years and on staff for 3.
Christi enjoys spending time with family, traveling, reading, crocheting and watching her children do their various sports. She has been married to Travis for over 20 years and they have six children: Keagen, Payten, Alysen, Carson, Owen, and William.
Emily Westcott
DIRECTOR OF
MIDDLE SCHOOL MINISTRIES
Emily lives in London with her husband, Eric, and their two amazing children Ella and Trace. They spend their free time camping, hiking, and enjoying time outside in our beautiful state or reading an enjoyable book.
Emily has been a preschool teacher for several years, three of those working in the Honeybee room at TLC. She also has been in the church nursery with the littles. She is blessed and extremely excited to be given the opportunity to serve FUMC with an older age group and to get to know them all more!
Page Phillips
DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Page grew up in Alma, Arkansas, and graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in History Education. She met her husband Jeff while attending TECH and they have been married for over 30 years. They have three children: Jacob, Molly Grace, and Harper.
Page taught High School Social Studies at Lincoln and Dardanelle and 5th grade at St. John’s Catholic School. She then served as a substitute teacher for the last 9 years, mostly in elementary schools.
The Phillipses have been members of Russellville First for over 20 years. Page has helped in all areas of Children’s Ministry and was so excited to put her love of children and Jesus into practice by helping children and families grow in their faith. This July will mark her first year serving as the Director of Children’s and Family’s Ministries at Russellville First.
She truly Believes God’s call on her life is to help children know Jesus and she is so thankful to have the opportunity to do this every day.
Brooke Shamblen
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF
CHILDREN & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Brooke and her husband moved to Arkansas over 10 years ago from Charleston, South Carolina. They live in Russellville with their three amazing boys. The Shamblen family stays busy and very active with soccer and various involvement within the community. Brooke is the true definition of a “Boy Mom,” and she loves every minute of being the Queen of her castle!
You may have seen her around in the halls of TLC as a junior preschool teacher and in the Nursery with the littles. She loves being a part of a child’s learning and exploring new experiences with them in addition to enriching their hearts with The Word.
Brooke looks forward to getting to know all of you more and is thankful for this opportunity to be more involved with our church.
Megan Grace
TLC DIRECTOR & CHILDCARE COORDINATOR
Megan joined Russellville First United Methodist Church with her family in 1988 and has since been baptized and confirmed in the church. She began working in the nursery in 1999 and became Director of Childcare in 2017. She also began working at TLC in 2007 and became the Assistant Director in 2016. Her passion is, and always has been, with children.
Megan is married to her high school boyfriend, Ryan, and together they have two children; a son, Weston, and a daughter, Kasyn. She enjoys spending time with her extended family, camping, fishing, hunting, and being outdoors. Her favorite past time is watching her children compete in various sports.
Valerie Roys
TLC ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Valerie joined the TLC Family in 1984, when she enrolled her children in The Little Church Program at Russellville First Methodist Church. In 2002, she began teaching in the infant room and 6 years later moved into the TLC Director position.
Valerie was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, and spent her childhood moving about as her father was in the Navy. Russellville became her home when she entered the eighth grade. She married her high school sweetheart, Mark Roys, and had 3 daughters, Melissa Burton, Amy Ford and Megan Grace. The family joined the church in 1988.
She’s into antiques and loves the “hunt” for the next little treasure. Her pets include 2 dogs, 2 cats and a brood of chickens. She enjoys cooking, especially preparing meals for frequent family gatherings. Her favorite pastime is spending time with her 7 grandchildren, Devin, Alyvia, Kaylee, Weston, Kasyn, Lila, and Bo; and great-grandson.
Dr. Katie Rohwer
CHANCEL CHOIR DIRECTOR
Dr. Katherine (Katie) Rohwer grew up in Michigan and can trace her love of choral music to her first experiences in her church’s children’s choir, the Rainbow Singers of Westminster Presbyterian. Her family’s love for music and faith shaped her calling from an early age, and she has been blessed to serve as a musician for various churches and denominations, including Pine Island Presbyterian, West Side Methodist in Ann Arbor, MI and First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor.
Katie is also the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Arkansas Tech University, where she teaches music education and conducting courses and directs several of the university choirs. Before coming to Arkansas, she taught high school and college choirs in Michigan and has served as a guest conductor and clinician across the country. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting and a Master of Music from the University of Michigan, as well as a Bachelor of Music from Western Michigan University.
Outside of teaching, Katherine loves spending time with her husband Alex, family and friends; exploring the beauty of Arkansas’ State Parks; and the occasional game of ping-pong; and sharing the joy of music in worship and community.
Brian Faulkner
PRAISE BAND LEADER
Chris Becnel
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Chris Becnel has been working with youth ministry since he was a teen. He grew up in Magnolia, Arkansas, and served as a junior high youth minister in Conway, Arkansas, while working on his bachelor’s at the University of Central Arkansas. He received his master’s in educational leadership from Arkansas State University.
When Chris graduated from college, he worked as a drug prevention specialist in Union County, Arkansas, where he traveled internationally working with governments and schools to expand their prevention programs. He taught junior high and high school in south Arkansas for 10 years before moving to Russellville. He is a certified French & business teacher and licensed real estate agent.
Chris enjoys traveling, camping, making music, and spending time with his family and friends. He’s visited 31 states and 23 countries. He and his husband Brad have two children, Harrison and Sophie.
Becky Worley
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Mary Collier
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
David Condley
FACILITY MANAGER